When ARCO started, older people’s specialist housing was seen as a niche sub-section of the property market, and one often associated with poor practice.
This has now all changed. Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs) are widely seen as the go-to model of older people’s housing by policymakers, investors and consumers.
What changed? First, UK developers started to take notice of what was happening overseas, especially in New Zealand (NZ) and Australia, which have demonstrated how popular
long-term business models are with consumers, as well as pioneers of housing-with-care in the UK, such as the ExtraCare Charitable Trust.
Secondly, ARCO was formed and set down some red lines in terms of what consumers should expect in relation to transparency and disclosure. The ARCO Consumer Code is now in its eighth year and hundreds of assessments have been undertaken, raising the bar and building trust.
Thirdly, as the IRC sector grew, so did the evidence of the benefits to older people, the NHS and social care systems. Little by little, people have understood that IRCs really do work. And it is the care element that is crucial. One of the key shortcomings of traditional retirement housing models was the absence of any real thinking about care so that people had to move again. IRCs are designed from the ground up to ensure that people can carry on living behind their own front door – even if they experience substantial care needs.
Fast forward to today and a cross-departmental Government Older People’s Housing Task Force has been set up to look at how to grow the sector under the stewardship of both the Social Care Minister and Housing Minister.
It isn’t just the Government taking notice. A recent report commissioned by the Labour Party from The Fabian Society think-tank calls for a ‘major expansion of housing-with-care’ noting that: ‘The UK has far less specialist housing for older people than many comparable countries, and what is available often does not provide sufficient support to prevent care home admissions when people’s needs grow more complex.’
So, what comes next? More growth: ARCO members currently operate over 250 Integrated Retirement Communities in the UK, but the pipeline of new schemes is big.
Better regulation: While ARCO members abide by a strict consumer code, the absence of dedicated consumer regulation for older people’s specialist housing is still anachronistic. Change seems inevitable. Take event fees: they are popular with consumers. But they are also complex transactions worth tens of thousands of pounds involving consumers aged around 80. The absence of specific consumer protection regulation for event fees will surely close before too long.
Public attitudes: As the benefits of IRCs and housing-with-care become better understood, a sea change in public attitudes is coming. In countries such as the US and NZ, IRCs are mainstream and widely understood. Moves into IRCs are planned years ahead. The same will happen in the UK as the sector grows.
The truth is that while the Integrated Retirement Community sector has made huge strides over the last decade, we still lag far behind other countries in terms of provision. What that means is that thousands of older people could be living longer and healthier with lower levels of loneliness and improved wellbeing, if we could grasp the opportunity presented by the sector and grow provision to the level of countries such as New Zealand and Australia. That will be the challenge of the next decade.