Apart from FirstStop, local councils, housing associations, voluntary organisations, private businesses and home improvement agencies all give older people support in finding the right home. So what is the evidence that local intervention of this sort is effective? If older social tenants want to move somewhere smaller, they can be supported or incentivised by the council or housing association to move from family accommodation when their family has left home. But how can owner occupiers be helped?
A recent FirstStop research study, funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), assessed five types of support on the grounds of costs and benefits, which clearly demonstrated the value of:
• Making more use of existing accommodation (London Crossroads Homeshare project)
• The council renting houses from owner occupiers for a family to use so that older people can move to more suitable housing, which is a neat way of enabling people to retain ownership of their prize asset, if they wish (Redbridge FreeSpace)
• Promoting practical moving home services such as Seamless Relocation, which is a key member of FirstStop Moving Home,
• FirstStop casework services by local partners
• Home Improvement Agency (HIA) services supporting people to make better use of their current home or to move (WE Care & Repair)
When older people are contemplating a move, they specifically need independent, accurate and specialist financial and legal advice. FirstStop has partners who can provide this and is currently reviewing the way it selects, monitors and refers to them to ensure that older people can feel safe in the knowledge that the process is transparent, ethical and rigorous.
The second report by the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR) analyses local reasons for empty houses, second homes and under-occupied housing stock and assesses the success of local strategies to tackle these issues. It found that under-occupation in the private sector, though widespread, was not a major focus of any of the housing strategies in the eight areas considered, even where levels were high. There was more awareness of this issue in the social sector, partly because the council has more control and can ensure that larger homes are freed up and allocated to larger households.
Oldham Council has been successful in freeing up 130 family homes in 16 months in partnership with Oldham Housing Investment Partnership and housing associations. Financial incentives of between £500 and £1,000 were available with the local LVST, First Choice Homes, making all the removal, change of address and utility arrangements with the cost deducted from the incentive.
The success of this scheme shows the potential for scaling up the Redbridge scheme targeted at owner occupiers. In conclusion, I can do no better than to echo the conclusions of Nick O'Shea, the author of the FirstStop report, who said:
• Imaginative solutions for both owner occupiers and social tenants, such as sharing a home, adapting, renting out and selling, can improve the lives of people as they age
• Trusted services, such as local authorities, can make it financially viable to improve a home or to move somewhere better
• Social ethical investors could expand the investment in proven models
• A concerted effort to collect more data on outcomes would help demonstrate the impact of services and lever in wider investment
• Housing information and advice should be universally available
Daniel Pearson is a director at FirstStop
