Are housing associations ready for an ageing population?

The continuous growth in the number of older people in the UK will dramatically change how society will look and how it will function. This demographic shift is one of the main talking points of public debate and presents a considerable challenge for government and policymakers. The challenges are not just confined to health and social care; they are inter-related and cover housing and place-making. This report places the spotlight specifically on what an ageing population might mean for housing associations. Housing associations are long-term social businesses. With 25 year investment and asset plans social landlords are having to consider the implications of an ageing tenant population. This will not only be important for housing associations as businesses, but also as social businesses, seeking to make people’s lives better by providing good-quality, stable housing and by investing in their residents’ economic and social wellbeing. This report examines these challenges over the medium term investment horizon to the 2030s. In particular, it explores what the older population will be like at that time, how housing associations are currently thinking ahead about the older population, what housing association boards should be thinking about now, and what the sector and government need to do to realise the opportunities and manage the risks associated with older people’s housing.