*Perspective Chapter: Is Expecting Older People to Downsize to Help Solve the Nation's Housing… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108047*

made mandatory rather than voluntary, the Housing Champions group to which I belong have made their feelings clear in the consultation process.

What are campaigners like myself arguing for? Well not that much really. Category 2 requires a home to be accessible to most people and fit for purpose for older people, those with reduced mobility and some wheelchair users. The estimated additional cost to developers would be an extra £1400 per home [20]. However, not making them readily accessible will incur a cost we will all pay… this and future generations.

To me, this all comes down to looking at the impact of inappropriate or poor housing on health in a far more integrated, holistic way and breaking down the silos that currently exist between the various departments and organisations with a stake in this, allied with a willingness (or otherwise) to invest in the future.

Another example of this blinkered vision that has thwarted the development of more housing for older people is the regular resistance seen at planning committees throughout the land… resistance from local residents who insist that starter homes for young people should take priority, but also resistance from councillors who fear the impact of having more older people to care for in their community – ignoring the fact that these are the very older people currently living locally in unsuitable homes and whose care bills will ultimately be paid for by that same local authority.

Agreed, starter, affordable and family-sized homes are needed too. But consider this: every time an older person moves out of a home that has become too big for them and into a purpose-built unit, it frees up a home for a younger couple or family to occupy… a virtuous circle. The older person, meanwhile, could have delayed moving into a care setting as well as freed up capital that will help them fund that care. It should not always be "either-or", as I'll come onto later.
