All old people should sell up family homes for families.

I can see it now:
“AIBU to think it is selfish for old people to downsize to small starter homes in competition with young families?”

I don't think this should be enforced in any way, obviously it has to be the choice of the individual, but I do think it's a shame more people don't do it!

In answer to your questions, my parents are in their 80s. They live in a 4-bed terraced house in London zone 2. They have three spare bedrooms that are never used. Where would I see them moving to? - I guess an apartment, or anywhere really where they have one spare bedroom rather than three!

As I said above, it's their choice. But it does seem a shame in a housing crisis to have so many rooms not being used.

Not this old chestnut. 🙄

Maybe we should be restricted to two children max each and we could knock down all the 3+ bed houses and build more houses on those plots?

Or adults with no children could be shipped off into 1 bed flats as they have less of a reason to have a garden.

Well there's a continuous stream of people dying and their houses bring sold, so what difference would a continuous stream of (say) 70 year olds sell8ng their homes be?

It's an offensive view. Like saying "anyone who has an ancestor from a different country in the last 200 years" shouldn't be allowed to own a large property. Or "anyone who's not heterosexual" can't.

Wouldn't work though. I currently live in a four bedroomed house alone (other than my dog) because I fell for the property. It had been on the market for a couple of weeks, plenty of families could have bought it if they had wanted to. The problem is not with old people having bigger properties (I am not old by the way), but the expectation that all young people should get things handed to them on a plate because 'its so hard for young people nowadays'. People have lived through wars, recession etc throughout history and been resilient enough to move forward. So sick of the 'poor me' syndrome that seems so prevalent now.

There are all kinds of changes we can wish for, but in a democratic society they are not going to happen. (I realise you're not suggesting forcing people to move out, OP!)

This is one of them. You can't force people do move, even if it's the logical thing to do, if they don't want to (for all kinds of intangible reasons) in a free society. I used to do meals-on-wheels (when they were a thing!) and I saw lots of really elderly, infirm people living in huge houses which objectively were unsuitable for them, but which they were clearly deeply attached to and very reluctant to give up. I think we need to be patient - these properties do, of course, become available once the elderly person dies or moves into care and their children (or executors) sell them.

Similarly, some people think private education should be made illegal but again, it's incompatible with a free society. How far should we go in telling people what they can and can't do with their money and their property?

You can incentivise people to do things but not force them.

My DPs will be in their family home until one of them dies, and probably until both die.

An advantage of staying in your larger home, is you have room for hobbies which keeps your mind and body active. Ditto looking after yurself, maintaining your home etc.

Furthermore, should you require live in care there is actually a spare bedroom for the carer (as well as the couple themselves being able to be in separate rooms to allow for differing needs).

The house and neighbourhood is familiar which helps if dementia is setting in too.

Yes, they should downsize but they should want to. We can’t make them.

How/why would they want to? They will only want to if there is suitable housing stock to move to. There just isn’t that. Right now, it’s the property equivalent of bed blocking.

People have a choice with the number of children they have, maybe you would prefer if 'old people' were wheeled off to care homes?

People put out that kind of talk because they think it makes them look clever. It doesn’t.

It’s pure ageism, I mean if you wanted to take that idea to its conclusion nobody should be allowed to buy a family home until they actually have a family, so everyone should live in a flat until they fall pregnant and only then should they be allowed to look for a family home.

As for old people, IMO there’s a lot of ageist view in there which likely suggests that not only should they sell the family home but they should do so in order to give the money to their grabby children.