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Market assessment of housing options for older people: a report for Shelter and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Authors:
- PANNELL Jenny, ALDRIDGE Hannah, KENWAY Peter
- Publisher:
- New Policy Institute
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 90p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This market assessment of older people’s housing in England examines both specialist retirement developments and mainstream housing suitable for people aged 55 years and above. Specialist housing is restricted to older people, and often has special design features and facilities, and usually some visiting or on-site support. Mainstream housing includes ‘ordinary’ housing (often the family home) and also housing considered more suitable for older people (such as bungalows) or with adaptations to suit older peoples’ needs. This study addresses 3 broad groups of questions: choice, availability and affordability; quality of life; and market impacts. It looks not only at the current situation, but also at projections forward to 2033. The report concludes that demographic changes require a change in the housing stock so that more homes are suitable for older people, be it specialist housing, lifetime homes or adapted homes. Analysis suggests that the size of the specialist housing stock will need to increase by anything between 35% and 70%. The housing market and constraints to public spending mean that it is unlikely that the growth in the specialist housing stock required will be achieved without some policy intervention. In addition, new developments need to diversify the specialist housing that is currently on offer.
Affordability of retirement housing in the UK
- Authors:
- ALDRIGE Hannah, KENWAY Peter, PANNELL Jenny
- Publisher:
- New Policy Institute
- Publication year:
- 2012
- Pagination:
- 46p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This report examines how the affordability of retirement housing affects the housing options available to older people. It considers whether retirement housing is likely only to be viable financially for richer people or for poorer people with access to benefits, and out of the reach of older people on low to moderate incomes. The study looked at the incomes, benefits and retirement housing living costs of people of pension age in the UK. Costs come under 3 categories: housing (rent, mortgage interest, service charges), housing related support (scheme manager, community alarm service) and care services. The findings show that the complexity of different eligibility and entitlement systems for state help with housing, housing-related support or home care make it difficult for those considering retirement housing to know if, and at what stage, they would receive any support. Not all low-income pensioners are fully and equally helped with retirement housing costs, because of tenure variations. Even pensioners with high incomes or savings may find retirement housing unaffordable because of potentially limitless care costs when savings exceed the threshold. It concludes that the uncertainty of managing increasing housing charges and care costs impacts across the income scale, although people renting privately and those with savings are the most vulnerable.