The nature of British housing is changing. We already know that, of the 3 million new homes the Government has pledged to build by 2020, those built from 2016 onwards will be “carbon neutral”. On Monday, the Housing Minister, Caroline Flint, added a new rule: every new house built from 2013 must comply with 16 “lifetime homes standards”, designed to allow the elderly to stay in their homes for life by adapting them to their changing needs. All new public housing must comply by 2010.

Government statistics show that by 2026, older people will account for 48 per cent of the increase in the number of households. There will be 2.4 million more elderly households than there are today.

The lifetime homes standards include wider doors for wheelchairs, higher wall sockets, space for a stairlift and hoist from bedroom to bathroom and an accessible downstairs lavatory. New houses will not all have to be designed in the style of a disabled toilet - they will merely have to be flexible enough to be easily adapted should the need arise.

Ms Flint makes clear that, while these standards will be mandatory for all new housing by 2013, she hopes “that the market will respond itself to the demand for sustainable homes. After all, consumers will pay more for adaptable homes.” Other new initiatives include a new handyman service and a national housing advice service for older people.

Good houses don’t just happen at the click of a Prime Minister’s fingers - they will take time

The Shadow Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, has welcomed the proposals, though with reservations about the short notice for developers. Objections come, predictably, from a retirement village builder, Audley, which warns that it is irresponsible to encourage older people to hang on to their family houses when they could be living in a lovely “retirement community”, and from the Home Builders Federation, which threatened to pass the extra cost on to first-time buyers. Ms Flint has promised to work with the Home Builders Federation “to see how expensive it really is”.

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