Most people want to live in their own home, close to family and friends and in the communities they love, for as long as possible. But most of our housing does not meet accessibility standards. And millions of homes are not deemed decent – in other words, not safe or warm.
Safe, accessible housing can maintain or improve health, wellbeing and social connections as people grow older and greatly improve quality of life.
We want people approaching later life to have a greater and more diverse range of housing options that are affordable and suitable for them as their needs change.
To achieve this we’re campaigning with partners for all new homes to be built to higher accessibility standards and are sponsoring an Inquiry into raising the standard of England’s existing homes, called the Good Home Inquiry. We’re also working to make it easier for people to adapt their own homes, including developing the range of home products, fixtures and fittings available from mainstream retailers.