Older People Accused of "Hoarding" Space

Several recent news and media reports have used the rather unpleasant term “hoarding” to describe the living arrangements of older people whose children have grown. These people, it is suggested, should give up the homes they have worked a lifetime for in favour of the younger generations who “need” these homes.

The Intergenerational Foundation has suggested that working families have no living space, while older people are “selfishly” keeping homes and space they no longer need for their families. In a statement suggestive of an interesting new form of ageism, the co-founder of the foundation, Angus Hanton, said: "The divide between the housing 'haves' and 'have nots' has moved from being one dominated by wealth or class to one dominated by age."

In response to the crisis perceived to be created by these older people, the foundation has suggested that stamp duty be dropped to encourage older people to move.

Of course there is more than one side to this debate, with older people advocates such as Age UK protesting vehemently against this kind of prejudice, according to an article in The Guardian.

Although many older people do decide to exchange their family homes for smaller establishments, the choice should remain theirs. They have, after all, paid for the homes they live in at the same times as facing increasing living costs and decreasing government help.

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