Home Safety Tips for Older Adults

Even small changes can help protect your aging parents and make your loved one’s house accident-proof

Sharon Jayson,

AARP

Comments

En español

Published November 19, 2021

/ Updated August 22, 2024

Getty Images

With loved ones living longer and needing more care, many families struggle with the best way to help an aging relative.

More than three-quarters of U.S. adults age 50 and older want to stay in their current homes for as long as possible, but 1 in 10 adults over 65 reported having difficulty living in or using their home, including climbing the stairs, according to an October 2023 U.S. Census Bureau report. About 40 percent of U.S. homes are "aging-ready," meaning they have a step-free entryway and a first-floor bathroom and bedroom. Other age-friendly modifications are rare: Only 5 percent of homes have a ramp, and only 1 percent have some kind of lift to assist with stairs.

Adapting your home to accommodate another’s needs is a step some are hesitant to make. But if you’re contemplating this move, consider advice from the experts who say the trend is likely to continue as the nation’s population ages.

“We’re hearing more from the caregivers that are modifying their home so their older relative can move in with them,” says Sandy Markwood, chief executive of USAging, a national association of local Area Agencies on Aging.

Step 1: Low-cost safety tips

Many people find that they can make these changes themselves.

Add textured, no-slip strips in the bathtub and shower.
Apply nonslip wax on floors.
Use a shower chair, preferably with a back.
Put nonskid treads on steps.
Remove throw rugs.
Remove wheels on chairs.
Replace standard doorknobs with lever handles.
Replace toilet with a raised or high-profile toilet.
Use rubber-backed bathmats.

Step 2: Expensive changes

These modifications often require professional help to make a home more accessible for a wheelchair.

Alter the shower for walk-in rather than step-over entry.
Create zero-threshold entryways.
Move light switches for easy reach from a wheelchair or bed.
Widen doorways and hallways.

Those agencies can provide in-home safety assessments, Markwood says. But she acknowledges the accommodations are often not easy.

“The first thing people think of is, This is going to look like a hospital, and I don’t want my house to look bad,” she says. “There are things you can do that blend in with that decor and make a house a home.”

Assess your home for tripping hazards

Falls are a major health hazard for older Americans, causing 3 million emergency room visits and 1 million hospitalizations each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some simple, inexpensive adjustments can go a long way toward reducing fall risks, says Bryan Oden, a longtime physical therapist and cofounder of BubbleCare, a Texas-based company that helps families find caregiver assistance. (See this story for tips to help loved ones with dementia stay safe at home.)

Watch out for pets. To prevent tripping, Oden recommends having a secure area for the pet as the older resident moves around. “It’s a huge fall risk,” he says. “At no point in time have I ever said, ‘You need to get rid of your animal.’ But at the same time, you need to keep them away.”

Signal changes in floor surface. Changes in floor surfaces from tile to wood or carpet create potential dangers at doorways. “A great recommendation is putting orange tape to help alert you,” Oden says.

Secure rugs and cords. Throw rugs are a hazard, especially for people on walkers, as the front legs may clear the rug but the back legs get caught up. Electrical cords are another danger, he says.

Add sensor-activated lights. With age come increased chances of cataracts and increased problems seeing well under low light levels. Oden recommends installing plug-in sensor lights.

Take it slow. Keep in mind that what might look to you like minor steps to age-proof a home may strike your parents “as something bigger, like losing independence,” Oden says. “It could be very upsetting and a major obstacle for change. Have empathy, understanding and compassion.”

Professionals can help

Those who aim for more extensive and expensive remodeling can seek out a contractor designated by the National Association of Home Builders as a certified aging-in-place specialist (CAPS).

The industry group created the CAPS program to give homeowners some assurance that they are hiring a builder with knowledge about the challenges older clients can face. The aim is to reduce the risk that someone inexperienced with the needs of an older adult could create a harmful situation — grab bars improperly installed, for example.

More than 10,000 people have been certified as CAPS, and training is offered online and at dozens of locations around the country. But Dan Bawden, who helped found the program and trains peers for the certification, says that number represents a tiny fraction of the country’s contractors and remodelers.

Video: What is a HomeFit Home?

“Having homes that are unfriendly to seniors as they get older is nothing new,” says Bawden, owner and president of Legal Eagle Contractors, a custom building and remodeling firm based in Bellaire, Texas. “In really older houses, doors are almost always too skinny.”

Modification costs range from basics, such as $650 for adding grab bars, to $3,500 to widen a doorway. To truly modify a 2,000-square-foot house not built for accessibility can be a $150,000 to $180,000 project if it includes installing additional lighting, building ramps to get inside from outdoors, widening doorways, remodeling floors without bumps and threshold changes, and redoing at least one bathroom and the kitchen, Bawden says.

How to get financial assistance for changes

Local or state programs can provide financial assistance for retrofits such as grab bars, Bawden says. In some cases, funds may be available for a change a doctor prescribes as medically necessary.

As a general rule, traditional Medicare doesn’t cover most retrofits. But some types of Medicare Advantage plans may provide coverage. Medicare allows these plans to pay for shower grips and other safety devices designed to prevent falls and for accessibility improvements to a member’s home, such as permanent ramps or wider hallways and doors to accommodate wheelchairs in certain circumstances.

More on aging in place

Consider smart home
Affordable upgrades
Is moving the solution?
5 home tech products
Home safety tips
AARP HomeFit guides

Low-interest loans for home improvements are options. If your family’s income is low, you live in a rural area and the home being modified belongs to someone age 62 or older, the renovations may qualify for the federal Section 504 single family home repair program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Your state or local government also might have a loan or grant program to help seniors stay in their homes. Habitat for Humanity offers an Aging in Place program for low-income families. The national program targets exterior repairs, but some affiliates also will help with accessibility.

Also check with social service agencies that lend equipment such as wheelchairs or ramps.

Editor's note: This article, originally published Nov. 28, 2019, has been updated with more recent information on the 65-plus population, fall risks, the CAPS program and home-modification costs.

Video: Preparing Your Home for Safe Mobility

Sharon Jayson is a contributing writer who covers aging, family, health care and retirement. She previously worked for USA Today and the Austin American-Statesman, and she also has written for Kaiser Health News, Time magazine and The Washington Post.