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More over-65 downsizing needed to help fix UK housing crisis
Researchers have said the government must increase the proportion of housing stock that is for people of retirement age and encourage those over 65 in properties with surplus bedrooms to downsize in order to tackle housing shortages.
A report published by The Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation estimated there are more than 15 million “surplus” bedrooms in the UK and this number is expected to reach 20 million by 2040, with nearly 13 million over-65s living in unsuitable households.
Bedroom surplus is defined as a household where there is more than one bedroom per person, according to the report launched by Cass Business School and the Associated Retirement Community Operators (ARCO).
Nearly 60% of surplus bedrooms lie in households inhabited by people over 65 and enabling them to move to age-appropriate housing would mean that 50,000 fewer homes need be built each year. The government’s target is to reach an average of 300,000 new homes a year by 2025.
But according to the research, only 2.5% of the UK’s 29 million dwellings are defined as retirement housing and the stock is heavily skewed towards houses with three or more bedrooms.
“Such low provision is harmful not only for older people, but our country as a whole,” the report noted.
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It outlined a raft of measures which it said will support efforts to free up homes with unused bedrooms, such as:
- Requiring local authorities to have a plan for retirement housing, including identifying appropriate sites
- Offering ‘last-time’ buyers stamp duty exemptions in line with first-time buyers with property purchases of up to £300,000 nil-banded
- The government should promote benefits of downsizing and incentivise people to do so before social care is needed, instead of sending mixed messaging about selling homes to pay for social care
Professor Les Mayhew, author of the report, said: “If more family homes were freed up by downsizing the benefits would cascade down the housing ladder because it would enable families to ‘upsize’, allowing more first-time buyers on to the bottom rung.
“More efficient use of the existing stock would reduce pressure to ‘just build more’ as a solution to the UK’s housing shortage.”
Michael Voges, executive director at ARCO, said: “The UK’s lack of supply of housing with care means that many older people spend more time in hospitals than they need to and have few choices if they wish to move to more appropriate housing.
“This lack of alternatives comes at great cost to the NHS and social care sector and exacerbates the social care crisis. A transformation in housing provision would also allow hundreds of thousands more older people to live healthier, happier and more independent lives.”
