At the state level, only a couple of bills in the legislature aim to do anything about the senior housing shortage. One, called the Bond Bill, seeks to raise money from bonds, some of which would go to preserve affordable housing for seniors. The national senior scene isn't all bad. While affordability is one problem, accessibility is another. Nationally, there is a shortage of fully accessible housing, both owner-occupied and rental units, says the report.
Accessibility here means that a home is modified to accommodate the needs of seniors.
So far, grab bars and handrails are the only universal design elements that have penetrated the housing market to any significant extent. In recent years, both the private and public sectors have begun to respond to the need for alternatives that fall somewhere between no assistance and nursing home care. However, senior housing opportunities too often remain fixed on these two poles of senior care. By far the most comfortably housed seniors are those who can afford to remain in their homes and hire someone to make accommodations, a situation the majority of seniors prefer. An explosion of these developments has appeared in recent years, and, as baby boomers age, more will dot the landscape.