The housing crisis is a losing game for both young and old
The four million older people trapped in their current home because of a lack of alternatives are just as much victims of our country’s flawed housing market as anybody else.
Our Head of Campaigns and Public Affairs, Jo McGowan, explains why we need a fundamental shift in how we plan and build for our growing ageing population.
The UK has a chronic housing crisis. It is affecting the lives of people regardless of what kind of home they live in, whether it is private rented, social housing or homes people own themselves. And it blights all aspects of the housing market. Homes are in extremely low supply and high demand, and what is available is often unaffordable, in a poor state of repair or unsuitable for people’s needs.
People of every age are suffering because of the housing crisis. Yet older people are often treated as if they are the cause of these problems, rather than people who are equally impacted by the crisis as other generations.
Our new report, Locked Out: A New Perspective on Older People’s Housing Choices, finds that one in five older people in the UK are trapped in their current home because of a shortage of suitable alternatives.
People of every age are suffering because of the housing crisis. Yet older people are often treated as if they are the cause of these problems, rather than people who are equally impacted by the crisis as other generations.
More than 4 million people aged 55 and above are actively seeking to move properties but cannot find new homes with the right location, tenure and affordability. This builds on previous research which revealed that very few older people (3.4%) move each year, despite many living in inadequate and inappropriate housing.
There are several assumptions we make about homes for older people that are stopping us from solving this piece of our complex housing crisis that would enable local communities to provide suitable homes for people of all ages.
Firstly, it is often assumed that older people are all wealthy and own their home outright. But in fact, many live in private or socially rented homes, with the proportion of privately rented homes headed by someone aged 55-64 almost doubling from 6.3% in 2010/11 to 11.3% in 2020/21. And even among homeowners, there is significant financial inequality – two-thirds of older people living in poverty are homeowners.
Secondly, older people are often told that they should downsize to a smaller home or move into specialist accommodation to free up larger homes for young families. In reality, older people’s reasons for moving are hugely varied – ranging from family or personal reasons to wanting to move to a different neighbourhood or because of divorce or separation.
Even when older people do want to downsize, there can often be a lack of suitable options for them. Only a small proportion of older people live in specialist accommodation, and yet many mainstream homes are not built with older and disabled people in mind. Fewer than one in ten homes meet even the most basic accessibility standards, and many newer developments are situated on the edge of communities, meaning that local amenities are not accessible or easy to reach for people with disabilities.
Finally, there is a lack of meaningful discussion with older people about local housing plans. When consultation does takes place, it focuses more on the immediate ‘needs’ of older people in direct relation to the property, rather than the hopes and aspirations that we all have for our homes, such as living near to green spaces or close to family members or community facilities.
Unless town planners and local councillors question these assumptions and genuinely engage with what older people want and need from their homes and neighbourhoods, we will continue to develop unsuitable options, and this will be one more part of the housing crisis that remains unresolved.
We are determined to challenge the flawed orthodoxy that downsizing and retirement villages are the only housing solutions for older people. That’s why we have developed Locked Out: A New Perspective on Older People’s Housing Choices, which sets out a framework for planning authorities to help them deliver local housing plans that work for people of all ages.
Developed in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Manchester School of Architecture, this report brings together policy analysis of large planning datasets with local insights and direct engagement with residents, to set out how local planners can improve housing choices for older people and enable people to find the ‘right place’ to grow older.
Everyone needs a safe, decent and affordable home – they are the firm footing that help us to build a good life. This is just as true for older people as anybody else.