How do we fix the housing crisis? Welcome to The i Paper’s opinion series, in which our writers share their experiences of the UK’s dysfunctional housing system and examine how we can fix it.
Pensioners like me have a moral responsibility to downsize for young peopleThe biggest lie I was told about owning my own homeThe UK’s new rental scandal that no one is talking aboutThe bizarre tricks estate agents are now using to sell a house
At first it seems so obvious. When people become older not only do they not need as much space as they used to, particularly if they were bringing up children, but also large homes are harder and more expensive to run. Add in the point that they probably have stairs the elderly may find difficult to climb, and of course the overriding societal need for family homes, and downsizing seems a no-brainer. But if you dig in, it would for many older people be a very bad idea indeed.
There are powerful arguments against encouraging downsizing, both for economic and social reasons – and sometimes for a mixture of both. Of course if people choose to downsize that’s fine. For many, it releases funds that can be used for that cruise to the Med, or more probably nowadays to top up the Bank of Mum and Dad. If you have been relying on your property to boost your pension, that makes sense too. For anyone who cannot climb stairs it may be the best option to move to a flat or bungalow – looking at the adverts for stair-lifts in some newspapers, that may indeed be a cheaper option. But let’s look at the arguments for not downsizing, starting with economics.
