Funding will help elderly downsize their property

Older council tenants could be helped with moves into smaller properties by ‘house hunters’ under new Government plans. The proposals would see officers providing help to older people with things like finding a home and actually moving their possessions.

Housing minister Grant Shapps says the idea will help to make sure that social housing stock in Britain is used in the most effective way possible.

Currently, around a quarter of a million families have to live in overcrowded conditions, yet there are 430,000 properties with at least two bedrooms remaining empty. Councils will have access to some £13 million of Government funds to assist tenants in looking to ‘downsize’ their accommodation. Local authorities will decide how to use their share of the cash.

The funding would also cover the cost of moving and additional expenses such as decoration and minor improvements at their new property.

Mr Shapps wanted to make it clear that nobody would be forced to move. He said: “Older people can become the victims of their own changed circumstances, as the home they have lived in for years become places to endure, not enjoy. As children grow up and fly the nest, these tenants can often find themselves trapped in larger family homes that no longer meet their needs.”

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