Housing policy for the super-aged

Taichung last month held the Better Living Together Expo to showcase new social housing developments and living spaces to accommodate young people, families and multigenerational families. The exhibition comes as a pressing housing issue is set to confront Taiwan in the next two decades.

Ministry of the Interior data and Executive Yuan policy materials indicate that about 5 million homes nationwide are more than 30 years old, accounting for more than half of Taiwan’s total housing stock. People aged 65 or older make up more than 20 percent of Taiwan’s population. Homes and their residents are growing older, while the challenges for housing policy are also shifting.

In the past, policy has focused primarily on property prices, rents and the affordability of a first home. Increasingly, families will also have to contend with aging apartment buildings with narrow staircases and no elevators, uneven floors, and deteriorating electrical wiring and plumbing. People might have to reassess whether older family members can continue living at home unassisted.

The Executive Yuan has allocated NT$5 billion (US$152.03 million) to its home longevity program, which provides subsidies to improve exterior walls, pipes, lifts, slip-resistant surfaces and the accessibility features of older four-to-six-story apartment buildings, as well as houses of up to six stories. It is a policy direction that is gradually responding to emerging needs.

The first challenge is to encourage home modifications to be made sooner. Many families wait until an older relative has had a medical emergency before installing accessibility features such as grab bars, renovating a bathroom or moving to a home with an elevator. By then, families are facing the combined pressures of medical expenses, caregiving and housing.

The government could establish a mechanism for those aged 65 or older to apply for a home assessment by building professionals or care specialists. The assessment could cover bathrooms, staircases, lighting, spatial flow and emergency escape routes, with risk-based recommendations for improvements.

Long-term care programs already provide subsidies for home accessibility modifications to eligible residents. This year, the government has linked its Long-Term Care 3.0 policy with the housing renewal subsidy program.

The application and assessment processes for the two schemes could be further integrated, sparing residents from the hassle of navigating separate systems for housing, long-term care and local government assistance. Improving home safety before people lose at-home independence would also help to keep subsequent care costs under control.

New social housing developments also provide a policy avenue. Central government social housing projects being developed by the Ministry of the Interior incorporate universal design, including slip-resistant bathroom surfaces and layouts suited to older people and people with disabilities. In April, the central government and the Taoyuan City Government broke ground on Taiwan’s first joint social housing and affordable long-term care facility complex.

These initiatives could inform design standards across the wider housing market. For example, new apartment buildings could include reinforced mounting points for grab bars, minimize changes in floor levels and provide more space for wheelchairs. Elevators and communal corridors could also incorporate more accessible design features.

Getting this right during construction costs far less than it would to renovate or rebuild existing structures 20 years down the road. The government could also use floor-area incentives, green building certifications or housing performance metrics to encourage private developers to offer designs that accommodate people at different stages of life.

Such homes would benefit not only families with young children, but also people recovering from health episodes and those with limited mobility, giving them much broader appeal.

Over the longer term, housing policy needs to be planned alongside population policy.

Many older people live in larger, aging homes without elevators, while young families struggle with rents or insufficient living space. The interior ministry already has a housing exchange program, which allows eligible older residents to place their homes in the government’s rental management scheme before moving into spaces better suited to their needs.

This type of program could be expanded to provide more extensive matching and relocation assistance, as well as help with sorting furniture, changing registered addresses and connecting with neighborhood communities. Such services would reduce the psychological and administrative burdens on older people who need to move.

Now that Taiwan has become a super-aged society, the success of housing policy cannot be measured solely by the number of homes built or subsidies granted each year. More meaningful indicators include whether injuries in older people’s homes are less frequent; whether more aging apartment buildings are being fitted with elevators and accessibility features; whether older people can find suitable accommodation when needed; and whether long-term care services are effectively reaching residents within their communities.

People age, and so do their homes. If we connect housing, long-term care and community services, Taiwan can make aging in place a viable option.