Property for old age pensioners - this really needs sorting out

[Egggyweggghead]

My mum is 83, and fortunately still quite active and independent. My dad died a few years back, so she sold her house and moved near me
She lives in a 1 bedroom private flat with garden in a small town, that she pays £800 per month for (which is cheap)
Her landlord, due to an illness is selling up, so she needs to find somewhere else to live.

It has been quite an eye opener over the last few weeks over how few options there are regarding housing for this age group

Because of where we live is really expensive She has just enough money to purchase a 1 bed flat or terraced house with no or unkempt garden in a not very nice area of town or in a bigger town 10 miles away,

There are no rentals- anything that comes onto the market gets snapped up quickly and she needs something on the ground floor.

There are hundreds of retirement houses around us that have been up for sale for months/ years, yet they are building more and more 'luxury' retirement villages
The maintenance and service charges on the places up for sale are £2-5000 + per year
All are being reduced in price, so the prices are as low as £70,000 and still dont sell -whilst a small bungalow would be £350,000 which she can't afford

Also the retirement homes take 3-4 months to purchase, like a normal house and she needs to find somewhere quickly

I have hunted for retirement homes to rent, but they are either stupidly expensive at over £2000 per month or are for social tenants only, which my mum doesn't qualify for.

It seems to me that we are desperate for housing in this country, and loads of oaps are living in houses that are too big for them and they want to downsize and move to a more manageable property

But the only option available is to move to a retirement home that they have to purchase which will lose them money and will be unsaleable in the end

I wish someone would look at the 1000s of retirement properties that are sitting empty around the country and change the leasehold and allow them to be rented out at a sensible price.

On rightmove there are 335 retirement properties for sale within a 5 mile radius

I agree and really think if the country could sort this it would free up some larger family homes.
My father can no longer manage stairs and has carers come in to wash him as there is no bathroom downstairs. He can no longer get to even sit in the garden as there are steps involved.
My parents were looking to downsize to something on one level, preferably a bungalow, but were looking at maisonettes and ground floor flats too. Despite owning there own home, there is nothing for them close enough to us and unfortunately it HAS to be quite close to me as I regularly get phone calls to come and pick him up off the floor or deal with some crisis or another.

It's so sad, he's so socially isolated, just sits in his chair all day unless someone comes to take him out. I wish I could find him somewhere he could get a wheelchair in and out of.

Retirement flats are an absolute scandal IMO and this needs to be addressed - there are some in the town where I live, I think a 1 bed flat is about 250k but the service charge is absolutely ridiculous and clearly the management company is just making an absolute fortune - these are tiny flats in a new-ish building there is no way they spend that much in maintenance costs per year

There is a shortage of Bungalows in the UK. I looked at buying one because my DS partner is disabled but there are so few.

The govs haven’t done much to prepare for the shifting demographics.

I think there is a lack of suitable housing for most of the population.

I keep saying that new build bungalows should come with a covenant that they cannot be converted to a two storey.

re: management fees. We live on an estate with them. It is absolutely crucial there is a residents board of directors as they hold the company responsible and force repairs / upkeep etc.

I agree that you should be able to rent retirement flats. I understand there being a premium but some round here have been for sale for years at £120k for the flat, which is 75% Shared Ownership so £500 per month rent on the other 25% and £8k a year service charge to pay for the 25 staff. Who would take that on in their 80s?

@Egggyweggghead have you or your mum aporoached the local authority? You say she’s not eligible, have they said why? Some housing associations and other RSLs (Registered Social Landlords) accept nominations from LAs, some take direct applications.

Perhaps have a look at this? https://housingcare.org/elderly-uk-assisted-living-extra-care-housing

Why doesn't she qualify for social housing? Anyone can apply for it in most circumstances, they just assess you on need and then put you in a band depending in priority.

Round here they're more expensive than houses

I know quite a few younger people who have bought bungalows because it was the cheaper option although this is going back some yrs. They often have very large plots with off street parking & good sq footage.

I think retirement flats are the next big scandal that will be uncovered - i suspect eye watering sums are being made in 'maintenance charges' for bog standard flats sold at a premium, marketed as 'luxury'. Councils continue to approve more and more huge complexes to be built despite the fact they aren't what a lot of older people want.
My area desperately needs more affordable housing, 2 and 3 bed homes suitable for young families at a price point they can afford, yet despite objections the council continue approve more and more retirements flats that all sit empty.
I wish the government would give them housing targets that specifically prohibit them just approving millions of retirement flats!

This is exactly what we have found with trying to help my parents downsize. They have a 4 bed detached house looking to downsize to a 2 bed bungalow. By the time you've paid stamp duty, estate agent and conveyancer fees, they just can't make it work.

My FIL at85 is just about to sell his chalet house and buy a bungalow reasonably close to us-mainly because he fares the area he is in- it was bought because it suited his partner who died 5 years ago.

I think he would have bought a retirement flat in our lovely city but won't do so due to the worries with selling and service charges etc- he also still wants a garage and a reasonable amount of space- whether or not this is daft can be debated but it's his money and how he feels- he is a fit and active 85 year old- still drives and does stuff in house etc, no carers ( not needed) -

As you say the options simply aren't great-

Have you tried local housing association warden controlled flats e.g jonnie Johnson, contact them direct to ask what vacancies they have. I did it for someone a few years back, they gave them a few to look at, they could pick which they wanted. For obvious reasons they often have vacancies, there was no waiting list although appreciate that might vary with area.

She has too much money in savings from the sale of her original property (14 years ago) when my dad died
unfortunately house prices have risen faster than her savings...so she's now priced out of something suitable near me
She lives on her pension and has my dad's royal navy pension as a top up. She's very frugal.

This isn't a complaint about what she has/ hasn't got. She is very fortunate. There are many in a needier position

I just find it a bit sad. We want our parents to me happy and secure
It's just a realisation that so many oaps have a need to still be independent, live near their families, but all there is on offer are retirement homes that cost the earth and can't be sold when they leave and still rack up massive charges each month
When they could easily become rental properties if the management of these places (who still get their money when empty) would allow it

Where we are, if you own 70% you don't pay rent.
We have lots of newly built older people's housing. There seems to be more two bed than one bed, which has put the price up by £20k and will make some people subject to bedroom tax. The houses locally sell for a similar price, so a lot of people who would like to downsize can't. There is a lack of planning.

It's because there is a shortage of them. Sellers can demand higher prices.

Social housing for older people usually has nothing to do with their savings etc.

I would urge you to contact your local authority and ask specifically if your mum would be eligible for an older person's flat.

They are usually hard to let as they have more supply than demand & will rent regardless of capital - your mum will just have to pay full rent rather than get housing benefit to support her.

OP I really think you/she should look into social housing again. I've never heard of any bar to it wrt savings. On the contrary they usually like it if you have money, especially housing associations. I think you may have been misinformed. Retirement properties come up much more often than regular properties and rent is usually affordable. It could be a really good solution for your DM.

I do agree it would help all sorts of housing issues if they could sort out the ridiculous cost of living in some of the retirement villages (incl the selling costs).

The concept of a retirement village is lovely, but the cost, for what they are, is phenomenal. I know of quite a few elderly, widowed folk who are stuck in their large family homes, because the maths of them moving to the local retirement villages just doesn't work out.

Apologies if missing something

mum is 85 and knows quite a few people in that age group who moved into a regular flat, not a retirement one because of the charges

is that not an option for many people? It’s stairs that’s the issue is it?

And yet, time after time, the cry is for 'old people' to just downsize and free up the housing market for younger people.

If only it were that simple ...........

It's definitely a scandal, these modern retirement flats. Outright rip-offs. It might vary depending where in the UK you are but I know in some areas they charge extortionate "service charges" (for little to no service - and don't even have onsite wardens or a warden at all).

There's also shortage of bungalows and those available are often very expensive (although it varies depending where in the UK you are).

Calling for downsizing btw isn't the answer (without appropriate new homes built) because it's dramatically impacted younger disabled people, single childless/childfree people, and only-child families - who all have the right and need for decent housing as much as anyone else.

I may be misremembering but I'm sure in the past decent retirement housing existed. No rip-off prices and with a resident warden.

That type of housing is desperately needed. For younger disabled people too. Many disabled people, like many elderly people, can live independently but need affordable and accessible homes.

Some councils depending on the area have low savings thresholds to be eligible.

That said there's meant to be exceptions for people over 60 if they have a need for social housing.

Unfortunately, especially in areas where housing has become expensive and consequently long-term locals struggle to find housing near much needed support and families, councils often gatekeep and try to tell people they're not entitled to housing when they might be.

So definitely try again with the council @Egggyweggghead If possible get help with this from somewhere like Age UK. Also although I understand she'd like a garden (definite mental and physical health benefits, especially for elderly or disabled people who might be at home a lot due to age or disability) might be worth her just buying one of the flats without a garden so she can be near you?

@EmeraldRoulette Some areas have a shortage of affordable private rental 1 bedroom flats and if someone needs the ground floor that limits their options even more.

I don’t agree with the model but you need to look at it differently.

she is currently paying £800 a month which you admit is cheap. So say that realistically she ought to have been paying £1000 so £12k a year.

over ten years she has paid £120k for her housing. It’s rent so not an investment.

Instead she will be paying £70k plus £2500-£5k a year.

thats £50k over ten years max plus the initial £70k I e also outlay of £120k except in this model you can sell the flat at £70k and get that chunk back. Ok you might not make much in terms of the property increasing in value since the market is restricted but you’ll probably get back what you paid.

so actually she’s a fair bit better off buying the returner flat. Look at it as a large rent deposit.