Could later living be the answer to the housing crisis?

Public engagement

“In order to begin leading the way in the evolution of sustainable communities, planning policies need to be simplified and the language used modified to correct perceptions of later living. Both elements involve a flexible approach towards public engagement, a change in expectations and clear possibilities, as well as a collaborative approach across the sector, all looking to the future to make the incremental changes across the industry. Communication, education and conversations like those had within the Shakespeare Martineau roundtables fuels the fire needed to positively disrupt the system.”

Language

“I wouldn’t live in ‘retirement housing’ if you paid me. I’m 76 and still working! Working in the cohousing sector, I would not call it retirement living as ‘retirement living’ means to many older people that they are turning their toes up and losing their autonomy. It makes them think of 19th century poorhouses and outdated welfare models that patronise older people. The retirement age goes up every year so it’s no surprise people don’t think it’s for them. Plus, there are really negative connotations to this language; instead we should perhaps be labelling it as later living.”

Shouting about the benefits

“People do look to cling to their homes, despite the fact it is going to disable them as years go by. Often people are adamant they are not going to move, but then crisis strikes. People shouldn’t be going up the stairs on their hands and knees or be unable to use their baths. People need to know there is a better life available to them.”

Masterplanning

“Later living use class would be revolutionary for the sector and a specific target assigned to delivery would be a game-changer.

“We need leadership from town planning that will produce more diverse housing suitable for first and last-time buyers.”

Influence of affluence

“Money is a major component. Those fortunate enough to have a property worth £300,000+ are likely to be able to afford to right-size and enjoy equity release. However, those in properties closer to £150,000 are not going to have the same opportunities, based on the value of stock currently being delivered. Location is also a factor; there is a lot more choice of later living in the South East compared to the North East, for example.”

Market failure

“We can and should be showing people the way and demonstrating positive examples, but the fact of the matter is that right now there is a market failure in the UK to supply appropriate housing to meet the needs of society.”

Need for knowledge

“We recently launched a new scheme and of the 500 older people who identified as under occupying locally, we got 30 people wanting to move. We were really pleased with this result and we found that just showing what is on offer and talking through the benefits and how the process works was enough of an incentive to move. People don’t know what’s out there – they still confuse later living with care homes – but that isn’t apparent to people unless they know the systems.”

Potential for succession

“There is a scheme locally where developers are building 2, 3 and four-bedroomed homes as part of a new community with a shop and a primary school. However, only young people will be in those houses as there is no designated later living schemes. There is also no mention about transport and accessibility on the estate as a whole, minimising connection.

“There needs to be a holistic approach to master planning to allow multiple generations with the same scheme, which has the potential for succession. As people continue to live longer, this will become more of a regular occurrence, especially around connection to a place and community.”

Telling people’s stories

“We need to think more about the diversity of later living schemes. We should be looking at subsections – the LGBTQ+ community, BAME, for example – and how they are likely to be received to make sure we are provided a great sense of community. We do get hate crime and people feel ostracised.

“It’s really about marketing and showcasing people’s personalities who live in our properties, highlighting that their health has improved. We could encourage them to tell their story so others can understand the value of these buildings. For example, someone moved into one of our properties at 79, transitioned and become Sandra at 80 – they were warmly embraced and their life has been improved massively because they felt like they could be themselves in that community.”

 Perceptions of old age

“Those of us working in the sector on a daily basis need to work harder on changing people’s perceptions on what it means to be old. Most don’t think of older people as being very active, whereas many lead active fulfilled lives.”

 Sense of belonging

“We have found that minority ethnic groups are very under represented in Extra Care schemes. During meetings with one Extra Care Housing provider it was suggested that as some apartments were vacant, they could be offered at a reduced rate for a week or two to people from under-represented communities so that they could see for themselves the benefits of Extra Care Housing and whether or not the lifestyle and facilities would suit them. However, on another occasion when we took a group of around 12 individuals and couples from the Asian community to visit an Extra Care scheme they said that they didn’t feel like they belonged as the setting and the people were so different to them. A sense of belonging is so important to people within any scheme or development.”

Creating more options

“There are attractive later living options available if you’re affluent and also if you qualify for affordable housing. However, for those who fall into neither bracket, there are very few choices.

“We are now seeing more people in mid to later life choosing to rent apartments in build to rent schemes in urban centres, more so than in the traditional lettings market. This demonstrates the attractiveness of onsite management, good customer service and security of tenure.

“Design and location preferences will vary depending on the surrounding location and user experience; some people may want a loft style apartment in a city centre, others may prefer village life and favour a cottage-style development – you can’t put everyone in the same design box simply because of their age.

“We need more options as we get older, which comes through in the data; 28% are completely put off because they don’t want to live in an age-segregated development, so I believe the way forward is through delivering mixed communities of all ages.

“To do this we’ll need developers and providers working together to deliver intergenerational schemes that provide real choice. This starts with master-planning and co-ordination at a top level, with master developers creating links between housing associations, investment funds and local authorities.”

Better policy

“Making homes accessible and suitable for ageing in place needs to be policy driven. There are many benefits of later living and intergenerational schemes, such as bringing in mixed communities and therefore mixed economic spend, enhanced social value opportunities, and savings for the NHS through allowing people to live independently for longer.”

Fixation with ownership

“Sadly, we are a country fixated on home ownership. I’m left exasperated when I see and hear that people - and their families - expect a retirement home to go up in value. The benefits from this type of asset shouldn’t be about wealth generation but the lifestyle benefits and benefits to health and wellbeing – we need to get this point across better. There are examples where the return on a later living property is like for like against the original purchase price and this model works; perhaps it could be rolled out at scale.”

More considered marketing

“Our research does show some interesting differences between men and women, with women prioritising space for socialising and being close to family, more than men. Stereotypically, we would say women are the decision makers in the home, but I’d like to see research that drills into these behaviours more so this can influence marketing tactics and messages.

“We also know there is a window of opportunity to convince more people when they are aged 45-55 as they are more likely to be undecided about later living. Not only would this be targeting them to plan for the future, but also consider later living options for their ageing parents.”

Getting marketing right

“There is definitely some work to be done on the marketing of retirement schemes – we’re targeting 50+ and for many people this is too young. Realistically we are targeting this age group to think about their parents, but I don’t think this is clear enough in the messaging and families are so important in decision making.

“It’s interesting that for some older people they have a clear idea of what they don’t want – such as open plan living – but when they actually see it and experience how adaptable it is, they want it.”

Who are we targeting

“I’m curious about who the industry is trying to educate and how you define what that looks like. For example how does the view of a ‘typical’ house vary. Who are we trying to educate here? Who are you trying to reach with it? Where do politics come into play?”

Meeting the full lifecycle

“I find it baffling that we are not building future-proofed homes that meet the full life cycle need. We know there is an ageing population, but we’re just not prepared for it and we don’t have the variety to suit the varying needs and wants of older people now and in the near future.

“We are very focussed on first-time buyers, but what about a ‘help to right-size’ scheme to support people to obtain that next purchase?”

Visualising the future

“In our research we know people have a hard time visualising something different to the housing model they are used to and are quick to reject something unfamiliar. But if we can show people through open houses and virtual reality the benefits and flexibility of later living they may be able to better see themselves in this future scenario.

“I’d like to see research into the costs to society and local authorities for not rightsizing and not building accessible, appropriate housing for older people. If we could figure out in pounds and pence the cost to the NHS and social value that would be a huge motivator for local authorities and truly demonstrate the value of later living schemes.”

Collaboration is key

“There isn’t necessarily one aspect that will drive the solutions for the later living sector but the sum of parts, the key elements of which will be a much more collaborative approach between stakeholders and intermediaries, an education piece with end users and a more holistic approach to town planning. We need to create sustainable communities that include later living provision that avoids segregation and isolation. The supply and tenure options in the later living industry need to be explored further, and I would like to see affluence a less determining factor in respect of access to later living accommodation.”

Real world testing

“As well as design choice we need to offer choice of tenures and work with end users within a variety of markets – from social housing to private sector – to understand the needs of these different groups and work collaboratively across the sector and across tenure types.

“Real world testing enables you to harness data, innovate products based on genuine need, and build demands and a narrative around this too. We should use this to lead marketing and also influence policy to unlock the market.”

Flexibility is key

“We can do a lot more to influence the design of new homes of all types in terms of future adaptability and flexibility for later life. ‘Last-time movers’ will tend to be more focused on a home that’s more accommodating of their future needs, while also being affordable to heat and maintain.

“There is a range of design criteria to consider in the choices we are providing for later life living; crucially including the spatial and technical components that enhance a person’s quality of life as they age, or at the very least maintain a quality of life equivalent to the home they lived in previously.”

Opening up

“Just recently it was ‘care home open week’, where care homes across the UK encouraged wider connection with their local communities, providing open access to facilities such as community hubs, restaurants and gyms.

“This initiative could be rolled out nationally to include later living developments of all types, demonstrating alignment, engagement and connection with their local communities as a way of moving away from unhelpful misinterpretations of them being isolated and inaccessible places.

“Later living developments of all types are hugely important components of our communities and are increasingly providing facilities that engage with the communities within which they sit, enabling demographic balance and interaction within our villages, towns and cities.”

Homes that expand and contract

“We don’t need traditional retirement villages – we need integrated communities with building variety that meets the needs of a mix of young people, families and older people, and where possible have homes that can contract and expand to better serve people through the various stages of life.

“And let’s rethink the term ‘under-occupied’ – in my opinion an under-occupied home suggests the occupant cannot access parts of the home independently – for example, an elderly or disabled person who is no longer able to access upper floors and they are no longer able to use the upstairs.”

Need for policy

“The market is being shaped by the private sector, whose motivations are to make the biggest profit. There will be no change and inclusion of later living in more urban areas and outside of the retirement village model without stringent policy in place and/or public demand for something different.

“In the same way we’re slowly starting to address the issue of sustainability and the need to provide more affordable housing, we should also be seeing increased provision of later living homes too, if we are truly going to build sustainable communities. There should be the option to move to a community, start a family there but then also find suitable housing for you within the same area as you age too.”

Moving motivations

“Motivation for housing is quite a complex thing to unpick. For some people, home and property and ownership is attached to aspirational things, but for others it may be solely about the right type of home for their needs. British society has made home/property ownership a key ingredient of wealth generation for most people and therefore incentives need to reflect the mindset of our target market.”

Innovative design

“Incentivising people to move into existing housing stock is a challenge, so is retrofitting unsuitable homes to provide that future proofing, but good quality retrofitting may be what’s needed to change perceptions of existing stock.

“Without innovative design, we’re going to keep building new housing stock that ultimately has the same issues as old housing stock, in being unsuitable for the ageing population. New housing stock should be developed and designed with the whole lifecycle in mind as well as sustainability and efficiency.”

Meaningful conversations

“We need to have meaningful conversations with consumers about what they want and need and then strike a balance between this and architects knowing what will work with the space and suit the needs of an ageing resident. Through engagement we can discover/develop new, innovative versions of housing for later living and help to evolve thinking about housing for later living .”

Too much hassle

“I’m not surprised there is some under-occupation of homes. Many people move in when homes are built, they bring up their families there and stay close with their communities. They wouldn’t want to move further away, so we need to consider regenerating existing stock and diversify the types of homes that are available so that people can move within their existing community to a home more suitable.

“I think another key barrier to moving later in life is the hassle of it – changing address, sorting utilities and moving all your things. If there was help available with this, making it easier for people to move, or an offer of an incentive such as help with new carpets, curtains and removals, this might encourage more people to move to smaller accommodation”

Scale and design

“From experience scale also has a lot to do with the popularity of schemes – too large and it can feel like an institution. Smaller schemes feel more like a community and are generally more popular with residents – there is definitely a sweet spot for later living schemes.

“We also need flexibility in design, for all new homes. When we build our own new homes we have much greater control over the design, such as whether or not to build using Lifetime Homes Standards, but not all of our homes are built this way. We also buy homes from developers and these homes are often already built and cannot be changed. It would be great if all new homes considered the needs of older residents at the point of design.”