A home that fits your needs
Whether you choose to stay or move and then modify, there are options for a more accessible house
Tatiana Martinez needed an accessible home. Her son, who was 7 years old at the time and uses a wheelchair, was too heavy to carry upstairs to his second-floor bedroom.
“I constrained my home search to within a few towns from where I was already living because I wanted to remain with the same school services for my son,” said Martinez, a resident of Union County, New Jersey.
After her three-year search, Martinez bought a one-story home near Summit, New Jersey, in 2019 for $900,000. She installed a lift at the front entrance of the house and ramps to access the backyard; modified the bathroom to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and widened several doorways. The modifications cost $50,000.
Stories like Martinez’s are playing out in millions of households in the United States. The 2019 American Housing Survey data shows that 12.9%, or 16 million of the total households in the United States, include at least one person who uses a wheelchair, walker, or other mobility device. Of those 16 million households, at least 3.5 million plan to improve the accessibility of their homes.
There are resources available from some state governments, nonprofit groups, housing groups and developers that can be used to make homes safe for family members of all abilities.
A variety of solutions
Home styles vary greatly by state. Accessible homes may be easier to find in some parts of the country than others. For example, ranches are easier to find in the South and West. In the Northeast, two-story homes are more common. The good news is that whether you choose to remain in your current home, or move and then modify, there are many opportunities to make a home more accessible.
“Ramps, lifts and regrading are all options that an expert can gauge with a home assessment,” said Gregg Frank, owner of Back Home Safely, a modification company based in New Jersey.
Tucker Cassidy of Waterloo, Iowa, moved because he needed to live in an area with a larger pool of home health aides. He scanned real estate listings, Craigslist and roommate ads until he found a home that fit his needs with a “bedroom big enough for my power chair, shower chair, a Hoyer lift, an adjustable bed and storage for medical equipment,” Cassidy said. Then, he widened several doorways and added a concrete ramp to both the front and back entrance.
“Each type of modification is dependent on individual’s mobility needs and what works best for that particular style of home,” said Eric Rubel, director of marketing at Lifeway Mobility, a company that addresses individual accessibility problems throughout the country. “For example, wheelchair ramps are often the quickest and most economical solution for low-rise entrances. However, if space is limited, a wheelchair lift, or stair lift, may be the only solution to provide safe access.”
Costs, financial support
Adiba Nelson, of Tucson, Arizona, was able to modify her bathroom when her daughter, Emory Webster, was 10 years old and began navigating her power wheelchair on her own.
“The house was a onestory home that was mostly accessible already,” Nelson said. “It didn’t have thresholds or carpet and had an open floor plan, sizable rooms and doorways. The pantry with low shelves made it easy for my daughter to grab snacks. We modified the bathroom by removing the tub and replacing it with a roll-in shower.”
She received funding through the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities for the bathroom modification, which she guesses cost around $15,000, although the division paid for it directly.
Individuals who rent may need to pay more attention to accessibility because it is unlikely they will be able to make permanent modifications.
According to the Fair Housing Act, which protects both renters and buyers in the housing market, it is “unlawful to refuse to make reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, or services when such accommodations may be necessary to afford people with
disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling and public and common use areas.”
Under the Fair Housing Act, renters generally need approval from the landlord, must pay for modifications and return the residence to its original design, said Glen H. Parker, a disability rights lawyer in New York. Some states and cities provide more rights to renters, requiring landlords to pay for modifications, he said.
Ellen Ladau and her daughter, Emily are both power wheelchair users in Suffolk County, New York. Ladau modified their bathroom by adding a roll-in shower and sink. She was able to get funding through Medicaid to pay for it, but the first modification didn’t work out because the wheelchair turning radius wasn’t wide enough.
“Finding the right person to do the evaluation matters,” said Ed Myers, associate professor of occupational therapy at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida. “Ask the right questions and make sure the evaluator looks at the whole person, the family and what activities are important in their daily lives.”
One modification to a home might not be sufficient for most people with disabilities.
Universal designs
In the future, universal design, or homes built from the ground up with open floor plans, no-step entry and that are barrier-free, can allow for any and all individuals, regardless of ability, to enjoy the amenities of a home.
But aside from simple designs, cost is also a factor that Micaela Connery, a co-founder and CEO of nonprofit The Kelsey, is concerned about. The Kelsey works with housing developers all over the country to create accessible homes.
“We want to design better housing for all people by focusing on affordability, accessibility and inclusivity,” Connery said.
Their designs, which typically include communities of 100 or more housing units, not only are accessible and affordable, but are often near public transit. This gives wheelchair users and other people with disabilities easy access to public transportation allowing them to work, enjoy communities and be closer to family, friends and other necessary resources.
“If it’s too tiring to get ready in the morning, you aren’t going to go out,” Myers said. “Personal accessibility starts with the human being.”