Tag Archives: retirement housing

Better housing for older people means better lives for all

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“Sheltered Housing – MVRDV” by KJBO is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

Housing is at the heart of a good quality of life. This is especially true as we get older, when health and wellbeing, independence and end-of-life care can all be greatly enhanced by decent housing.

Four recent reports have underlined the importance of good housing for older people, and the wider benefits for society.

Housing with care: progress and problems

The Commission on the Role of Housing in the Future of Care and Support  (CRHFCS) was established last October by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE). The new commission aims to produce a blueprint to enable greater choice and availability of housing and support for people aged 65 and older who may find it difficult to live independently at home, or who choose to live somewhere which provides more support options. The Commission will focus on five key areas: care homes; retirement communities; retirement housing; supported living; and the Shared Lives schemes.

The first report of the CRHFCS highlights progress made since the Commission on Residential Care 2014 (CORC) reported its findings in 2014. There have been some positive developments concerning the take-up of more new technologies in care settings, such as telehealth, telecare and smart home devices to help people maintain their independence.

Progress has also been made on age- and dementia-friendly housing design. And the report commends the Housing our Ageing Population Panel for Innovation (HAPPI) reports for raising awareness of housing specifically designed for older people.

However, little progress has been made on CORC’s recommended expansion of the market to give greater choice of housing with access to care. Options remain limited, especially for those struggling to pay for accommodation.

The CRHFCS sets out some initial policy proposals. These include planning reforms to make it easier to build retirement community housing, and improved information and advice to support informed decision-making for older people seeking housing with care and support facilities.

The Commission’s final report will appear in the summer, when it will make recommendations about the future shape of housing that facilitates care and support.

Needed: a clear vision about housing for older people

The findings from the CRHFCS report are echoed in another report, published in April by the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research. The Cambridge report identifies numerous constraints to supply, investment and demand in the market for specialised housing for older people. 

One of the study’s key findings  is that retirement community development is unviable in many areas outside of London and the South East of England.

“Coupled with the fact that the majority of house moves made by older people are relatively local, this constraint to supply reduces housing options for those living elsewhere in the country, particularly home owners who do not qualify for assistance with housing costs. Unless the viability of retirement community development can be improved and the supply of mid-range retirement properties be raised, these households will have very little choice around moving in later life.”

Among the recommendations in the Cambridge report are calls for national government to provide a clear vision about housing for people as they age:

“For example, greater clarity is required around the joint priorities of ‘downsizing’ and ‘ageing in place’, and how these priorities can be best implemented at the local level.”

The report also recommends that local authorities should give priority to housing for older people, through the creation of clear strategic and local plans and guidelines for developers:

“Collaboration between local authority planning, social care, health and housing teams could allow for better planning around retirement housing. For example, retirement housing may make savings possible within health and social care budgets.”

The Cambridge report encourages housing providers to diversify the retirement housing offer, and to gain a better understanding of preferences of different older people:

“Rather than drawing on stereotypes of old age, providers face the challenge of recognising older people as a complex and heterogeneous group of consumers with diverse aspirations.”

Closing the generational divide

According to a report by the Intergenerational Foundation (IF), England now has two housing nations: the first is older, well-housed, often well-off, with space to work and self-isolate; the second nation is younger living in cramped flats or shared homes with little or no access to outside space.

The IF says that the pandemic has exacerbated housing inequalities between the young and the old, and observes that “…while younger generations have lost their jobs, their homes and even their mental health during COVID-19, older generations have stockpiled space.”

The report also highlights a rise in the number of second homes as a consequence of the pandemic.  There are now 5.5 million second homes in England – a 50% increase between 2011 and 2020 – most of them owned by older people.

Space inequality has also increased. Owner-occupied homes have a third more space on average than privately rented homes, and almost double the space as social housing.

Like the previously mentioned reports, the IF calls for market failures on retirement housing to be addressed. It recommends reform of stamp duty to encourage downsizing, and reforms to the planning system both to give a greater voice to the homeless and badly housed and to encourage developers to build more retirement homes.

Making a house a home: impacts of poor-quality housing

While some older people enjoy the benefits of good housing,  there are substantial numbers of people aged 50 and older living in poor-quality accommodation.

A report by the Centre for Ageing Better (CfAB) has found that living in cold, damp housing, or homes in a state of disrepair can increase the risk of illness and accidents. Poor housing also has wider impacts: first-year NHS treatment costs for over-55s living in the poorest quality housing are estimated at £513m.

But there are barriers preventing older people from making the improvements that would help them live healthier, more independent lives. These include a lack of finance and uncertainty about where to find trustworthy information about home improvements.

The CfAB report calls for a  wider range of financing options, including government grants and loans, to help older people adapt their homes. It also recommends clear signposting and advice to support informed decisions about home improvements, as well as initiatives to raise awareness about the impact of poor quality homes on health and wellbeing.

Final thoughts

The number of people aged 65 and over is set to rise from 12 million to more than 20 million by 2030. While poor quality housing presents risks for older people, age-appropriate housing can keep them healthy, help them to live independently and reduce the need for social care.

These reports highlight important issues that must be addressed not only to support older people, but to advance the radical changes needed to fix Britain’s broken housing market. Better housing for older people is better for us all.

The reports highlighted in this blog post have recently been added to The Knowledge Exchange (TKE) database. Subscribers to TKE information service have direct access to all of the abstracts on our database, with most also providing the full text of journal articles and reports. To find out more about our services, please visit our website: https://www.theknowledgeexchange.co.uk/

Further reading: more on housing for older people on The Knowledge Exchange blog

A home for life? Developing lifetime neighbourhoods to support ageing well in place

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The UK population is ageing. A 2019 report from AgeUK using data from the ONS highlighted that there are nearly 12 million (11,989,322) people aged 65 and above in the UK of which: 5.4 million people are aged 75+, 1.6 million are aged 85+, over 500,000 people are 90+ (579,776) and 14,430 are centenarians. By 2030, one in five people in the UK (21.8%) will be aged 65 or over, 6.8% will be aged 75+ and 3.2% will be aged 85+.

Allowing people to live well in old age in their own homes is something which housebuilders and planners are giving increasing thought to, both from a wellbeing perspective for residents, and a financial perspective for services, including the NHS and social care. The creation of “lifetime neighbourhoods” – spaces where people can live well from birth to retirement – brings together a number of elements: providing easy access to services; creating physical spaces which are suitable for people with disabilities and mobility issues to navigate; and allowing people to maintain those social and community ties which are associated with wellbeing, which can sometimes be lost with forced moves to residential care or a prolonged stay in hospital.

Homes for life

Building homes that are suitable for an ageing population is an important first step in creating lifetime neighbourhoods. However, planners and developers are starting to realise that one size doesn’t necessarily fit all when it comes to housing for older people. As with the general population, older people are not a homogenous group, and while some may need the support provided by extra care or sheltered housing projects, or may need single-storey open plan living to accommodate mobility aids or telecare packages, others simply want to live in a space which enables them to live comfortably in a community which suits their needs in terms of location and availability of services.

Designing and building a range of different housing types, which includes single-storey homes, extra care and sheltered housing, as well as stock which is suitable for people looking to downsize, is a key part of the development of effective lifetime neighbourhoods. This can free up larger family homes for people with children to move into and ensure that people are not kept unnecessarily in hospital because housing cannot be adapted to meet changing needs. A 2014 Age UK report showed that the scarcity of suitable and affordable retirement housing is a barrier to downsizing, highlighting that retirement housing makes up just 5-6% of all older people’s housing. Now groups like the Housing Made for Everyone coalition (HoME) are calling on the government to make all new homes accessible and adaptable as standard to help meet growing need in the future.

Social infrastructure such as libraries, community centres, local shops and good transport links are also a key aspect to planning effective lifetime neighbourhoods, as is ensuring accessibility of services such as GP appointments. Effective infrastructure planning can help enable the whole community, not just older people to feel connected to their local area, both physically and socially which can really help to support the idea of lifetime neighbourhoods and enable people to live well regardless of age.

Preventing loneliness and isolation in older age

Preventing loneliness and isolation in old age by creating spaces which facilitate engagement and encourage people to have positive social interactions is important to ensure that everyone within the community feels respected, involved and appreciated. However, the challenges are different depending on the nature of the community in question. In rural areas, social isolation can be compounded by a lack of appropriate transport infrastructure or the removal of key services at a local level in favour of “hubs” which are often located in towns and cities; in urban areas, loneliness can be exacerbated by the chaotic, hostile or intimidating environment that living in a densely populated area can have, a flip side to the benefits of density.

Ambition for ageing is a programme which aims to discover what works in reducing social isolation by taking an asset based approach to creating age friendly communities. Asset based approaches seek to identify the strengths and the abilities of people and communities, rather than their deficits. The asset based approach to creating age friendly neighbourhoods also seeks to use the experiences and  attributes that all members of the community have to help make the community better. To create effective age friendly neighbourhoods older people need to have opportunities to participate and feel that they are making a positive contribution.

A space for all ages

While much of the research and literature on lifetime neighbourhoods focuses on older people, it is also important to ensure that spaces meet the needs of all groups in the community, including children and young people and people with disabilities. Creating places which balance the needs of all groups within the community is an important consideration for planners.

The physical environment can be as important as the built environment and infrastructure development when it comes to developing lifetime neighbourhoods. Spaces which make use of natural and green infrastructure with lots of green and open public spaces have been shown to help improve mental health and wellbeing, as well as encouraging people of all ages to be more active. A number of design factors such as good paving, effective street lighting and easy access to seating and public toilets make neighbourhoods accessible to older people and people with impairments. Poor design can ‘disable’ people in their immediate environment and act as a barrier to participation in local activities.

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Final thoughts

For lifetime neighbourhoods to be successful, it is necessary that there is access to a range of appropriate housing options. In addition, the planning of public, open and green spaces, availability of transport links and local community infrastructure like libraries, police stations and local shops are all vitally important to ensure communities can thrive.

It is clear that while there is demand for more suitable housing for people in older age, the location and type of housing being built must also meet the needs and expectations of older residents, including good connections to local infrastructure, and safe accommodation. Projects which bring a range of ages together can be effective in strengthening community cohesion, can help challenge stereotypes and can reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation. Collectively these different elements feed into the creation of lifetime neighbourhoods which can support people to live well into retirement and beyond.

Further reading: more articles from our blog

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Planning for later life … where does retirement housing fit in strategic planning?

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Rural_Urban Landscape_iStock_000004526499MediumHow does the planning system recognise and reflect the needs of different social groups for housing and amenities? And how should planning respond to current demographic trends? You would assume that these questions would be central concerns of strategic planning and local plan creation, given the long-term view that these processes require. Arguably however, statutory land-use planning has actually been relatively indifferent to the specific needs of age.

Planning around the ‘nuclear family’ norm

The regulation of land use and development is informed by broad strategic assumptions regarding economic, demographic and social changes.  And in addressing the provision of housing, the tendency has been to meet the needs of the ‘nuclear’ family. Other groups, such as the young, the unemployed, the socially excluded and those in ‘later life’, tend to be accommodated at the margins or by default. This is often satisfied through the planned provision of social and educational facilities, rather than being driven by the aspiration for a fully integrated society.

Planning and housing policy interconnect in the UK in a complex and confused way. Housing shortages, the lack of affordable housing, an aggressive geographical divide, widespread social exclusion, the rise of ‘generation rent’ and dysfunctional housebuilding practices all coexist as problems which planning policy is expected to solve.

Meanwhile the realities of 21st century life – such as the fragmentation of extended families due to employment opportunities and longer life expectancy – is creating a market for appropriate housing for older people. Planning for retirement housing has been described as the UK’s next housing crisis.

Planning for retirement housing

Research has pointed to demand for retirement housing increasing as older people (especially those with income, wealth, social networks and health) seek more appropriate accommodation for their later lives. And left to market forces, those in later life compete with first-time buyers for smaller properties.

Failure to downsize can exacerbate wider housing market pressures and create very real psychological and health costs for individuals. Planning has a role here – as shown by a recent Demos study demonstrating how better design of retirement accommodation can help to address the blight of loneliness in later life.

A recent report by Anchor – a not-for-profit provider of housing and care for older people – highlights the issues created by the absence of appropriate retirement housing provision. They argue for a National Task Force on retirement housing; exemption from stamp duty for retirement homes; and reform of the planning system (in England) to remove current disincentives to constructing appropriate numbers of retirement houses.

In terms of changes to planning, they suggest that local planning targets for retirement housing be introduced in local plans; that retirement homes projects be exempt from planning obligation provisions and that eligibility for the Community Infrastructure Levy be reviewed; and that retirement housing should be given the same priority status as affordable housing in development plans.

Similarly, a new All Party Parliamentary Group report on housing and care for older people, published in June this year, calls for a significant change in the focus of Government policy away from concentrating simply on support for first time buyers.

Planning as a symptom or the cause

We’ve written before on this blog about the need for planning to address the need for lifetime homes and age-friendly neighbourhoods. There’s also a lot of research going on into how housing and communities can be planned and designed to assist people with dementia.

Not everyone enjoys later life in the same way and there are considerable discrepancies and inequalities evident – often reflecting earlier life chances. While the planning system has a role to play in addressing these issues, we must recognise that it is a symptom of a wider failure to confront the needs of older life within society. There is a need for a respectful national conversation about how we address the public (social) and private realities of the modern economy.

This blog draws on an article by Professor Greg Lloyd (Ulster University & Wageningen University) published in Scottish Planning and Environmental Law Journal: Greg Lloyd (2016) Planning for later life. SPEL 175, pp50-51

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