Housing Beyond bricks and balance sheets
What happens when an ageing population collides with a housing crisis? That’s a question our policymakers need to start taking seriously, writes Helen Barnard
What do you think of when you hear the words “housing crisis”? I’d wager the images that come to mind are of young people, of boomerang kids still living at home in their thirties. Perhaps you’d imagine the economic pressures of getting a home that are delaying family formation and depressing the UK’s birth rate, or generational inequalities in wealth that are fuelling poverty and division. However, these overlook the hardship currently faced by older people who are trapped in unsuitable housing, and even greater problems coming down the track over the next few decades.
There is a collision coming between two of the biggest changes taking place in our society, in demography and housing. In 1999, one in six of the UK’s population was over 65. By 2019, it was one in five. By 2050 it’s set to be one in four. There are likely to be about 7.5m more older people by 2069 than there are today. The fastest increase will be among those over 85, an age group that is expected to more than double over the next 25 years. As well as ageing, we are also seeing ever-greater numbers of people living with multiple health conditions. We constantly hear about the impact of these trends on the health service, but the consequences for housing are hardly mentioned.