Specialist housing for older people

This fact sheet is about housing designed or designated for older people. In most cases, this is people over the age of 55 or 60. Specialist housing for older people comes in many different forms, which can be grouped according to the level of support offered. Broadly speaking, there are three different levels of support:  ‘age-exclusive’ housing, where residents have to be over a certain age to qualify, but little or no support is provided.  ‘housing-with-support’, where residents receive support services such as an emergency alarm system, but staff do not provide care.  ‘housing-with-care’, where staff provide care services such as help with washing, dressing, toileting and taking medication.