Retirement housing too old

The vast majority of older people do not want to live in the sort of housing found in most retirement villages. Increasingly, they will insist that the retirement industry lifts its game to build what they want.

This was one of the key findings in research done into what South Australians want from retirement housing, the first analysis of its type in Australia.

More than 1200 South Australians aged above 50 years participated in the research conducted over two years by the Flinders Institute of Housing, Urban and Regional Research (FIHURR) and commissioned by ECH Inc, a South Australian not-for-profit provider of independent retirement living and aged care.

The report, Our Homes, Our Communities: the Aspirations and Expectations of Older People in South Australia, was prepared by a Flinders University team headed by Professor Andrew Beer.

“Older age has until now been considered a time of withdrawal from mainstream society,” Professor Beer said.

“The 21st Century reality is at odds with this and the ‘new age’ of older people just won’t wear it. They will insist that their home enables their life, not burden it.

“They reject any notion that aged housing is a container into which older people retreat to live out their later years. They want their retirement home to be just like the home that they have now, a base from which they go out to engage their neighbourhood, their community and the world”.

The research summarises the ‘ideal’ housing as:

• Groups of 10 or fewer single-storey dwellings with two bedrooms and larger, more spacious rooms
• Located within the broader community, rather than confined to estates
• Close to local neighbourhoods in order to stay connected with friends, family, healthcare professionals, service providers and importantly, public transport
• Enable independent living for as long as possible
• Offer a range of tenure and pricing arrangements to cater for lower income retirees – this may range from rental, purchase, a ‘donation’ model and other variants

There also is an increasing divergence between, on the one hand, an emerging number of 55 to 64-year-olds who will have greater assets than previous generations and increasing buying power to influence the industry and, on the other, low-income tenants that are vulnerable and short on options.

Current funding models for aged housing often leave vulnerable people exposed and confused and may impede movement to more appropriate housing.

“All of this presents significant challenges for governments and the housing industry that will only be resolved by working together in a much closer partnership,” Professor Beer said.

“Speaking for ECH, this research already is informing the policies that shape what we design, develop and offer,” said Rob Hankins, chief executive of ECH.

“This is a critically important time for our industry. We need to respond to this research and look at ways we can fix current models to respond to emerging trends,” he said.