Housing for the Elderly – an Underestimated Challenge for Policymakers and Society

As our society ages in line with the demographic transition, more and more of the elderly find themselves limited in their physical mobility or increasingly at risk of accidents. Yet despite the clear need, Germany has a serious shortfall in the supply of age-appropriate housing – homes with as few barriers as possible so that accidents can be avoided and dependence on others minimised. A need of about 3 million units is met by a stock of only some 1 to 1.2 million homes. Thus, for every 100 households with a concrete need for a barrier-reduced home, only about 33 units are available. While this shortfall is to be found to varying degrees in all of Germany’s sixteen states, the actual supply situation is even more strained due to an allocation problem. Currently, suitable residential units are available to all comers on the free housing market and can thus be sought and occupied by households without any specific need. At the same time, there are structural market barriers that make investment in new stock difficult. Age-appropriate housing is therefore an underestimated challenge for society, policymakers and business.