Housing Options for Older People

There are several options you may wish to consider if your home is no longer as suitable for you as it once was. Be open to thinking about moving, but also look into services that might help you 'stay put' successfully. Below we provide links to some of the main options.

Staying put and adapting your home 

Most older people wish to stay put, and if this is what you want to do, the challenge is to do it well. Much can be done to make most houses or flats easier to use, and there are reliable services to help organise adaptations or repairs to make your home more suitable or comfortable. A bit of help can be arranged, as can trips out; and an emergency call system could give peace of mind.

Read more about staying put and independent living

Find a Home Improvement Agency to help you repair or adapt your home

Moving to a more suitable property

It might be worth considering moving to a new home without stairs, in a more convenient location, in better repair, easier to maintain or without a large garden. There are services to help you find a suitable home and to help with all that’s involved – from packing, to finances to arranging the move itself.

Read about moving to more suitable property and retirement accommodation

Moving to a new home where help or care is at hand

There is a wide range of housing in the UK built specially for older people, from traditional sheltered accommodation to retirement villages. More and more ‘schemes’ have care staff discretely at hand to provide assistance, when needed, to frailer and more vulnerable old people.

Read about housing with support or care and assisted living

Find your local sheltered, retirement and assisted living schemes

Moving to a care home

For some elderly people, moving to a care home is a positive choice, for others it is a necessity. Daily chores become a thing of the past, and care and support is always at hand. Many care homes offer excellent service, and there is a wide range of sizes and types.

Read about care homes

Find your local care homes

Self training module for advisers 

If you work with older people you are welcome to browse and download our FREE self training guides, designed to meet the needs of staff and volunteers who work with older people in a variety of settings as well as older people who are group and community leaders and activists:

Advising older people about their housing choices in later life

Advising older people about their care choices in later life