Among attached units, the proportion rises to 65 percent, with units in multiunit buildings coming in at 87 percent. Approximately 5 percent of apartments are in buildings with ten or more floors. About half of these units are in buildings located in the Northeast. Using the stairs may be hazardous. One in ten households living in multiunit buildings reported that the hand railings on the stairs were not firmly attached.
Elevators are an option for some households.
Not surprisingly, taller residential buildings usually have elevators. Eighty-three percent of units in multiunit buildings with seven or more floors have a working elevator available on their floor. This percentage drops to 42 percent for those with four to six floors and 10 percent for apartments in buildings with three or fewer stories. Very few occupied housing units, less than 1 percent nationwide, had no heating equipment. Only about one in four households reported their homes had more than one type of heating equipment.