Care Minister tells Conservative Party Chairman government studying international evidence on tenure and housing-with-care
This came as a response to a Parliamentary Question from the Conservative Party Chairman about whether the government is looking at introducing a bespoke tenure model for the UK's Integrated Retirement Community sector, such as ARCO's proposals for a New Zealand-style Retirement Occupancy Lease.
Responding on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care, Care Minister Stephen Kinnock MP recognised the contribution that specialist housing-with-care can make in helping older people maintain their independence while accessing care and support when needed.
The response comes amid growing cross-party recognition that the UK's ageing population will require a wider range of housing options beyond traditional residential care and mainstream housing. Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs) provide residents with their own homes alongside access to on-site care, support, facilities and opportunities for social connection.
ARCO has long argued that expanding housing-with-care provision can improve quality of life for older people, reduce pressure on health and social care services and help tackle the UK's housing challenges by enabling downsizing and freeing up family homes, and keeping older people healthier and well for longer.
The Parliamentary exchange highlights the increasing attention being paid to housing-with-care as policymakers undertake leasehold and social care reform. Baroness Taylor, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, recently told a conference of IRC operators that the government is committed to "ensuring this important sector remains viable, but can also thrive and grow."
NOTES TO EDITORS
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The answer to the Written Parliamentary Question can be found here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-07-08/16934
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ARCO is the national membership body for charity, not-for-profit and private operators of modern housing-with-care schemes, known as Integrated Retirement Communities (IRCs). ARCO provides a voice for the sector with government and sets standards for the sector via the ARCO Consumer Code, which has been approved under the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s Approved Code Scheme. For more information, see: arcouk.or
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IRCs are modern housing-with-care schemes for older people – modern because they embrace a holistic approach to services, facilities, community and wellbeing. All IRCs include:
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24/7 on-site support
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A restaurant/bistro/café, usually with a bar
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Individual units with their own front door, kitchen and lounge
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Communal facilities such as gyms, craft rooms, lounges and gardens
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Personal care at home if it is required.
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The average age people move into an IRC in the UK is around 80 and the average duration of residence is eight years. In addition to the features above, IRC operators offer deferred management fees (sometimes known as ‘event fees’ or ‘exit fees’) in order to enable lower monthly management fees and take on long-term responsibility for maintenance and investment. Unlike traditional retirement housing (which typically use variable service charges and a sinking fund), deferred management fees give operators a direct financial incentive in the resale value of a scheme ('skin in the game'). Independent evidence shows that the use of deferred management fees supports positive resale values.
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Building on the lessons of New Zealand’s system of ‘occupational rights agreements’, ARCO has issued proposals for a ‘Retirement Occupancy Lease’ for the IRC sector, which would reorient the legal framework for the IRC sector away from static leases toward legal arrangements that can be updated for every new resident. From a legal perspective, the Retirement Occupancy Lease could be implemented by mandating the use of key clauses via statutory regulation. The ROL would have the following key features:
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Mandatory fixed management charges removing risk from residents
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Enhanced consumer protection including new routes to redress
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Updated legal agreements for each new resident that are afforded higher protections in law
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Aligned interests on resales – operators take on a direct financial stake in the resale value of schemes (‘skin in the game’, aligning their interest with residents.
ARCO has published its proposals in a briefing entitled “The Retirement Occupancy Lease: Applying international best practice to housing-with-care”, which is available to download on the ARCO website.
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Baroness Taylor, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government recently told the ARCO Annual Conference (01 July, 2026) that:
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"Integrated retirement communities bring together housing, care, and community. They rely on long-term stewardship with operators remaining involved over time, and funding models that often depend on returns realised later, including at resale. That creates a genuine question with the commonhold model, which is designed around homeowner control. We understand that.
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And we have heard clearly the concerns you have raised, particularly around investment certainty, the future of deferred fee models, and the implications for schemes already in development. Through the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, we've already taken steps to ensure a smooth transition, for example, by ensuring that existing leasehold buildings have a choice on whether to convert to commonhold, and we've been consulting on measures to protect live developments and new supply.
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In our Moving to Commonhold consultation published alongside the Bill, we've explicitly encouraged views on how commonhold should apply to older people's housing, and whether different approaches may be needed generally or for different parts of the sector. That consultation closed in at the end of April. We received a wide range of responses, including from many in this room, and thank you very much for all of the work you've done to put in responses. They will help us, and we're considering them very carefully.
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We were clear from the outset that we are listening, and we need your help to get the detail right. This is a complex area with strongly held and sometimes competing views. So, our approach is to work this through very carefully, balancing two considerations: delivering on our manifesto commitment to end the feudal leasehold system and strengthening consumer protection, while ensuring this important sector remains viable, but can also thrive and grow. And we will continue to engage with you as we do so, because our ambition is not simply to reform home ownership, but to make sure it works in practice for this sector and for the people who rely on it."
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Matthew Pennycook MP, the Housing Minister recently told MPs (13 April, 2026):
“… the Government understand the distinct operational and financial models that underpin specialist retirement housing, and that we recognise the important role that integrated retirement community operators play in providing high-quality housing for older people… the way in which the retirement housing sector functions in a world in which commonhold is the default tenure, and whether some kind of exemption is required, are among the many questions we are seeking feedback on in our consultation on moving to commonhold and banning leasehold for new flats.”
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In the report of its pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee noted:
“…the care model and complex financing of some retirement housing— particularly Integrated Retirement Communities—may justify a different approach to other leasehold housing.”
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5902/cmselect/cmcomloc/40/report.html
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Contact:
James Lloyd
Director of Policy & Communications
ARCO (Associated Retirement Community Operators)
07535 088498
