Downsizing… rightsizing: great theory, but where’s the product?

The lack of a suitable housing supply in the right locations means that significant opportunities are being missed to improve the wellbeing of older people and reduce public expenditure.

I’m probably (make that “hopefully”) preaching to the converted here, but we’ve currently got a stack of crises in this country around the wellbeing of older people, some of which could, at the very least, be ameliorated if we had a half-sensible housing strategy in place.

Our ageing population is only going to carry on ageing. Our housing crisis is only going to get worse as supply continues to lag behind demand. We have a care crisis, exacerbated by older people living in badly maintained and poorly heated housing. We have widespread pensioner poverty because many are, to borrow the cliche, asset rich and cash poor.

A ready supply of suitable homes for older people to move into could, at the very least, alleviate some of these issues.

• Hospital discharge would be a much speedier process for many elderly patients.
• Every home vacated by an older person means one more available for a family to move into.
• There’s often an opportunity to release some of the value of the home being sold to bolster incomes, pay for future care and reduce outgoings.

However, none of this is remotely achievable without a choice of suitable housing in the right places and on a choice of tenures – including shared ownership (as highlighted in last month’s SO-HAPPI report from the APPG on Housing and Care for Older People’s latest inquiry).

But planning applications often fall at the first hurdle because other types of housing are prioritised. And all too often at the planning stage it’s possible to point to existing retirement accommodation nearby, usually in large blocks, that remain unfilled.

And don't get me started on why the Government made it voluntary for local authorities to specify all new homes being accessible and so ensure that people could age in place for longer for decades to come. Hopefully, ongoing consultations will remedy that…

The solution? As WWA’s Mark Slater set out in his recent guest blog for the Housing LIN, it starts with local plans… establishing precisely what older people in every community want in terms of dedicated or suitable housing supply. It goes on to retirement developers doing their research on local requirements at the pre-app stage. And it goes on to include developers of ALL new housing making every home accessible, and to consider incorporating an element of suitable housing in EVERY new development, allowing the generations to continue living together – and support each other.

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Tony Watts OBE is Director of EngAgeNet and an Older People’s Housing Champion. He also manages: http://theageactionalliance.org/

Hear more from Tony when he presents in the opening session at the Housing LIN’s Summit – A Festival of Ideas, week commencing Monday, 27 February 2023. Secure your FREE place here!

And, if you found Tony’s blog of interest, check out a range of other news, views and resources on freeing up accommodation on the Housing LIN’s dedicated page here.