A report by the think tank Radix Big Tent Housing Commission suggests ‘rightsizing’ could add 870,000 homes to the housing market.
The findings in the commission’s Resizing Rightsizing report reveal households headed by someone aged 70 or over are rising by around 50,000-80,000 a year, yet relatively few people in this age group move home until they enter specialist housing or need extra care, typically after age 85.
Rightsizing is not the same as downsizing, the report explains. “Many older people will benefit from a spare bedroom for carers, family members or couples sleeping separately.
“Whilst older people do under-occupy, four in five older people live in homes with three or fewer bedrooms. The right home is less about fewer bedrooms than compact layout, ease of maintenance and factors such as accessibility as well as affordability.”
A key recommendation in the report is a relief on stamp duty, mirroring that received by first-time buyers, which it says could release up to 870,000 homes back into the market.
The proposed later-life rebate would apply where the buyer is over a certain age threshold and is purchasing a residential property to replace their main residence. The relief is not recommended for those who own second homes or buy-to-let properties.
A survey by the Family Building Society shared alongside the report found that half of the over-65s questioned saw the cost of stamp duty tax as a reason not to move home in their later years. Of 1800 respondents, 49.5% said stamp duty was a barrier to moving and a major disincentive to ‘rightsize’.
Further recommendations include accelerating building of specialist housing for later-life movers, embedding age-friendly design into every new home, and creating a cultural shift to change the narrative around later-life moves.
“Enabling older citizens to move into homes that might better suit their needs, or ‘rightsizing’, has clear positive knock-on effects for both homeowners and the housing market in the UK”, the think tank said in a statement.
“With first-time buyers and families currently struggling to find homes, the priority of many local authorities is rightly to build affordable homes for young families, but the report’s suggestion that up to two million spare bedrooms could be released through ‘rightsizing’ indicates the danger of overlooking existing homes that could be released in tandem through rightsizing.”
According to Age UK, one in five people will be aged over 65 by 2030. The same group now holds more than half of all UK property wealth – a record £2.89 trillion of net housing wealth in homes worth a total of £2.95 trillion.
The under-35s hold property with a total value of £600 billion, but have a total of £300 billion mortgage borrowing still outstanding.
Alex Notay, chair of the Radix Big Tent Housing Commission, said: “The UK is rapidly becoming a super-ageing society with a stark and growing generational housing divide.
“Solutions need to address all segments of our population and provide a range of housing options that people of all ages can positively and proactively choose. ‘Rightsizing’ can provide comfort, safety and health-benefits to later-life movers as well as unlocking properties with more bedrooms, less-suitable for older couples and single occupants, for larger families in need.
“Our Housing Commission has outlined a number of ways that the Government can support later-life movers. From reducing the perceived financial risks, to ensuring a larger supply of housing suited to movers’ needs and recognising the value of later life – we believe the recommendations in this report will help to remove many of the barriers preventing the people of the UK finding the right home as they age.”
Alistair Nimmo, director of marketing at the Family Building Society, said: “Our survey has indicated that 57% of the over-65s would consider moving to a smaller home in later life and that half see taxation as a reason not to.
“The policies outlined in the Housing Commission report, of which we were delighted to be a part, would go a long way to enabling that ‘rightsizing’ and freeing up of up to 870,000 family homes to help solve the housing crisis.”
