How to…meet the housing needs of older people

First a confession, being of a certain age this topic is relevant personally.

It is arguable that we face not one housing crisis but multiple crises, each with specific consequences in neighbourhoods, for demographic groups or by tenure.

One aspect of the debate is the homes needed for older people. This has several dimensions and sometimes can feel like older people are responsible for the housing woes of the nation.

The Office for National Statistics reports:

‘The population in 2016 was at its largest ever, at 65.6 million and projected to reach 74 million by 2039. While it is growing, improvements in healthcare and lifestyles mean the population is getting older; in 2016 in the UK, 18% of people were aged 65 and over, and 2.4% were aged 85 and over.

As a result of the ageing population, the old age dependency ratio (OADR) is increasing. The OADR is the number of people over 65 years old for every 1,000 people aged between 16 and 64 years old – in mid-2016 the UK’s OADR was 285. It is a useful measure to understand how the balance in the population will change, particularly when planning for the needs of the different age groups.’

This manifests itself in several ways. One is the highly pejorative term “bed blockers” referring to older people languishing in hospital because there is nowhere suitable for them to live, both in physical terms and where they can be assisted to live as independently as possible. Another is the demand for more personal and social support delivered in the community.

Given the way the population structure is evolving, more people are living longer but with increasingly complex needs. This creates a demand for support services delivered in a va

riety of settings, from their own homes to schemes with very sophisticated social, personal and medical support on hand.

It is very tempting to reduce the debate to statistics and broad categories which treats older people as a homogeneous group, whose needs and aspirations are defined by their age. It is language and thinking that would not be acceptable if applied to any other group of people.

Older people are as diverse as every group of the population in terms of wealth, health and aspirations. Whilst there may be some valid generalisations, it is patronising to assume that as a birthday approaches there is a necessary change in the housing needs of any individual and their household. This is clearly not the case.

A recent report suggested that whilst 25% of over 55s (people with over 10 years working life still to come) would consider downsizing or moving into retirement accommodation, only 2.6% of the homes in the UK were targeted at this group.

This addresses the wrong question. Rather than trying to build specific retirement communities the approach should be to build homes that older people want to live in, in neighbourhoods where they have ties and informal support networks. It is well recognised that not only are UK homes amongst the smallest in Europe the housing stock is also the oldest in Europe.

Downsizing from a family home to a smaller property, whilst theoretically a sensible choice, has multiple emotional and practical implications. These can range from room sizes that can accommodate treasured possessions, through space for visitors and to continue hobbies to access to a garden, terrace or balcony. Internal layout is crucial: this could be the absence of internal stairs or wider doors to assist mobility and generous bathrooms.

There is a place for specialist types of accommodation, no one can question that, and there are several models that offer a different perspective. For example, co-housing projects can combine independence and social interactions.

For people with complex needs there does need to be purpose-designed accommodation, but the question needs to be asked how to recognise that partners may have different needs but want to remain together.

Yes, this is an argument for building more homes: it is also an argument for building better homes.