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Older people’s housing: building for the future
There is an urgent need for older people’s housing, so why isn’t more being built and what can be done about it?
HEALTH, CARE & SUPPORT
Abdul A Ravat
Head of Development Abbeyfield Living Society, Chair of NHF’s Older Person Housing Group, Member of Housing & Ageing Alliance and Lead on Ageing Well for BME National
Abdul A Ravat
Head of Development Abbeyfield Living Society, Chair of NHF’s Older Person Housing Group, Member of Housing & Ageing Alliance and Lead on Ageing Well for BME National
Issue 75| December 2024
The majority of older people prefer to stay in their existing homes, but these homes often need significant upgrades. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are exploring how to use the £625 million disabled facilities grant to improve mobility and accessibility.
There are between 527,000 and 651,000 units of existing sheltered housing stock in the UK, much of which is outdated. Financial incentives are needed to upgrade this stock to meet future needs as there is very little support. This is a big issue that we have been exploring with Lord Best and the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Housing and Care for Older People.
The Mayhew Review suggested we need 50,000 new older people’s homes to be built each year. However based on research for the National Housing Federation’s (NHF) Older Person Housing group, between April 2022 to March 2024 just 5,790 homes for older people were actually delivered. Even against the conservative target of 30,000 per annum from the APPG, this is disappointing.
Furthermore, barely 500 homes have come forward through Homes England’s Strategic Partners, which have received circa 80% of the total Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) funding. This represents system failure, the consequences of which will be felt for many people and for a prolonged period in the future.
number of new older people's homes that need to be built each year, according to the Mayhew Review
number of new homes for older people that were delivered between April 2022 and March 2024
Private sector interest
The supply-demand dynamics have attracted private sector interest, with growth in Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs) like Inspired Villages. Discussions are ongoing about creating tenure mixes in these developments, potentially involving grant funding from Homes England and the Greater London Authority to foster community diversity.
Public-private partnerships can help secure new funding opportunities. Historically, the complexity of grant funding has deterred new entrants, but collaboration between housing associations and the private sector can overcome these challenges.
For-profit providers can use institutional investment topped up with grant funding to create affordable housing with social impact. This approach requires ensuring no grant funding leaks into other businesses. Collaboration with local housing associations helps manage the stock long-term.
Obstacles to delivery
Planning and use case classifications – whether something is a C1 or a C2 (or even a nuanced C2-and-a-half) – are problematic. Local authorities are often unclear about housing needs. We have constant quibbles with local authorities around Section 106 for instance.
There are ways to mitigate these planning issues. We’ve undertaken things like Planning Performance Agreements with the local authority, which I believe are a much better and a less confrontational approach.
There are also issues around Housing Need Assessments. The Older People’s Housing Taskforce recommends local authorities take some ownership of these. (Read the taskforce's final report here.)
Developers often shy away from older people’s schemes due to distinctions between care and extra care. Funding needs to align with changing health, housing, and care needs and a national conversation around revenue support and capital intervention is necessary.
How the new government can help
Key asks for me and the NHF from the new government include:
- Immediate action to provide adequate housing for our ageing population. Failing to meet this need will strain health and social care systems, while addressing it through new supply and regeneration will improve older people’s health and wellbeing.
- Integration of older people’s housing into long-term housing plans.
- Earmarking capital funding and adequate rent settlements for developing and regenerating older people’s housing.
- Focusing on regeneration on par with new builds.
- Appointing a dedicated minister or commissioner for later living to coordinate efforts across departments to put people first.
The message is clear that if this problem is not addressed now, it will only get worse.
The wider debate
Creating more affordable housing for older people frees up existing homes for young people and families.
As older people face financial challenges, especially in the private rental sector, there needs to be a conversation about the role of family and community support. People will have specific and diverse needs, but there can’t be the expectation that family members will take in older relatives and care for them.
There are some reasons for optimism, with diverse communities coming together to create new provision, such as Housing 21’s co-housing scheme in Birmingham supporting the Bengali community. In my role at the NHF I showed the Taskforce to Agudas Israel and North London Muslim Housing Associations, two very distinct faith-based housing organisations, delivering some amazing outcomes for their communities.
The old assumptions that people from certain social minority groups look after their parents and grandparents at home and in the community is an oversimplification. They can no longer be expected that extended families can take on the sole responsibility for their relatives, increasingly with dementia as they themselves grapple with the demands of contemporary modern life.
What we need is a funding system, a regulatory system, a grant system, and a care system that enables provision to come forward rather than stifling innovation. Above all, we need more players at the table.
“The old assumptions that people from certain social minority groups look after their parents and grandparents at home and in the community is an oversimplification.”
