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More than a third of homeowners over the age of 50 have claimed their house is in need of repair, with their roofs requiring the most attention.

According to research from Saga Personal Finance, 34 per cent of Britons who’ve celebrated their 50th birthday have homes that are deteriorating and in need of some property TLC.

The poll of more than 14,000 over-50s revealed that more than one in six people (16 per cent) said the roof is the aspect of their home that they would like to have fixed the most.

Meanwhile, one in seven (13 per cent) respondents said their drainage and guttering needs work and one in ten (8 per cent) said their heating requires the attention of a tradesperson.

The further north you get, the more desperate the roofing situation gets. A wet and windy winter in Scotland could be disastrous for many homeowners because 26 per cent of people polled north of the border said they are in need of roofing repair.

This does not necessarily mean that homeowners in London are sitting in pristine properties that are in full working order. Far from it. According to the survey, 42 per cent of Londoners are in need of housing repair.

Andrew Goodsell, Executive Chairman, Saga Group, said because people are living longer, it means they are living in their homes longer and their retirement funds have to stretch that little bit further.