Action on housing
The UK’s population is rapidly ageing, and the implications – economically, socially and politically – are huge. And one of the biggest of these is where (and how) we house our ever-ageing population, many of whom will have restricted mobility or specific care or support needs.
We believe that the lack of a suitable housing supply in the right locations means that significant opportunities to improve the health and wellbeing of older people… and reduce public expenditure on health and care… are being missed.
Further, the current energy crisis is highlighting the problem that so many elderly people have in keeping their home warm and dry when it is poorly insulated, draughty or subject to damp. The failure to adequately adapt and repair the existing homes of older people represents a huge missed opportunity to improve the health and wellbeing of a large swathe of the population and reduce public expenditure in the process.
In fact, meeting the housing needs of older people would actually represent a national opportunity: the key to better care, fewer (and shorter) hospital stays and a more integrated society. Instead, older people regularly find themselves being criticised for not downsizing, or holding onto the nation’s housing assets.
Blaming older people for the country’s housing crisis is not only discriminatory but also demonstrably untrue: the problem is far more deep-rooted and borne of decades of undersupply against a background of a rising population. Research by WPI Economics and Homes for Later Living estimates that three million older people would like to downsize, yet only about 7,000 new retirement properties are built each year. We hope, with members’ input, to develop a shared policy on housing which we can campaign on. As a starter, The Housing Champions Network, appointed by Care & Repair England, has generated a “manifesto” of the actions which would go a long way towards ensuring older people can live independently as long as possible in homes that are safe, warm, comfortable and accessible.
Get involved
To contribute towards the AAA’s Housing Action policy plans or to see your blogs, papers, research or news on these pages, email: info@theageactionalliance.org
The Age Action Alliance is supported by
Latest News
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Shortage of the right size homes “has left too many older people in unsuitable housing that can harm their health”
New analysis by ILC UK confirms significant numbers of older adults are stuck in homes larger than they need – with little to tempt them to move.
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Taxpayers pay more for annual maintenance of Houses of Parliament than rest of country’s homes combined
A new report, from the Centre for Ageing Better and the Healthier Housing Partnership, details for the first time the decline in government funding for home improvement support over the past decade.
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Older people get their say at forthcoming Retirement Housing Conference
With the retirement housing sector continuing to struggle to find ways to meet the massive untapped potential of specialist housing, older consumers themselves will get their chance to put forward solutions at the forthcoming Laing & Buisson Retirement Housing Conference, being held in London on Wednesday 27 September.
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Four million older people unable to move home because of the lack of suitable alternatives
One in five older people in the UK is trapped in their current home because of a shortage of suitable alternatives, new research commissioned by the Centre for Ageing Better reveals.
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Housing 21 completes England’s largest “net zero volumetric” retirement living scheme
Built offsite at M-AR’s factory in Hull, the scheme adopts “low carbon specification” to meet the Future Homes Standard and 2050 net zero targets.
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Age UK launches new support programme for older LGBT+ veterans
Age UK launches new support programme for older LGBT+ veterans
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Upcoming webinar explores the health and social benefits of homesharing
If you’d like to know more about the financial, wellbeing and intergenerational benefits of homesharing, then why not drop into a webinar being hosted by AAA members Two Generations on Tuesday July 11 2023 at 10:00 am.
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Let’s talk: AI innovators looking for housing and care collaborators to build cohesive communities and combat isolation
If you’re intrigued about the opportunities for positive change that Artificial Intelligence could deliver, here’s an opportunity to be on board with an exciting new project funded by UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge.
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Charities and housing providers respond to Budget
This was, we were told, a Budget aimed at achieving growth and getting older people back to work. Will it succeed? And, as well as what was IN the Budget, what was left out? The votes are in from AAA members Age UK, Independent Age, Anchor Housing and The Centre for Ageing Better.
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Lives at risk because of the dilapidated state of older people’s housing
Older people in Wales are facing a housing crisis: Care & Repair Cymru’s new report looks at the challenges, causes and solutions to a threat targeting our oldest homeowners.
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Housing to span the generations
Could the reimagining of a concept that goes back over a thousand years provide part of the solution to the severe housing and care problems facing Britain’s ageing population? AAA member Bob Durie OBE, having spent a lifetime in property, is looking to help pilot a new intergenerational housing project that he believes will do…
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A Festival of Ideas at the virtual Housing LIN Summit 2023
Anyone interested in the later life housing sector will want to log onto “The Housing LIN Summit 2023 – A Festival of Ideas” which takes place from 27 February through to 3 March, and brings together leading figures from across the housing, health, social care and technology industries.
Latest blogs & comments
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Older people: making our case to the Older People’s Housing Taskforce
AAA members The Older People’s Housing Champions have been having their say on what the Government’s taskforce should be recommending. By Tony Watts OBE
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Providing health care, social care, community support and housing for older people: a good practice model
Some thirty years ago, writes Peter Dale, the Rye Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital in East Sussex was threatened with closure. Today, it is an example of what can be achieved by a combination of professional collaboration, community involvement and a willingness to “join the dots” between services.
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Celebrating the reciprocal benefits of homesharing
Caroline Cooke, director at CIC Share and Care Homeshare, describes the valuable contributions that both younger and older people bring to intergenerational living arrangements… and the reciprocal benefits.
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“Nothing about us without us.” Yeah, right.
The “taskforce to transform older people’s housing” has been announced… with not one older person on it. If this isn’t ageist, what is? asks Tony Watts OBE.
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Building stronger communities through intergeneration shared living
By bringing together people from different backgrounds and generations, a UK charity is playing its part in creating a more inclusive, caring and sustainable society.
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If Inclusive Design is “good for everyone”, why is it so hard to achieve?
We all know the theory, says Joan Rutherford, Chair of the National Network of Older People’s Housing Champions. “An inclusive / accessible environment is good for everyone.” So why. in practice, do we so often just pay lip service to those with mobility issues – including our ageing population? After the “inclusive” London Olympic Games…
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Changing perceptions: older people fast becoming the renting generation
Greater choice in later life housing is critical if the ageing population is to be able to live independently in their own home for as long as they wish. Choice of tenure is part of that equation, including renting on an assured tenancy in a location of your choosing, writes Gemma Vincent of My Future…
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The future is intergenerational: the impacts and benefits of intergenerational living in retirement
A society that is living longer, writes Charlotte Millions of The Extra Care Trust, brings its own set of challenges, and demands that we adapt and become smarter… making the importance of intergenerational relationships ever more apparent. Intergenerational living is one way in which this can be achieved: the United for All Ages think tank…
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The role of housing in meeting the challenge of dementia
In West Yorkshire, a dedicated task force is building an understanding of older people’s housing and care needs with the aim of keeping them in their own homes for longer, writes Yvonne Castle, CEO of Johnny Johnson Housing
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How intergenerational living can support independence in the home
For many older people, writes Justin Dewhirst of Two Generations, one of their most important wishes is to live in their own home for as long as possible. Sharing their home with a younger person is one way to do just that.
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Solution of the week: home adaptations sooner rather than later
As we age, write ILC UK, most of us are likely to need to adapt our homes to make them easier for us to navigate. Simple adaptations to the home can keep us independent for longer.
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Housing an ageing population: the consumer’s perspective
Tony Watts OBE gave a presentation to a Housing LIN “Festival of Ideas” conference on 27 February, 2023: this is a blog version of that talk.