Managing the challenge to social housing of an ageing English population

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the management of the (accessible) social housing stock as a means to achieve a cost effective solution to meeting the needs of an ageing population. The paper examines the costs and effectiveness of an accessible housing register (AHR) as the primary means social landlords have to utilise accessible housing stock efficiently.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper examines the cost effectiveness of the most advanced AHR in the UK. The data for the study was collected in 2009 (costs/expenditure quoted relate to that year) and is derived from a combination of interrogating computerised allocation records and the collection of information on costs through interviews with local authority staff.

Findings

The concept of an AHR can involve substantial set up costs. The financial analysis to assess their cost effectiveness proves complex but suggests that an efficient full register could be more than justified in these terms if it led to a reduction in costs, through the removal of the need for a relatively small number of adaptations in the first years of a tenancy.

Originality/value

This is the first study that assesses the financial case for AHRs.

Citation

Jones, C. (2013), "Managing the challenge to social housing of an ageing English population", Housing, Care and Support, Vol. 16 No. 3/4, pp. 106-113. https://doi.org/10.1108/HCS-08-2013-0012