Sheltered housing, sheltered accommodation & retirement home directory for elderly care and retirement in the UK
Directory of sheltered housing, sheltered accommodation, retirement homes, retirement properties and retirement villages for elderly people choosing their retirement housing options in the UK. Read a guide to sheltered housing or retirement housing.
Sheltered housing, retirement homes for elderly care in England
Sheltered housing, retirement homes for elderly care in Scotland
Sheltered housing, retirement homes for elderly care in Wales
Sheltered housing, retirement homes for elderly care in Northern Ireland
What is sheltered housing, retirement homes?
Sheltered housing (also known as
retirement housing) is a group of flats or bungalows where all residents are older people (usually over 55). With a few exceptions, all developments (or 'schemes') provide independent, self-contained homes with their own front doors. There are usually some common facilities that all residents can use - such as a residents' lounge, a guest suite, a garden and often a laundry.
Many schemes also have their own 'manager' or 'warden', either living on-site or nearby, whose job is to manage the scheme and help arrange any services residents need. Properties are usually also linked to an careline service ( also called emergency alarm or community alarm service) so that residents can call help if needed.
There are many different types of scheme, both to rent or to buy. They usually contain between 15 and 40 properties ranging in size from studios to 2, and occasionaly 3 bedrooms. Properties in most schemes are designed to make life a little easier for older people - with features like raised electric sockets, lowered worktops, walk-in showers, and so on. Some are designed to accommodate wheelchair users.
New forms of sheltered housing have been pioneered in recent years, to cater for older people who are becoming more frail and less able to do everything for themselves. These are known as extra care, very sheltered or assisted living schemes. Most properties in these schemes will suit less mobile people and wheelchair users, and bathrooms particularly will be designed to make it easier for assistance to be offered. Schemes may have their own care staff, and will usually provide one or more meals each day, if required.
To read more about sheltered, retirement and extra care housing, and many other housing options for older people, browse the Guide to options in the Making choices section of this site.
To find sheltered and retirement housing schemes, or extra care housing, anywhere in the UK, use our Search for retirement housing.
Further information
Contact our free FirstStop Advice service for further information on this subject, or to discuss any aspect of care, support and housing for older people. FirstStop Advice is run by EAC alongside the charities Help the Aged and Counsel and Care, and care fees specialists NHFA Limited.
Advice Line: Freephone 0800 377 7070, Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm
Email: info@firststopadvice.org.uk
Further reading on sheltered housing, retirement homes
- A guide to Extra Care Sheltered Housing in England
A directory listing details of over 850 extra care housing schemes in England by county. The price for the printed version includes a free copy of 'Statistics on Extra Care Housing in England', an analysis of provision by region, county and district. - A guide to Extra Care Sheltered Housing in England (sample pages)
Sample pages from EAC's directory of over 850 extra care housing schemes in England by county. - Action on Sheltered Housing - A Checklist for Social Services
A checklist for Social Services about sheltered housing that aims to improve joint working, by raising awareness of the potential benefits. Outline information about sheltered housing, together with a checklist of key questions for social services department staff so that they can assess how well they understand & could work with sheltered housing - Action on Sheltered Housing - Information & checklist for hospital & primary care staff
Outline information about sheltered housing, together with a checklist of key questions for hospital & primary care staff so that they can assess how well they understand & could work with sheltered housing - Beyond Sheltered Accommodation : A review of extra care and care home provision for BME elders
Details information from the desk research stage of a proposed "Review of service provision for a changing, diverse older peoplation in England : Extra care housing and care homes". - Buying Retirement Housing
Describes retirement housing, (also known as sheltered housing), explains some of the rights that purchasers have and highlights some things to consider when buying retirement housing. - Buying Retirement Housing
Describes retirement housing, (also known as sheltered housing), explains some of the rights that purchasers have and highlights some things to consider when buying retirement housing. - Cardiff Guide to Sheltered and Retirement Housing
- Charging for Extra Care Sheltered Housing Services in Salford
Case Study 16 gives an example of how Extra Care tenants in Salford City Council benefit from joint working, information sharing and use of technology, as Supporting People subsidy and Fairer Charging assessments are put into practice. - Checklist for Sheltered & Retirement Housing Providers
Checklist, or tool, for sheltered housing providers to assess how well they work with health & social care services to meet the needs of residents. Useful for Best Value and Supporting People Reviews. A series of questions with tick boxes for answers. - EAC Retirement Housing Search
Enables you to search EAC's entire database of sheltered, retirement and extra care housing developments throughout the UK. - Fife Guide to Sheltered and Retirement Housing
- Inrtermediate Care Services within Extra Care Sheltered Housing in Maidenhead
Housing LIN Case Study no 14. Example of an integrated intermediate care service providing short term, intensive support and assistance combined with the facilities and services offered by extra care housing - Internet Access and Online Services for Older People Living in Sheltered Housing
Report on a small scale study that explored how older people in sheltered homes use the internet and how they and their carers feel about onlilne service access - Mediation Information Sheet for Managers of Sheltered & Retirement Housing
Information about mediation and the role of AIMS in mediation - Not Alone: A Good Practice Guide to working with people with Dementia in Sheltered Housing
A good practice guide about how staff could and should deal with sheltered housing residents suffering from dementia - Opening up the Resources of Sheltered Housing to the Wider Community
Guide examining the issues around expanding the reach and scope of sheltered housing schemes to meet the housing and care needs of the wider community. - Pennine Court: Remodelling sheltered housing to include extra care for people with learning difficulties
Case Study 29 describe the development of extra care housing opportunities for older people with learning difficulites within a conventional shetered housing scheme in Salford - Planning for Retirement Housing
Good practice guide, with recommendations, for those involved in the planning and development of retirement housing - Private Retirement Housing
Briefly discusses retirement housing and covers topics such as scheme managers (wardens) and alarms, facilities usually provided, design features, providers of private sheltered housing, restrictions, cost of properties, quality, arranging a viewing, how to get more information about purchase options and service charges and the legal aspects of buying. - Property Law Reform & Retirement Housing
An overview of Scottish legislation, i.e. Abolition of the Feudal tenure (Scotland) Act 2000, The Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003, & The Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 effective on 28th November 2004, and how this might affect owners of retirement housing in Scotland - Refurbishing or remodelling sheltered housing ; a checklist for developing extra care.
A framwork in decision making for the development of extra care housing from ordinary sheltered housing. Factsheet 10 - Remodelling Sheltered Housing and Residential Care Homes to Extra Care Housing - Advice to housing and care providers
This advice is based on the findings of the project Remodelling Sheltered
Housing and Residential Care Homes to Extra Care Housing, carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of two social gerontologists, two architects, a rehabilitation engineer, an occupational therapist and an economist. - Rented Retirement Housing
Briefly discusses retirement housing (also called sheltered housing) and covers topics such as scheme managers (wardens) and alarms, facilities usually provided, design features, Registered Social Landlords and how to apply for rented retirement housing. - Retirement Housing : Ownership and Independence
This report examines the findings of a survey of 1,067 residents of Guardian retirement housing. The report presents information from the survey on the characteristics of Guardian residents, their housing histories, the reasons why they decided to move into retirement housing, how people rated their accommodation, levels of satisfaction with the services provided, and issues relating to affordability and value for money. - Review of Sheltered Housing in Scotland
1. Overview of the supply of sheltered housing in Scotland
2. Age, condition and suitability of sheltered housing provision
3. Demand for sheltered housing
4. Services provided and charges
5. Residents’ experience of sheltered housing based on postal survey
6. Key findings from site visits and interviews and focus groups with sheltered
housing residents
7. External impressions of sheltered housing
8. The changing role of sheltered housing
9. Concluding observations - Sheltered Housing
An introduction to sheltered housing and general advice on choosing accommodation. - Sheltered Housing & Supporting People
Supporting People is the new programme for delivering and paying for housing support. It was introduced in April 2003, when the planning and funding of housing support was transferred to local authorities. The majority of older people who receive this support live in sheltered housing. This leaflet explains the system and tells where to find help. - Sheltered Housing & the Resettlement of Older Homeless People.
Briefing paper on a report produced for Help the Aged/HACT. It aims to stimulate debate about good practice, and is based on research that involved a survey of staff working at 21 English Churches Housing Group's 21 sheltered schemes in the NE of England. It describes problems experienced, and makes recommendations - Sheltered Housing Has Changed - Nine key questions & answers
Describes sheltered housing, what it provides, the role of the scheme manager, eligibility, costs, benefits, & what to look for. - Sheltered Housing Workbook
HQN sheltered housing workbook asks the sort of questions that the Housing Inspectorate is likely to raise during a Best Value (BV) inspection, and has been updated to include the Supporting People programme which will be incorporated into BV reviews. The workbook is aimed at helping local authorities and housing associations (RSLs) undertake an honest assessment of their provision and performance in sheltered housing and plan for continuous improvement - Statistics on Extra Care Sheltered Housing in England
An analysis of extra care housing provision against demographics by English region, county and district. A companion volume, 'A Guide to Extra Care Housing in England', provides full details of each scheme / development. Note that a copy of the statistical report is offered free to purchasers of the Guide. - Suffolk Guide to Sheltered and Retirement Housing
- Supporting People - a guide and checklist for sheltered housing staff
A guide for staff in sheltered housing about the Supporting People regime, service reviews and the Quality Assessment Framework - The numbers game: black and minority ethnic elders
and sheltered accommodation:
This report seeks to find out why so few black and minority ethnic elders are using sheltered housing. It identifies various barriers which go some way to explaining this state of affairs, including hostility from residents and staff, lack of consultation and encouragement from providers, ignorance of black elders' language, customs preferences and concerns, location of schemes and size of dwellings. - The Support Charge in Rented Sheltered Housing
Information about the Support Charge in rented sheltered housing, how it affects residents, and financial help available to pay the charge - UK Guide to extra care sheltered housing schemes - sampler
- Very Sheltered Housing in Suffolk: a design and management guids
The purpose of this Housing Design and Management Guide is to offer advice and pass on experience about Very Sheltered Housing. The Guide takes as its starting point the beginning of the design and development process. It assumes that such matters as the identifi cation of need and the provision of adequate capital and revenue funding have already been fully investigated and resolved. - Whittons Mill, Gainsborough - Sheltered Housing Contributes to Regeneration
Case Study 15: Whitton’s Mill is an exciting development where two social purposes – regeneration and social housing for older people - have coincided to the mutual benefit of each.