The property industry has called on the government to set an annual housebuilding target of 50,000 senior housing units due to a chronic shortage of stock that is putting pressure on the housing market, NHS and social care sector.
According to a new report produced by Cushman & Wakefield and the British Property Federation (BPF), less than 6% of the UK’s over-65 population currently live in age-appropriate homes in the UK, with 603,000 units serving 12.9 million people.
The UK’s ageing population is set to increase by 31% to 16.9 million by 2040, but last year total delivery of senior housing was just 5% higher than the 10-year average, which means the country faces a major undersupply of suitable stock in the future.
As a result, the report sets out a series of recommendations for the government’s Older People’s Housing Taskforce, which launched in April this year.
In addition to setting an annual target of 50,000 new homes, the report outlines a number of measures the taskforce should consider, including creating a specific use class – CR2 – for senior housing and ensuring all new developments have a proportion of homes allocated to senior housing.
Millie Todd, report author and head of living research at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Addressing the undersupply of seniors housing is essential if older people are to live happier, healthier and longer lives. If more older people are able to live in age appropriate homes which offer the right level of care, some of the pressure the NHS and social care system faces will be relieved.
“Delivering more seniors housing will also improve affordability and accessibility lower down the housing market ladder, freeing up family homes for younger generations. And while there isn’t a lack of investor appetite in the seniors housing sector – £6.5bn in capital waiting to be deployed – there are many barriers to delivery, which our joint report seeks to address, with proposed solutions for the Taskforce to consider.”
Melanie Leech, chief executive of the BPF, added: “Housing an ageing population is a huge and growing challenge – by 2040 people over the age of 65 will make up a quarter of the total UK population. One of the biggest barriers to delivering the homes we urgently need is the planning system, which fails to recognise seniors housing as a specific use class.
“We need to move towards a system where later living housing forms a percentage of new housing schemes, helping to deliver the 50,000 dedicated homes needed each year to meet demand from over-65s. The recent decision to remove housing targets will further constrain delivery at a time when local authorities need to clearly set out allocations for senior housing that reflect local demand.”
