Older people 'may prefer flats to rent in London'

Older people could opt for renting flats in the London borough of Wandsworth as the government proposes to encourage them to move out of larger homes they can no longer afford to run.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Iain Duncan Smith announced plans to encourage older members of the public to leave large council houses in favour of renting smaller flats.

This move would open up a number of council houses suitable for working families otherwise squashed into inadequate homes.

The coalition's plans hope to make it more attractive for older people to downsize their homes while still guaranteeing security of tenure.

Improving the availability of smaller homes and flats could in turn see an increase in the number of older people moving into smaller rented property.

Prior to Mr Duncan Smith's announcement, the National Housing Federation (NHF) called for radical changes to the planning system to allow for more social housing to be built. The NHF wrote to housing secretary Grant Shapps and highlighted the need for the coalition to honour its planned spending on social housing in a bid to combat overcrowding in many council houses.

By Ben Carter

Published 29th June, 2010

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