Housing Needs for the Ageing Communities

  HOUSING NEEDS FOR THE AGEING COMMUNITIES

Dr Sr Ainoriza Mohd Aini (Project Leader)

Associate Professor Dr. Sr Wan Nor Azriyati Wan Abd Aziz

Associate Professor Dr. Sr Noor Rosly Hanif

University of Malaya

ABSTRACT

As Malaysia is approaching to become an ageing nation, it is important to study the housing needs of those who are nearing retirement age in order to provide appropriate and conducive housing for them. The study examined 1,243 Malaysian aged 40 and above or the middle adults’ housing expectations which will affect their housing preferences and decisions. This study covers four regions that have the highest percentage of population above 40 years old in Malaysia including Klang Valley, Perak, Johor and Kelantan in order to examine the key problems related to issues and challenges in providing good quality housing for the elderly in Malaysia. The findings show that the vast majority of the respondents indicated that they have strong willingness to continue to stay at their current home. There are generally satisfied with all aspect of their house although they expressed concerned about certain aspects of their house. Although certain groups have their own preferences for future housing plan, the findings demonstrated that most of them expressed strong desire to age-in-place, surrounded by family members, friends as well as suitable facilities. This suggests that to a certain degree, the housing policy should consider these housing needs and requirements of middle adults in facing the ageing nation.

Keywords: Housing, Housing needs, Ageing population, Expectation, Elderly, Malaysia