Safe, affordable, and accessible housing is fundamental to healthy ageing. Housing stability profoundly shapes health, longevity and wellbeing trajectories. Yet housing insecurity is rising, with severe consequences.
Housing insecurity and homelessness have far-reaching health consequences for older people. Research suggests that people aged 50 years and over who are homeless may experience age-related health conditions, such as functional impairments and falls at rates usually seen in the population 20 years older.[i] People experiencing homelessness are at significant risk of poorer health outcomes across several domains and body systems, including chronic and infectious diseases, frailty, poor oral health, social isolation and loneliness.[ii] The loss of stable housing also increases the risk of mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety. [iii] All of which are associated with poorer physical and mental health outcomes and increased dementia risk. [iv]
At the same time, poor physical health, chronic illness, and worsening mental health can push older people into precarious housing or homelessness. Sudden illness, injury or other major life event can create financial or physical challenges that make maintaining stable housing impossible.[v] A lack of accessible housing, the inability to fund home modifications, or refusal by landlords to allow home modifications, can leave older adults with mobility issues at risk of isolation, worsening health, or losing their homes.[vi] For some, housing insecurity may even be tied to elder abuse or family violence, particularly when an older person depends on someone for care and/or accommodation.[vii]
When housing is secure, it acts as a powerful protective factor against a wide range of health risks. However, when that firewall fails, consequences may cascade – chronic conditions worsen, new health risks emerge, and vulnerability increases. Solutions must be holistic, covering age-friendly housing and community design, affordability, integration with health and social services, funding for home modifications, and protections for tenancy security and rental property conditions. Cross-sector collaboration is essential to address the structural drivers of housing vulnerability.
AAG champions this agenda through research, advocacy, and its Housing and Built Environment Special Interest Group (HBESIG). By fostering partnerships and informing policy, the group works to ensure that housing supports independence, safety, and health.
Creating age-inclusive, accessible, and sustainable places requires collaboration. Join the Housing and Built Environment SIG to share expertise and help influence change.
Membership of our SIGs is open to all current financial AAG members. Login to Community to access a SIG today! Not an AAG member? Join now!
[i] Suh, K., Beck, J., Katzman, W., & Allen, D. D. (2020). Homelessness and rates of physical dysfunctions characteristic of premature geriatric syndromes: systematic review and meta-analysis. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 38, 858–867. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2020.1809045
[ii] Gordon, S.J., Baker, N., Marin, T.S., Steffens, M. (2025). Health Deficits Among People Experiencing Homelessness in an Australian Capital City: An Observational Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 22, 135. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22020135
[iii] Brackertz, N., Wilkinson, A. & Davison, D. (2018). Housing, homelessness and mental health: towards systems change. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI): Melbourne, https://www.ahuri.edu.au/housing/trajectories/Housing-homelessness-and-mental-health-towards-systems-change
[iv] Stevens, E., Carson, R., & Wall, L. (2024). Social isolation: Factors, dynamics and effects of isolation for older people; Australian Institute of Family Studies, Commonwealth of Australia. https://aifs.gov.au/all-research/research-snapshots/social-isolation-factors-dynamics-and-effects-isolation-older; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2026). Social Isolation and Loneliness. https://www.aihw.gov.au/mental-health/topic-areas/social-isolation-and-loneliness; World Health Organization (2021). Social isolation and loneliness among older people: advocacy brief. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240030749
[v] Australian Association of Gerontology (2018). Background Paper. Older women experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. Melbourne. https://aag.asn.au/libraryviewer?ResourceID=337
[vi] The Senate Community Affairs References Committee (2023). The worsening rental crisis in Australia: Final report. Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Worseningrentalcrisis/Final_Report
[vii] Munoz Rodriguez, F. (2025). Housing and elder abuse: How housing has impacted HAAG clients’ experiences of elder abuse 2020-24. Housing for the Aged Action Group, Melbourne. https://www.oldertenants.org.au/sites/default/files/haag_elder_abuse_and_housing_report_12_june_2025_final.pdf