According to the Older People's Housing Taskforce, a presumption in favour of applications to develop later living homes should be introduced into national planning policy.
The taskforce, who were appointed by the previous government, says planning policy must be strengthened to deliver more homes for an ageing population, with local authorities given the right levers to reverse a chronic undersupply to meet growing demand. It states that planning consents for older people's housing have fallen from around 180 in 2015 to just 80 in 2023.
Alongside the presumption, the taskforce calls for updated government guidance on how planning authorities should approach later living schemes that are "service-led, with significant non-saleable spaces, and on-site staffing and support or care".
It also demands a review of how planning obligations and contributions are applied to applications for older people's housing, arguing that these can tip schemes away from being viable to deliver, owing to the higher costs of building adaptable and accessible homes.
Other recommendations include:
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said the consultation on National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) reforms had "tested proposals to promote the delivery of mixed-use sites, including housing designed for specific groups such as older people".
Pennycook added that the government is also working with the Planning Advisory Service on how use classes apply to specialist older people's housing.
Theo Plowman, Assistant Director of Policy at the British Property Federation, commented: "We welcome the drive to build trust among older people and their families, transparency around fees, charges, and options is vital to fostering confidence in age-appropriate housing. We will also be looking to explore a fairer more effective leasehold system for older people alongside the government".
"The government must seize this moment to act decisively. This report provides a roadmap to addressing the longstanding challenges, but its success depends on structures that translate ambition into delivery. The opportunity to make transformational change for older people is here and must be treated with the same ambition within the government's housing strategy".
John Tonkiss, Chief Executive at retirement community developer and manager McCarthy Stone, said: "This report is the blueprint for providing the safe, secure, accessible and affordable housing that our rapidly ageing population needs. Millions of older people are unable to move from their existing homes into something better suited to their needs because there are so few options for them to move to. This blocks the housing ladder, creates issues in the NHS and social care system and stymies economic investment".
"The government has a unique opportunity to address years of undersupply in the retirement community sector if it chooses to implement these recommendations and meet the estimated demand for 30,000-50,000 new retirement properties a year, up from just 7,000 currently. While we welcome the report’s publication, we now need to see urgent action. We look forward to working with ministers to make this happen".
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