Lack of homes for older people prevents vital downsizing

The failure to build enough retirement housing will lead to a surplus of 13m spare bedrooms in the homes of empty-nesters by 2040 while young people remain trapped in overcrowded accommodation, according to an independent report into housing for older people.

The report, commissioned by the retirement community trade body ARCO, said that the lack of available housing tailor made for older people prevented them from downsizing, thereby limiting the availability of family homes for the young.

It said an average of just 7,000 homes designed for older people are built each year, compared to a demographic need for 18,000. Less than 3% of the housing stock – 750,000 homes – is designed to cater for older people, equivalent to less than one in ten older households.

The report, carried out by the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI), said the ageing society meant that the growth in older households – over half of which are one-person – was on course to make up 36% of the total growth in households.

Against an estimated stock of 82m bedrooms in UK houses, the report found that 6.6m were ”spare” rooms in the homes of those aged over 65, a figure which will double to 12.8m by 2040 on current trends.

Jane Fuller, co-director of the CSFI, said the over-65s had been “the driving force for population growth” for decades, and that with older people are more likely to live alone or in couples, the UK’s housing stock of largely family homes with three or more bedrooms, was quickly becoming “unfit for purpose.”

She said: “Surveys have found that up to a third of older people like the idea [of downsizing], but only a small fraction actually does so. There is too little choice.”

Michael Voges, executive director of ARCO, said the benefits of providing more housing for older people will be felt by all generations, but that the rapidly ageing population meant “we have a small and closing window to transform housing for older people.”

The report’s findings were backed by insurance giant L&G, which has set up its own “later living” development arm (pictured, right). Nigel Wilson, L&G chief executive, said people of all ages needed better housing choices. He said: “We know there is strong demand for the right sort of housing for later life living, with great design, supportive communities and good access to friends, family and facilities. Housing policy now needs to catch up with the demands and opportunities of our ageing demographic.”

Last month care minister Helen Whately praised retirement community operators for their “phenomenal” work during the coronavirus pandemic, while retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone earlier today claimed its communities (pictured, top, left) had kept older people safer than average during lockdown.

Two-thirds of existing housing for older people is run by charities, with much of the rest operated by local authorities for those with social housing tenancies. Private sector retirement communities account for just 12% of the total – a fraction of 1% of the total UK housing stock.