Will the ‘Our Future Homes’ report address the needs of an ageing population?
Will the ‘Our Future Homes’ report address the needs of an ageing population? By Kevin Shaw at Leaders
The government recently published an independent report, ‘Our Future Homes’, which considers our ageing population and looks at how housebuilders can meet the wants and needs of older people.
It is widely acknowledged that not enough new homes are being built across the board, but when it comes to suitable housing for older people, there is also a significant shortfall. The report reveals that 30,000 to 50,000 ‘later living homes’ (LLHs) are needed every year, and we’re currently only building 7,000.
Some other key findings of the government taskforce found:
- Too many older people are worried of leaving their current homes and don’t know what housing options are available to them.
- Affordability is a problem, with current private leasehold housing options for older people considered unaffordable for the majority of English households aged 75 years and over.
A separate survey of 1,000 people aged 50+ carried out by law firm, Shakespeare Martineau, found that around a third of those living on their own, and a quarter of those living with a partner believe that moving into retirement housing is simply unaffordable for them.
- Some older people currently have access issues – only 12% have level access at the entrance of their building, and less than half have a bathroom on the entry level.
In his foreword to the report, the Chair of the Taskforce highlighted three key benefits of enhancing the quality and number of homes for older people:
- Providing housing that focuses on wellbeing and community improves senior citizens’ quality of life.
- NHS money can be saved by avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions from things like falls in properties that are no longer suitable for the occupant. Half of those aged 80+ fall at least once a year.
- Family homes can be released into the market to help ease the housing crisis.
What are older people looking for in a home?
The report says that senior citizens ‘want to live independently and feel safe in an environment that enables them to enjoy life, engage with others, feel culturally connected and be appreciated for their contributions – they also want to be in a familiar area near to their family and friends’.
Having independence is the thing that older people mention most often in relation to their living arrangements, so it’s vital that the properties themselves, the surroundings and local amenities support this.
The other top preferences include:
- Maintaining home ownership – just over 74% of older people currently own their home.
- Being safe and secure.
- Living on one level.
- Having spare bedrooms for family to visit.
- Having a home that’s easy to maintain and cheap to run.
- Easy access to amenities and leisure facilities, particularly those that help maintain good health.
- Green spaces nearby – gardens, parks and countryside.
- Being close to friends and family.
So, this new wave of LLHs must be:
- Affordable enough for people to buy, rather than rent.
- Of a reasonable size – moving to a more appropriate home is not necessarily about downsizing. 80% of senior citizens already live in homes with three bedrooms or fewer, and extra bedrooms can be useful, not only for visitors, but also so couples can sleep separately if one of them is unwell, or if a full-time carer is needed.
- Developed all over the country so that senior citizens can maintain close contact with friends and family.
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