The UK is ageing fast, but its housing has not kept up. This brief pulls together the official figures on the growing gap between the homes people will need and the homes that actually exist.
Quote or link with attribution to “UK Home Lifts: The Accessible-Homes Gap, 2026”. Suggested citation:
UK Home Lifts (2026), The Accessible-Homes Gap. https://ukhomelifts.co.uk/accessible-homes-gap/An ageing population
Nearly one in five people in the UK is now aged 65 or over, and that share is projected to keep climbing. The fastest-growing group is the oldest: the number of people aged over 85 is projected to roughly double, from about 1.75 million today to 3.6 million by 2049. These are the households most likely to need step-free access to every floor of a home.
Homes that have not kept up
Housing has not matched that shift. The Centre for Ageing Better reports that around 87 per cent of homes in England lack all four basic “visitability” features — level access to the entrance, a flush threshold, doorways and circulation space wide enough to move around, and an entrance-level toilet. In other words, only about one home in eight is readily usable by someone with a mobility need.
- Around 12 million people who need an accessible home do not have one, a gap that has grown by more than two million in a decade.
- Only 5,000 to 7,000 “later living” homes are built each year, out of roughly 200,000 new homes — nowhere near the rate needed to close the gap.
- Most older people would rather stay in their own home than move, and nearly nine in ten people aged 65 to 79 live in homes with more space than they need, signalling strong attachment to the family home.
Why this points to adapting homes
With new accessible homes being built so slowly, and most older people wanting to stay put, the realistic route to an accessible home for millions of households is adapting the one they already live in. That is where measures like ramps, downstairs bathrooms and home lifts come in: they make an existing two-storey home usable on every floor without anyone having to move. Public funding recognises this too, through the Disabled Facilities Grant of up to £30,000 in England for necessary adaptations.
What it means
The numbers describe a structural, long-term mismatch rather than a passing trend. A rapidly growing older population, a housing stock that is overwhelmingly inaccessible, and a tiny supply of new accessible homes together make home adaptation a mainstream need, not a niche one. For anyone weighing up a lift, our independent home lift finder and price guide are a practical next step.
Methodology and sources
This brief collates published figures from official and well-established sources; it is a synthesis rather than new primary research. Population projections are from the Office for National Statistics. Accessibility and “later living” figures are from the Centre for Ageing Better’s State of Ageing 2025 and its accessible homes research. Grant figures are from gov.uk and the House of Commons Library.
Sources: ONS national population projections (2025); Centre for Ageing Better, State of Ageing 2025 and Accessible Homes Factsheet 2025; gov.uk Disabled Facilities Grant; House of Commons Library. Last updated 2026.
More from our research: UK Home Lift Market Report 2026 and home lift vs the cost of care.
Independent general information, not affiliated with any manufacturer. Figures are drawn from published 2025–2026 sources and rounded. © UK Home Lifts.