Prime Minister’s housing reforms offer no solace from cost-of-living crisis for older renters

Today Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his government’s intention to offer people on housing benefit "a new choice to put benefits towards a first ever mortgage".

Mr Johnson also promised to finish Margaret Thatcher's Right to Buy reforms by extending the scheme to housing association tenants as part of housing reform proposals announced during a speech in Blackpool.

Our Deputy Director for Homes, Holly Holder, warns that the proposals will have little to no impact on older renters in England whose numbers have risen to an all-time high.

“While measures that give a broader spectrum of society the opportunity to own their own home are welcome, increasing home ownership is not the only means to rectify the current crisis in the private rental sector and it really is not an option that will assist many older renters.

“The number of older people renting has reached an all-time high with the oldest renters, aged 75 and over, spending almost half of their incomes on rent, as our State of Ageing Report 2022 recently detailed. There is nothing in the Prime Minister’s announcements today that suggest that these older renters will have their concerns eased about the ever-rising cost of living.

“At the heart of the issue, there simply is not enough genuinely affordable housing, particularly for people with increased accessibility needs, many of whom are older. What we really need is a housing stock mix that suits everyone's needs. That’s where the government could make a significant difference by ensuring that existing homes meet a decent living standard and by raising mandatory accessibility standards for new-build homes – we eagerly await the conclusion of their consultation on this.

“One of the unintended consequences of the introduction of Right to Buy in the 1980s is that some low-income homeowners are now stuck in unsafe properties without the means to make them suitable. The extension of the scheme to housing association properties must not repeat those mistakes of the past. Homeowners need much greater support to maintain and improve their homes as needs arise, which is why we’re advocating for the creation of a Good Home Agency in every community to provide assistance in upgrading the overall quality and energy efficiency of homes.

“Home ownership is not the solution for everyone’s housing needs and so the government needs to ensure that individuals and families on all budgets can live in good homes. We want to see the Renters Reform Bill white paper progressed as a priority to deliver on a range of measures to improve the private rental sector including applying the decent homes standard.”