Three linked briefing paper examined issues relating to the accommodation needs of older people.
Source: Market Position Statements and Housing, Institute of Public Care (Oxford Brookes University) | Health, Wellbeing, and the Older People Housing Agenda, Institute of Public Care (Oxford Brookes University) | Making Best Use of our Sheltered Housing Asset, Institute of Public Care (Oxford Brookes University)
Links: Briefing (1) | Briefing (2) | Briefing (3)
Date: 2012-Dec
A think-tank report examined the social impacts of the undersupply of housing on young people, in areas such as life aspirations, starting a family, professional ambitions, relationships with parents and partners, security and control, and community belonging. There was a need to build more homes, but this was not a sufficient solution. New ways were needed to create pathways towards home-ownership for young people. Reforms were also needed to the private rented sector, in which more and more young people found themselves for an extended phase of their lives.
Source: Jenny Pennington, Dalia Ben-Galim, and Graeme Cooke, No Place to Call Home: The social impacts of housing undersupply on young people, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Report | IPPR press release | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Dec
A study examined the requirements for supported and sub-market independent accommodation (social housing and private rented accommodation with housing benefit) for young people aged 16-24. It examined the existing situation and projections for 2021. The overall shortfall was estimated to be 140,344 units, rising to 146,696 by 2021.
Source: Anna Clarke and Gemma Burgess, Mapping the Number of Extra Housing Units Needed for Young People, Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (University of Cambridge)
Date: 2012-Dec
A report said that local councils in England were struggling to support people with a learning disability to live independently. Just 1 in 3 people with a learning disability lived independently in either supported accommodation (16 per cent), as a tenant (15 per cent), or as a home-owner (2.5 per cent).
Source: Housing for People with a Learning Disability, Mencap
Links: Report | Mencap press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Dec
Five linked reports examined issues related to housing and care for older people.
Source: Karen Croucher and Mark Bevan, Promoting Supportive Relationships in Housing with Care, Joseph Rowntree Foundation | Jenny Pannell and Imogen Blood, Supported Housing for Older People in the UK: An evidence review, Joseph Rowntree Foundation | Imogen Blood, Jenny Pannell, and Ian Copeman, Findings from Housing with Care Research: Practice examples, Joseph Rowntree Foundation | Jenny Pannell, Imogen Blood, and Ian Copeman, Affordability, Choices, and Quality of Life in Housing with Care, Joseph Rowntree Foundation | Imogen Blood, Jenny Pannell, and Ian Copeman, Whose Responsibility? Boundaries of roles and responsibilities in housing with care, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report (1) | Summary | Report (2) | Summary | Report (3) | Report (4) | Summary | Report (5) | Summary
Date: 2012-Dec
A report by an all-party group of MPs highlighted the benefits of improved housing options for older people. Benefits from developing good quality housing for older people included a reduction in health and social care costs, as well as the freeing up of family housing. The report made a series of recommendations designed to create movement in the housing market, improve the health of older people, and create new housing options for younger people and families.
Source: Housing our Ageing Population: Plan for Implementation, All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that a radical shake-up of the government's home adaptations system, including supporting family doctors to prescribe home improvements for older and disabled people, could both improve care and save public money.
Source: Home Solutions to Our Care Crisis, Papworth Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report said that a radical shake-up of the government's home adaptations system, including supporting family doctors to prescribe home improvements for older and disabled people, could both improve care and save public money.
Source: Home Solutions to Our Care Crisis, Papworth Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report examined where black and minority-ethnic people approaching retirement wanted to live, and the barriers and incentives influencing this decision. Policymakers and local officials needed to plan better for future demographic change, as the population of BME older people would increase ten-fold over the coming decades and live in increasingly diverse areas.
Source: Omar Khan, A Sense of Place: Retirement decisions among older black and minority ethnic people, Runnymede Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Nov
A report examined the role of sheltered housing in Northern Ireland. The needs of tenants had changed since sheltered housing was first developed: feedback from scheme co-ordinators indicated that more residents than in the past had mental health problems and alcohol or other addictions.
Source: Fiona Boyle, The Role of Sheltered Housing in Northern Ireland and Future Issues, Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the combined effects of population ageing and changes in long-term care policy on the housing market. The trend away from institutional provision towards care at home was endorsed by governments: but it would maintain the level of housing demand above what it would otherwise be. It would also have distributional consequences, with individuals less likely to reduce their housing equity to pay for institutional care. Household formation effects involving those requiring long-term care were relatively weak and unlikely to significantly offset these effects.
Source: David Bell and Alasdair Rutherford, 'Long-term care and the housing market', Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Volume 59 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
See also: David Bell and Alasdair Rutherford, Long-Term Care and the Housing Market, Discussion Paper 2012-13, Stirling Management School, University of Stirling
Date: 2012-Oct
A report said that retirement housing needed to undergo wide-ranging improvements if older people were to see it as a practical and attractive option for later life. There was a need for more regulation within the private retirement sector, and more rights and support for residents to take over the management of their properties. There were particular problems associated with the leasehold structure and management of private retirement homes, such as overcharging, exit fees, and unclear contracts.
Source: Making it Work for Us: A residents inquiry into sheltered and retirement housing, Age UK
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Oct
A paper examined the relationship between income inequality and access to housing for low-income households in Europe. No relationship was found between inequality and housing affordability – the level of resources mattered, rather than their distribution. There was a positive relationship between inequality and crowding for owners. Higher levels of income inequality were associated with lower housing quality for owners and renters. Although there was a relationship between inequality and access to housing, it was complex and not mediated by house price changes.
Source: Caroline Dewilde and Bram Lancee, Income Inequality and Access to Housing in Europe, Discussion Paper 32, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Sep
A report examined the role of housing and related support in supporting the recovery of problem drug users.
Source: The Role of Housing in Drugs Recovery, Chartered Institute of Housing
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Sep
A study examined how the affordability of retirement housing affected the housing options available to older people. The complexity of different eligibility and entitlement systems for state help with housing, housing-related support, or home care made it difficult for those considering retirement housing to know if, and at what stage, they would receive any support.
Source: Hannah Aldridge, Peter Kenway, and Jenny Pannell, Affordability of Retirement Housing in the UK, New Policy Institute
Date: 2012-Sep
A report said that many young disabled people lacked the necessary faith in the services of local authorities, estate agents, landlords, or property developers to make it possible for them to live independently or to move house where and when they wanted to. As a consequence, young disabled people believed that their lifestyle and work opportunities were being compromised by a range of factors related to housing and the support required to live independently.
Source: Mathy Selvakumaran et al., Locked Out, Trailblazers Young Campaigners Network/Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
Links: Report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Aug
An article examined interactions between structure, agency, and wider discourses in the housing pathways of disabled young people. It developed a typology of disabled young people's housing pathways, consisting of direct, staged, and return pathways to independent living. Within each of these pathways, young people faced key challenges of deciding to leave, finding suitable accommodation, and maintaining their accommodation. The article identified some of the complex interconnected factors that shaped the ways young people negotiated these challenges.
Source: Peter Mackie, 'Housing pathways of disabled young people: evidence for policy and practice', Housing Studies, Volume 27 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Aug
A series of research reports examined the costs, benefits, and practical implications of applying the Lifetime Home Standard to new build housing development.
Source: Building Research Establishment Ltd, Modelling the Current and Potential Accessibility of the Housing Stock, Department for Communities and Local Government | Building Cost Information Service, Assessing the Cost of Lifetime Homes Standards, Department for Communities and Local Government | Mike Roys, Assessing the Health Benefits of Lifetime Homes, Department for Communities and Local Government | Habinteg Housing Association, Lifetime Homes Technical Forum, Department for Communities and Local Government | Analysis of Distribution of Housing Typologies in Public and Private Sector and Typical Compatibility with the Lifetime Home Standard, Department for Communities and Local Government | Impact on Site Density of Lifetime Homes, Department for Communities and Local Government | Hunt Thomson Architects, Design of Lifetime Homes, Department for Communities and Local Government |
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Report (3) | Report (4) | Report (5) | Report (6) | Report (7)
Notes: The Lifetime Home Standard is a set of 16 design criteria that provide a model for building accessible and adaptable homes.
Date: 2012-Jul
Date: 2012-Jun
Date: 2012-Jun
A report examined aspects of housing and migration. Just as migration was undoubtedly one of the pressures on the housing market, so housing was undoubtedly one of the pressures on migrants. New migrants often entered the market via the least desirable housing, frequently in disadvantaged areas. Working migrants from the new European Union countries with jobs in farming, tourism, and other industries often had housing tied to employment, on caravan sites, or in poor-quality lettings.
Source: John Perry, Housing and Migration: A UK guide to issues and solutions, Housing and Migration Network/Chartered Institute of Housing
Links: Report | CIH press release
Date: 2012-Jun
An article said that subjective evidence of payment problems and material hardship could be used to validate measures of housing need. Using household panel survey evidence it was shown that traditional affordability ratios were still probably the best objective measure, with residual income ratios in a supporting role; and that relatively generous thresholds were better. Composites with subjective payment problems were well validated by independent evidence on material hardship, and were associated with higher incidence of moves and other housing needs. These problems were much more prevalent in private renting, with less variation between regions than household types.
Source: Glen Bramley, 'Affordability, poverty and housing need: triangulating measures and standards', Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Volume 27 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
Two linked reports examined housing market choices for older people. The housing market was failing to meet the needs of older people, despite a rapidly ageing population and a growing demand for retirement housing. The need for specialist housing for older people with care needs was particularly acute: if existing levels of demand remained constant, supply would have to increase by over 70 per cent in the next 20 years in order to keep up. And despite the fact that 80 per cent of older home-owners said they would be most likely to remain home-owners if they moved, there was very little specialist housing available to buy.
Source: Nicola Hughes, A Better Fit? Creating housing choices for an ageing population, Shelter | Jenny Pannell, Hannah Aldridge, and Peter Kenway, Market Assessment of Housing Options for Older People, New Policy Institute
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Shelter press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined the extent of the problem of substandard housing for Roma people in Europe, and in particular the situation of Traveller groups, who often had difficulties finding a place in halting sites. Problems faced by the Roma included high overcrowding rates, lack of access to improved forms of sanitation, and high levels of urban segregation thus limiting access to healthcare services. These issues reinforced existing health inequalities among Roma people, including an increased risk of disability, chronic illness, and obesity.
Source: Daniel Molinuevo, Maarten Koomen, and Klara Foti, Living Conditions of the Roma: Substandard housing and health, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2012-Mar
A paper examined the use of specialist housing services to support black and minority-ethnic communities, providing good practice examples for people experiencing poor mental health, homelessness, domestic violence, teenage parenthood, and older age. It also looked at the effectiveness of the Supporting People programme, considering the likely impact of funding cuts on black and minority-ethnic tenants.
Source: Adrian Jones and Tracey Bignall, Meeting the Supported Housing Needs of Black and Minority Ethnic Communities, Race Equality Foundation
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper examined the process of minority-ethnic segregation in English social housing. The introduction of choice-based letting had resulted in highly structured neighbourhood sorting that had segregated minority populations into the least desirable neighbourhoods of English cities.
Source: Maarten van Ham and David Manley, Segregation, Choice Based Letting and Social Housing: How housing policy can affect the segregation process, Discussion Paper 6372, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
See also: David Manley and Maarten van Ham, 'Choice-based letting, ethnicity and segregation in England', Urban Studies, Volume 48 Number 14
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined housing conditions in the European Union in relation to complex social and economic developments, together with the significant influence of policy choice and the incidence of family support.
Source: Srna Mandic and Andreja Cirman, 'Housing conditions and their structural determinants: comparisons within the enlarged EU', Urban Studies, Volume 49 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A report summarized the findings of an evaluation of the 'FirstStop' information and advice service for older people – an independent, free service offering advice and information for older people, their families, and carers about housing and care options in later life.
Source: Evaluation of the FirstStop Initiative, Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (University of Cambridge)
Links: Report | CHPR press release | Cambridge University press release | DCLG press release | Care & Repair press release | Labour Party press release
Date: 2012-Jan
An article examined the accommodation histories and adaptive strategies utilized by housed Gypsies and Travellers across four locations in southern England, focusing on employment opportunities and practices following the transition into housing.
Source: David Smith and Margaret Greenfields, 'Housed Gypsies and Travellers in the UK: work, exclusion and adaptation', Race and Class, Volume 53 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jan
