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It is time we stopped talking about ‘age-appropriate’ housing and started building it

A new report highlights a ‘surplus’ of bedrooms in homes inhabited by people over 65. But David Orr argues that our obsession with size stops us building the right homes for older people

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Our irrational obsession with bedroom numbers is preventing us from delivering the right kind of housing for older people, says @DavidOrrCBE #UKhousing

It is time we stopped talking about ‘age-appropriate’ housing and started building it - @DavidOrrCBE argues for a new approach #UKhousing

According to a recent report from the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, “there are more than 15 million ‘surplus’ bedrooms in the UK”. The report goes on to say: “Nearly 60% of surplus bedrooms are in households inhabited by people over 65… moving them to age-appropriate housing would mean 50,000 fewer homes need to be built each year.”

Once again our irrational obsession with bedrooms rears its ugly head. The very worst of this obsession led to the imposition of the bedroom tax. We can’t now allow it to be used to define housing policy. Would you rather live in a home with floorspace of 52sqm and three tiny bedrooms, or one with 100sqm but only one bedroom?

And how many ‘surplus’ bedrooms are actually used as work rooms, study rooms or for accommodating the grandchildren when they come to visit, or for myriad other purposes? The use of spurious statistical formulae really doesn’t help calculate this.

And then there’s the term ‘age-appropriate housing’. Do we have age-appropriate housing for every decade of our lives? At what age does it become inappropriate? Or is it just another way of marginalising older people? To send us all off into our retirement villages – out of sight, out of mind.

I shouldn’t be too harsh. There are some real and pressing issues in the report. There is, for example, absolutely no doubt that we need a lot more high-quality extra care and other homes specifically designed for older people.

Some older people want to live with other people their age, in places where they feel safe and have access to support as and when they may require it. And there is equally no doubt that many older people are living in homes that have become far too big for them, homes that are a constant source of worry rather than comfort.

So, let’s agree that having more retirement housing would be useful and that some older people would like to move to a smaller new home.

Now let’s consider what people actually want. All the evidence shows that most older people don’t want to live in a retirement village and would rather be in the community, surrounded by people of all ages. Most want to live in the home where their families grew up and where they feel secure and comfortable.

But many also know that their home doesn’t feel safe any longer, that there are necessary repairs they can’t afford, that it’s become incredibly expensive to heat. We know that a disproportionate number of older people live in homes classed as non-decent and that this proportion rises with age. People over 75 are more likely than anyone else to live in non-decent homes, with more than one in five of these households living in a non-decent home.

We must do better than this. One of the reasons that people don’t move is that they do not find the alternatives very attractive. Why would they if all that is available feels small, dark, unpleasant or separated from the rest of society? Is that really the best we can do?

We know that as people age the change they are most likely to make to their home is to make it lighter, so let’s ensure our homes are light. We know that people want homes where they can afford to stay warm in winter and cool in summer, so we need energy efficiency. As mobility begins to fail, some people use walking aids and wheelchairs, so let’s have homes that minimise trip hazards and are accessible.

The bottom line: if your home is accessible for a wheelchair it’s accessible for everyone else.

“One of the reasons that people don’t move is that they do not find the alternatives very attractive. Why would they if all that is available feels small, dark, unpleasant or separated from the rest of society?”

We are social beings. This doesn’t stop as we age, although many people become trapped in homes which lead to social isolation. So we need homes that have space – space to live, relax, entertain and play. That includes outdoor space, too. We all need access to the outside world, no matter our age.

If we have learned anything at all about our homes during the COVID-19 lockdown, it is that digital connectivity has helped us to keep in touch and stay connected. We have made a big mistake talking of social distancing. We’ve all been trying hard to stay socially close and connected while being physically separated.

Space, light, flexibility, freedom to move around without worrying about falling, energy efficiency, access to outdoor space, opportunities for social connection, digital connectivity as standard – if that was the offer, I think we’d see plenty of people swapping their old family homes for a new home that really meets their needs.

Oh, a bedroom or two would also be nice.

David Orr, associate director for homes, Centre for Ageing Better

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