Retirement Housing Group has issued a briefing note to CIL practitioners on viability appraisal of retirement housing. The note prepared by Three Dragons for RHG, sets out the key issues affecting viability of older persons housing provision compared with provision of general needs housing. It provides clear baseline information on the economics of provision of retirement housing which will assist CIL viability practitioners in those locations where there has been no recent provision of retirement housing to carry out a robust viability appraisal of this product.
Stephen Ladyman Chair of Retirement Housing Group said
New provision of retirement housing (whether sheltered or extracare) is very patchy across the country and provision of sale housing in particular is focussed on the South East and South West with very limited delivery outside these locations.
In low to medium value areas it is already very difficult for retirement housing to compete with mainstream housing development. The introduction of CIL will have a negative impact on viability and further reduce supply. To date most local authorities have not carried out a viability appraisal of retirement housing as part of the evidence base which supports the CIL charging schedule. Those local authorities who have undertaken a viability appraisal have appraised extracare but not sheltered housing and have generally found that, like Care Homes and other C2 uses, newbuild sale extracare housing cannot support a CIL payment.
This paper seeks to provide evidence which will enable viability practitioners to appraise both types of retirement housing, even in those locations where no newbuild stock has recently been provided.
For more information the document can be accessed here and a letter about the importance of separate viability appraisals for older people here