Access to affordable housing is a rising concern, and social housing is one approach to support low-income, older renters. A scoping review was undertaken to understand the characteristics of older tenants and social housing services to identify strategies to promote aging in place. Seven peer review databases were searched to identify relevant articles. A total of 146 articles were included. Almost all examined socio-demographic and health characteristics of older tenants, while 72 per cent examined social housing services, including eligibility policies, staffing, and access to on-site services. This review points to a high vulnerability among older tenants and highlights the importance of co-locating services on-site with a tenant-facing support staff to identify vulnerable tenants and link them to services. More research on tenancy issues (e.g., unit condition, rental management) is needed to identify new opportunities for social housing landlords to help older tenants age in place.

In June 1993, the newly elected Progressive Conservative government of Alberta headed by Ralph Klein initiated a three-year deficit-elimination plan focussing exclusively on expenditure reductions. Despite the rapid implementation of this plan over the next three years, most Albertans did not find subsequent changes in government services and the shift of costs to the consumer to be consequential.Senior citizens, however, differ in a number of significant ways from the general population. Direct reductions in benefits, as well as cost-of-living increases and increases in other costs, combined to create a larger impact for seniors. A case study of one middle-income senior couple illustrates this point. This paper indicates that a more in-depth appraisal of the potential impact of social policy changes on vulnerable groups should be undertaken in other jurisdictions prior to the adoption of such fiscal-reform plans.