Housing

Age UK is working to ensure that housing policies recognise the needs of an ageing population. This means improvements in mainstream housing to allow more of us to live independently in our own homes as we get older. We also want older people to have a wider range of housing choices available, particularly through the development of affordable retirement housing.

Latest news - older people's housing

Age UK produces a monthly policy and research update aimed at professionals, where you can find summaries and links to recent reports and information.

Recent publications and reports

Here are a selection of housing reports and documents published by Age UK.

Housing design policy (PDF 120KB)

opens link in new window Retirement housing policy (PDF 38KB)

opens link in new window Older homelessness policy (PDF 144KB)

opens link in new window Older people's experience of renting privately (PDF 2MB)

opens link in new window Housing choice for older people (PDF 431KB)

When policy makers think about housing, the needs of people in later life are often ignored or seen as a marginal issue related to specialist housing. This is despite government figures which show that half the expected increase in households up to 2026 will come from people in later life, meaning an additional 2.4 million older households. The majority of these will live in ordinary mainstream housing. The housing decisions we make now will have profound implications for future generations. Age UK is working in partnership with the Housing and Ageing Alliance (HAA) to ensure the needs of older people are fully recognised.

Housing and Ageing: the Big Issue, HAA brochure (PDF 400KB)

Homelessness and housing poverty

Age UK has campaigned on older homelessness, over many years, to reduce the numbers of older people forced to sleep rough or to live in poor and insecure temporary accommodation.

Alongside the Housing Associations Charitable Trust (HACT) and Crisis, Age UK established the Coalition on Older Homelessness. Our conclusions and recommendations around services for older homeless people were set out in our report 'Surviving at the Margins' (PDF 73KB). We will continue to press for Government action to reduce and prevent older homelessness.

Age UK is concerned about the growing inequalities in older people's access to affordable housing. We are particularly concerned about reforms to housing benefit ( see briefing paper (PDF 128KB)) and the impact they are having on vulnerable older people.

Accessible housing - lifetime homes

We need new affordable homes that are well designed and easy to adapt. Age UK is a member of a partnership of charities working together to ensure all new housing is designed with an ageing population in mind. Further details are available at the Lifetime Homes website.

We support further investment in essential housing support services to alleviate poor and inaccessible housing conditions. Home adaptations and repairs increase independence, help to prevent falls, reduce length of stays in hospital and delay care home admission. Despite this many older and disabled people wait years for basic improvements that could dramatically improve their lives and make providing care much easier. Age UK is working with the Home Adaptations Consortium to raise awareness of the issues and improve policy and practice.

Sheltered and retirement housing

There are very urgent challenges to improve the housing choices available to all of us as we get older. Although most of us choose to stay in general-purpose housing, for some, retirement housing offers a better and more managable option and may provide an alternative to residential care.

Age UK has set up an inquiry into sheltered and retirement housing, with a representative panel of older residents examining the issues they would like to see addressed by policy makers.

Rented housing

The majority of us are homeowners, but many older people continue to live in rented accommodation, and this is likely to increase. Although we have seen some progress on measures to tackle poor conditions in mainstream social housing there are still serious problems for those living in the private rented accommodation which need urgent attention.