An expert team of lawyers who specialise in supporting clients in the Later Living sector have announced the results of a survey looking at the perceptions and attitudes of consumers to retirement living.

The team from national law firm Clarke Willmott LLP, carried out the inaugural ‘Retirement Living – consumer attitudes survey 2021’ after seeing an uptick in demand for residential developments designed for retirees and older clientele.

The survey was completed by over 300 private individuals from across the UK and threw up some interesting results on demographics, perceptions in the wake of the pandemic and the most important factors people consider when thinking about retirement living.

Paul Hinett, a partner in Clarke Willmott’s commercial property team, specialising in development, said: “In recent years we have seen an increased diversity of property solutions in the retirement market and we were keen to broaden our insight in relation to this market and to share this with our clients, contacts and others with an interest in this growth sector.

“It has been predicted by Age UK that by 2030, one in five of the UK population will be over 65. This raises questions about the availability of housing and how pressure on the market can be relieved, whilst ensuring that our elderly population have homes where they are comfortable and their lifestyle can be maintained. Whilst there are challenges that arise from an aging population, there are also significant and exciting opportunities for property developers.”

The results of the survey showed that retirement living is not just for the elderly, over 50% of respondents would consider moving to a retirement development before the age of 75, with a quarter being open to the idea before they reach 65.

Interestingly, 50% of these same respondents when asked about their reservations relating to moving to a retirement development, select “feeling old before my time” as a response.

When given the opportunity to select multiple features that are important in a retirement property, it is perhaps less surprising that “location” is the most important feature, selected by two thirds of people.

For over 80% of those interested in the idea of living in a retirement development, the green credentials of the site will also be important.

When considering the implications of the coronavirus pandemic some respondents were worried about potential isolation from family and visitors while some stated that retirement living is more attractive because of the ready-made community.

Paul continued: “The survey certainly makes for useful reading for anyone with an interest in the sector. Over the coming months we will be using the results to tailor our advice and services for clients and produce helpful articles on specific aspects of the findings.”

Clarke Willmott has extensive expertise in the later living sector acting for a number of major later living developers, including Retirement Villages, Blue Cedar Homes and LifeStory Group as well as advising a range of later living care providers across the UK.

Services include site acquisition, planning and the environment, construction, facilities management, home sales, property finance and dispute resolution.

Clarke Willmott is a national law firm with offices in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton.

For more information visit https://www.clarkewillmott.com/legal-expertise/later-living/