Property leaders have welcomed the publication, this week, of the Government’s independent report from the Older People’s Housing Taskforce, which sets out plans to bolster the retirement living market.

Key recommendations in the taskforce report include:

• Plans for a new national strategy for an ageing population
• Reform of the current planning system including:

– Revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to strengthen the need for older people’s housing, with language that gives significant weight to the urgency of provision

– A planning presumption in favour of new developments for older people’s housing

– Proper assessments of housing need for older people

– Measures to address the viability restraints that impact the delivery of new retirement schemes

• Expand the role of Homes England including:

– Set a target of 10% of delivery through the Affordable Homes Programme for older people’s housing

– Review and expand funding for the Older People’s Shared Ownership (OPSO) scheme run by Homes England for people who are unable to afford the full price of a new retirement property

– Agree national definitions of housing for later life and establish new national information and advice services to build consumer understanding, including greater transparency around fees and charges

A unique opportunity

John Tonkiss, chief executive of retirement community developer and manager, McCarthy Stone, said of the announcement: “This report is the blueprint for providing the safe, secure, accessible, and affordable housing that our rapidly-ageing population needs.

“Millions of older people are unable to move from their existing homes into something better suited to their needs because there are so few options for them to move to.

“This blocks the housing ladder, creates issues in the NHS and social care system, and stymies economic investment.

“The Government has a unique opportunity to address years of undersupply in the retirement community sector if it chooses to implement these recommendations and meet the estimated demand for 30,000-50,000 new retirement properties a year, up from just 7,000 currently.”

But he added: “While we welcome the report’s publication, we now need to see urgent action.

“We look forward to working with Ministers to make this happen.”

The taskforce was set up by the previous government and reported earlier this year, although its report has only now been published.

Currently there are nearly 13 million older people in the UK and this figure is expected to grow by a further five million in the next 20 years.

Relieving the pressure

Tonkiss said: “The retirement housing sector faces various challenges that limits its growth, including planning, affordability, rising build costs, stamp duty, and a lack of incentives to help older people move.

“But figures show that around three million older people would consider retirement housing at some point in their retirement.

“Retirement living communities keep people healthier and happier and, we believe, alive for longer, saving money for the NHS and care system that is continually under pressure.”

WPI Economics estimates that retirement living communities deliver a saving to health services of around £3,500 per resident, per year.

And, with hospitals increasingly struggling to discharge patients back into the community, new retirement housing is part of the answer to the social care crisis.

“There is also a big benefit to the housing market,” said Tonkiss.

“Customers typically downsize from a three- or four-bedroom home and, when they move, a younger family often moves into their previous home, and then frequently a first-time buyer purchases their previous home.”

A knock-on effect

Speaking to Healthcare Property, Victoria Thourgood, head of corporate real estate at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, who heads up the later living practice, adds: “Tackling the acute shortage in appropriate housing for older people is an urgent priority, which will not only ensure we have sufficient affordable age-friendly accommodation, but should have the knock-on positive effect of freeing up other housing stock, helping people to get on to and climb the property ladder.

“This report, therefore, offers a tantalising opportunity to begin building the foundations of a housing strategy that addresses the needs of all our population.

“In particular, the taskforce’s recommendation to set a target of 10% of affordable housing being earmarked for later living is a crucial intervention, given that currently 3% of new homes are developed as senior housing at a time when we’re hurtling towards a quarter of the UK population will be aged 65-plus by 2040.

“Tweaks to the planning system can also help to ramp up development at the necessary scale, while helping to keep town and city centres vibrant with footfall as retail use wanes.

“A sharpened focus on bringing senior housing to market at lower price points by exploring more-flexible designs and construction methods, expanding shared ownership schemes into later living, and offering financial incentives such as a capped stamp duty for ‘rightsizing’ reflects the innovative thinking that will be required to move this forward.

“Nine in 10 of retirement housing residents are previous homeowners, yet age-friendly accommodation must also be accessible to those who don’t have property capital.

“Adequate funding for support and care provision also needs addressing.

“While these recommendations may help to address the structural issues that prevent large-scale integrated retirement communities from being developed, we also need to balance this with challenges at the other end of the scale to develop a skilled workforce of carers.

“More thinking is also needed on the cultural barriers to the concept of downsizing and ‘rightsizing’ in the UK, which lags behind countries like the US and Canada in normalising this practice.

“A wider conversation must take place within the social care sector, in collaboration with others, about how we improve the attractiveness of the integrated retirement community offer so that it becomes a no-brainer for people entering their later years.”