More than 3m older people can’t downsize due to lack of suitable housing
More than 3m people in the UK over the age of 65 want to downsize to a smaller home but can’t due to a lack of suitable housing and a competitive market.
Ahead of the Autumn Budget, a report by Homes for Later Living called for ministers to set a goal of building 30,000 retirement homes a year, which would be approximately 10 per cent of the annual housebuilding target.
It also urged the government to make the recent stamp duty cut permanent for older people who are downsizing into specialist retirement housing.
The research, authored by a former Treasury economist, said that if all people over 65 who want to downsize were able to do so, it would free up nearly 2m spare bedrooms in family homes.
It would also have an impact on first-time buyers, as the analysis suggested that roughly two in every three retirement properties would release a home suitable for a first-time buyer.
The report added that if 30,000 new retirement properties were built every year — which is the estimated demand, up from 8,000 currently — it would generate savings to the NHS and social care services of as much as £2.1bn a year, as fewer people would end up being hospitalised or needing expensive care from preventable injuries.
“Cutting stamp duty is not the only policy that can work across the generational divide to drive housing market transactions,” said Damian Green MP.
“To get results here, the chancellor and the secretary of state should also consider measures to encourage the building of more private retirement housing. This approach could help older and younger buyers, with the research in this report showing that building more specialist retirement housing can stimulate both ends of the market.”