The Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee has launched
an inquiry into whether the housing on offer in England for older
people is sufficiently available and suitable for their needs.
The CLG Committee inquiry follows research which indicates
pensioners are stuck in oversized properties worth £820bn.
The CLG Committee’s inquiry is launched to a backdrop of
significant housing shortages, rising numbers of older people,
pressures on adult social care and with just 2% of the country’s
housing stock designed with pensioners in mind.
MP, Chair of the Communities
and Local Government Committee, said: “Many
pensioners may be interested in downsizing, but many are
restricted from doing so by a lack of suitable options. As a
Committee we want to examine what Government and local
authorities can do to help expand housing supply for older people
and ensure pensioners can live independent and fulfilling lives.
Given the rising number of older people in England, there appears
to be a glaring hole both in the housing market and in the way
that authorities plan for the housing needs of older people.
Getting this right could help to ease the housing shortage and
improve well-being and reduce isolation for older people”.
Government efforts to boost home building and home ownership
focus on first time buyers and younger generations. However, some
argue that boosting the delivery of specialist retirement housing
would free up homes currently under-occupied by older people.
Official data show that 8.1m properties, or 35pc of all homes in
the country, are “under-occupied”, which is defined as having at
least two spare bedrooms. The Legal & General and Centre for
Economic and Business Research study, published in
June 2015, claimed that if all of the 3.3m over-55s who are
looking to downsize could find suitable homes, the shift would
unlock 18pc of the country’s property market, worth £820bn.
Households headed by someone aged 65 or over are projected to
increase by 155,000 per year, about three quarters (74 per cent)
of total household growth up to 2039.
The Committee is seeking evidence, to be submitted via its
website by Friday 24 March 2017, on the following points:
• The
adequacy of provision of homes for older people and the
challenges people face in accessing housing which meets their
needs.
• The
adequacy of current planning policy and Government initiatives in
England in meeting the housing needs of older people
• Whether
more housing designed specifically for older people could help
address England’s wider housing needs
• The
extent to which improving specialist housing provision in England
could improve people’s health and wellbeing, and deliver savings
in public expenditure
• The
availability of finance to help older people ‘right size’ in
retirement, and the impact of the cap on Housing Benefit from
April 2017 on the development of specialist housing.
• Whether
a national strategy for the support of housing provision
specifically for older people is needed
The Committee is expected to begin the public evidence sessions
for this inquiry in April.
Editor’s Notes:
1. In June 2015, Legal
& General and the Centre for Economic and Business Research
published a study quantified
the size of Great Britain’s “Last Time Buyer”. The study found
that there are 3.3 million last time buyer1 households across
Great Britain, with a combined 7.7m spare bedrooms – equivalent
to 2.6 million three bedroom houses. The study found that
properties owned by LTBs are worth a total of £820 billion or 18%
of GB’s property market, and is projected to reach £1.2 trillion
in value by 20203.
2. Households headed by
someone aged 65 or over are projected to increase by 155,000 per
year, about three quarters (74 per cent) of total household
growth up to 2039 – source DCLG housing
statistics
