Tenure of people living in households: by age, April 2001, Great Britain
The majority of older people are owner-occupiers, although the proportion decreases with age. In 2001, among people aged 50 to 64 living in private households in Great Britain, 80 per cent were owner-occupiers. This compares with 72 per cent of people aged 65 to 84 and 61 per cent of people aged 85 and over.
People over the age of 65 are much more likely to be outright owners than to be buying with a mortgage. This is mainly because, in general, mortgages are arranged so that they are paid off by the time people retire. In 2001, 61 per cent of people aged 65 and over owned their homes outright.
The proportion of those living in rented housing increases with age. Among people aged 50 to 64, 20 per cent were renters. This compares with 28 per cent of people aged 65 to 84 and 40 per cent of people aged 85 and over.
Few older people live in overcrowded conditions – just 1 per cent of people aged 50 and over.
Just over half of all people aged 50 or over in England lived in a property which was under-occupied in 2002/03, although this fell to 32 per cent for those aged 85 or more.
Only a minority of people aged 50 and over report problems with their house. One in ten older people complained of damp rising in floors and walls, of problems with insects, mice or rats or the house being too dark. About 12 per cent of older people said that their house was too cold in winter.
Among people aged 50 to 64 in Great Britain, almost all of them lived in households with central heating (93 per cent) in 2001. The proportion decreased with age, to 86 per cent among those aged 85 and over.
People living in households with or without central heating: by age, April 2001, Great Britain
Sources: Census, April 2001, Office for National Statistics for tenure and central heating data Census, April 2001, General Register Office for Scotland for tenure and central heating data Survey of English Housing for overcrowding/under-occupation data 2002 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing for housing problems data
Notes: Unless otherwise stated, older people refers to those aged 50 yrs and over. All data relate to those living in private housholds. ‘Bedroom standard’ from the Survey of English Housing is used to measure under-occupancy & overcrowding. A standard number of bedrooms is allocated to each household in accordance with its age/sex/marital status composition & relationship of the members to one another. It is then compared with the actual number of bedrooms (including bed-sitters) available for the sole use of the household. Overcrowded is defined as 1 or more bedrooms below the standard; under-occupying is defined as 2 or more bedrooms above the standard
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