Cross-party group calls for new funding and focus on renewing older people’s housing

Social housing providers hold nearly 80 per cent of stock

 

In setting out the state of play in sheltered housing, as it is commonly referred to, the report noted that this is a “contested term”, and that there is a need to develop more appropriate terminology to describe housing of this kind. It highlighted the wide range of ages catered for in homes that fall under this banner, and the need for the service model to cater for a “diverse range of older people”.

 

According to data from the Elderly Accommodation Counsel cited by the APPG, there are 527,000 ‘sheltered’ housing properties in the UK, of which 86 per cent are in England, 7 per cent in Scotland, 5 per cent in Wales and 2 per cent in Northern Ireland.

 

In addition, 124,000 homes are categorised as ‘age-restricted’ housing, but are not classed as sheltered by their providers.

 

Of the existing sheltered housing stock, 79 per cent is provided by social housing providers, with 71 per cent of the total stock available as social or affordable rent, the report said.

 

Data in the report reveals that the annual rate of housebuilding of sheltered properties rose rapidly from 1960 to reach a peak of over 20,000 units per year between the mid-1980s and early 1990s, before declining sharply over the past three decades to an average of 5,000-7,000 units per year.

 

It also shows that, until 2000, new private provision was constantly lower than new social provision. However, from 2001 to the present, new private provision as a whole has outstripped social, at 52 per cent of new build stock over the period.

 

Meanwhile, existing stock is reducing. “[It] is estimated that [circa] 2,000 sheltered housing properties per year over the last 20 years are either demolished, disposed of and/or repurposed,” the report said.

 

Avoid losses “despite financial constraints”

 

The inquiry found that one of the most significant challenges for regenerating existing sheltered stock was securing adequate capital funding.

 

It said: “Inquiry evidence from sheltered housing providers highlighted that regeneration works have primarily been funded through housing providers’ own resources… although in some cases government capital grant funding and/or funding via private finance initiative (PFI) has been used.

 

“The evidence to the inquiry is that the [Housing Revenue Account] can be successfully used by local authorities to regenerate sheltered housing, but further financial support is needed.”

 

Enabling greater recycling of capital grant would help providers to fund their refurbishments, the report said. It also recommended that private and social housing providers liaise with their local authorities to explore the potential for funding home improvements through Disabled Facilities Grants.

 

The APPG emphasised that the “continuing value of sheltered housing should be recognised” and called for the loss of existing accommodation to be avoided “despite financial constraints”.

Recommendations

 

The report’s authors recommended that Homes England and the GLA adopt a 10 per cent target for older people’s housing in their funding streams, including in the next Affordable Homes Programme (AHP). Of this, at least a third should be reserved for refurbishing, updating or replacing existing forms of sheltered accommodation, it said.

 

Assuming an AHP from 2026 of similar scale to the £11.5bn 2021-26 programme, the report said this should mean £1.15bn of funding was earmarked for older people’s homes, of which £383m would be allocated to stock renovation.

 

The report said agencies should also ensure that their rules enable providers to apply for, and use, capital grant to upgrade existing schemes without “additionality”.

 

The report cites the challenges around space and cost that are particularly acute for sheltered homes, where modernising properties may mean reducing the number of units. Works may include the removal of bedsits or the enlargement of apartments to align with contemporary space standards.

 

Homes England and the GLA should also establish “dedicated older persons’ housing teams” with an accountable officer, for example as part of their supported housing teams, it said.

 

The report is calling for the recycling of grant funding awarded by Homes England or the GLA to be permitted to be used for refurbishing existing sheltered housing schemes, as well as to develop new schemes for older people.

 

Similarly, it makes recommendations concerning funding available through the Department of Health and Social Care.

 

It calls for a future round of funding through the department’s Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund to explicitly state that future capital grant can be used for the refurbishment of schemes where it can be shown that these would deliver improved health and social care outcomes.

 

Finally, the report calls for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to develop “common standards” that can be used by housing providers and local authorities to assure the quality of sheltered housing. The MHCLG should also develop and provide, via its supported housing team, “‘good practice’ tools and approaches” to undertaking strategic reviews of sheltered housing.

 

Social housing providers 

 

The report sets out a number of recommendations for local authorities, as well as social and private housing providers.

 

For providers, it has advised that landlords urgently conduct a strategic review of their portfolio’s current and future suitability, identifying options for refurbishment/upgrades, repurposing for other people or uses, and replacement development.

 

Evidence heard during the inquiry showed that while some providers had already completed these, there was “a lack of understanding about how to approach strategic reviews and/or what contemporary sheltered housing should look like”. There is an urgent need for providers of sheltered housing in both the social and private sectors to do so, taking into account their homes and their services.

 

Regenerated sheltered housing should be tailored to meet the needs of a diverse range of older people, the report said, including those “living with dementia, people from ethnic minority communities and people that identify as LGBTQ+”.

 

Disposals or sales of properties should be “avoided where possible”, the report said. It called for the Regulator of Social Housing and all providers to adopt a “charter for disposal of supported accommodation for older people”.

 

‘‘Precious asset”

 

The benefits of keeping these places available for residents that need them extend into the wider housing sector, the report said. They enable older people to “right size” into these homes, which may enable families to move into vacated properties, including general needs social rented properties.

 

Commenting on the launch of the report, Lord Best said: “Sadly, a lot of the sheltered housing of the 1960s and 1970s is now past its sell-by date and ready for a serious upgrade. Bedsits – let alone shared bathrooms – are no longer acceptable.”

 

The peer and inquiry co-chair, whose past roles include president of the Local Government Association, chief executive of the National Housing Federation and chair of Hanover Housing Association (now part of Anchor), added: “If this accommodation becomes hard to let or is sold off, the nation will lose a precious asset that will be hugely expensive to replace.

 

“So now is the time for a significant programme of imaginative regeneration of outdated sheltered housing that can provide much-needed affordable, accessible, sociable homes fit for our ageing population for decades to come.”

 

Paul Tennant, chief executive of Abbeyfield Living Society, which sponsored the inquiry, said: “This report highlights the vital contribution that existing sheltered housing is making in communities for older people. It also underlines that, for many providers, particularly smaller ones facing multiple financial pressures, these assets are under threat.

 

“There is an urgent need for a clear plan for the future which includes access to funding and investment opportunities geared towards the refurbishment, upgrading and maintenance of existing housing stock as a viable alternative to simply building new developments.”