The fall in the proportion of older people living in poverty has been one of the great public policy success stories of recent decades. In the mid 90s, it was fairly common to see press stories of older people eking out pensions, huddled under blankets unable to afford fuel, or living on cheap, poorly
Tag: housing
Cold weather, COVID-19 and staying warm at home
With Winter approaching, and sadly the coronavirus still with us, we are again raising our concerns about the health risks of living in a cold home, particularly for older people who are likely to be spending most of their time at home.
Isolation, coronavirus & the need to support older private renters
Being less likely to know neighbours who can support you; not having a garden to exercise in, self-isolating in poor conditions and anxiety about when repairs can be made. These are just some of the challenges facing thousands of older private renters in London during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Selective Licensing – Protecting Older Private Renters
“Selective licensing can also help tenants feel more secure in their homes by improving landlord practice via license conditions that focus on good landlord practice. Such practices include, proper deposit management, full tenancy agreements and restrictions on who can and can’t collect the rent.”
With the number of older private renters in London set to double over the next two decades, action must be taken to ensure the private rented sector is as Age-friendly as possible. Age UK London’s Campaigns Officer John McGeachy explains how selective licensing schemes could help to achieve this.
SilverSharers – Connecting Older Private Renters
“I believe the way I and so many others like me live, in this type of shared housing arrangement, is a blueprint for the future as the cost of living in cities as expensive as London escalates and more and more people find themselves renting for life.”
This week on the blog, Suzanne Noble explains how helping her partner to find a place to live saw her set up SilverSharers, a new company that connects older homeowners with compatible older renters seeking a spare room.
Action Age Friendly Campaigns Updates
To help keep you up-to-date with our campaigning work, we’re very excited to be announcing a new bi-monthly campaigns newsletter – “Action Age Friendly”. Here’s all you need to know about how to sign up!
Ageing Better in Camden
“One of the main reasons we have reached 7,000 older people and counting, is that we have had the opportunity to test and learn different approaches to our work and put the learning we have gathered into action.”
Ageing Better in Camden has come a long way in the last four years. Partnership Development Officer Corinna Gray tells us more.
Rental Housing for an Ageing Population
“The first thing to state is that it is pleasing to see the concerns of older private renters taken seriously. For too long there has been an assumption that “generation rent” refers only to younger renters making their first steps onto the property ladder. In reality, the number of older private renters is growing steeply, with the number of households in the private rented sector headed by someone aged over 64 expected to treble over the next 25 to 30 years.”
The APPG on Housing and Care for Older People has released a new report titled “Rental Housing for an Ageing Population”. We take a leaf through the findings, particularly how the recommendations match up to our own research into the experiences of older private renters.
Decent and Accessible Housing for London
The Decent and Accessible Homes for Older People report aimed to understand the detrimental impact of poor housing on older people’s physical, mental and social wellbeing. As a result of this inquiry, the APPG for Ageing and Older People have made 13 recommendations for change, including the impact of poor quality, inaccessible housing on health, issues in supported housing and the private rented sector, as well as the importance of home improvement agencies.
In this week’s blog we take a look through the findings of the “Decent and Accessible Homes for Older People” report and see how the recommendations provided can help London to become an Age-friendly City.
State of London Debate 2019
“The State of London Debate began with a brief speech from Sadiq Khan, outlining his tenure to date, and discussing his plans for the future. The Mayor emphasised his aim to make London a fairer city, whilst also acknowledging the difficulties the capital has faced in recent years – namely the recent rise in knife crime, the terror attacks of 2017, and the challenges posed by austerity and Brexit. The Mayor stated his desire to do more to improve the environment, to further tackle discrimination, and to do all he can to prevent a no-deal Brexit.”
Last night, Age UK London attended the State of London Debate – a yearly opportunity for organisations and members of the public to put questions to the Mayor of London. Find out what the Mayor had to say about a number of topics and read our questions to him!