The Government appointed an independent Older People’s Housing Taskforce to look at options for the provision of greater choice, quality and security of housing for older people.
The taskforce’s recommendations included Stamp Duty reform for last-time buyers, which was suggested by trade body Propertymark as part of its response to the Government’s consultation.
Propertymark argued that this could free up family-sized dwellings should older people wish to downsize.
Propertymark also called on the Government to offer incentives to developers to build more accessible housing across all tenures, with the taskforce recommending a support package, including tax incentives, for developers and operators.
Propertymark met with taskforce chair Professor Julienne Meyer to respond to the consultation.
The trade body was pleased that the taskforce developed nine core recommendations that include some of its proposals, and an overarching 10th recommendation for delivery of the recommendations.
Tim Thomas, policy and campaigns officer at Propertymark, said: “We welcome the Older People’s Housing Taskforce report and are delighted to see that the Taskforce share
“Propertymark’s policy positions on the need to improve supply across all tenures for older people.
“This is key as the proportion of people aged 50 to 64 who privately rent has nearly doubled over the past decade.
“Equally, we are pleased to see the Taskforce agree on the value of adopting incentives for last time buyers including stamp duty reform for over 65-year-olds, which we also shared with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in our recent budget representation.”
He added: “Propertymark will continue our exciting conversations on the development of a rating scheme to assess the appropriateness of older people’s housing, and we look forward to continuing to engage with officials, Ministers and other stakeholders to ensure there are more housing options for older people and future generations.”
