Call for action on housing affordability for older people
A new Housing Affordability for Seniors Alliance has warned the Rudd Government that more attention must be paid to housing for older Australians to prevent a crisis in availability and affordability.
Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA), The Council on the Ageing (COTA) and the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL) formed the Alliance to highlight the scale of the problem facing growing numbers of older Australians.
The Alliance is hosting an Older Persons Affordable Housing Forum in Canberra today (1 July) with around 70 of Australia’s leading thinkers and planners in this area who are attending to generate ideas and momentum for new housing collaborations and projects. The forum will be addressed by the Minister for Housing, The Hon Tanya Plibersek.
The Housing Affordability for Seniors Alliance calls for:
1. Greater recognition of older peoples’ housing needs. The Rudd Government needs to acknowledge the particular needs of older Australians in housing stress and the scale of problem that is emerging. Within the broader responses to housing affordability, older people require a fair share of all new resources. Any new initiatives must acknowledge the housing preferences of older people. In the short term, specific strategies to address housing affordability for older people need to be highlighted in the National Affordable Housing Agreement. Issues to be identified include target numbers, priority, stock location and stock design.
2. Develop a National Older Persons Housing Strategy. A National Older Persons Housing Strategy that would focus on enabling older people to make housing adjustments and choices that enhance ageing in place, wellbeing and lifestyle. Such a strategy would: Increase the supply of affordable rental housing; Promote the development of adaptable housing, including a change to building standards; Address the changing support needs of older public housing tenants; Expand home maintenance and modification programs; Focus on maintaining or creating supportive local communities that enhance older people’s capacity for independence; and Include a plan for the redevelopment and support of the more than 32,000 independent living units that currently provide affordable rent for older people but many are in need of refurbishment.
