Seniors Remain Independent through Home Adaptations
As we age, we look forward to living independently in the place we’ve come to call home. However, many homes are not well designed to meet our changing needs as we get older. This is why, for more than a decade, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been working to help seniors who meet certain criteria pay for minor home adaptations. This is done through a program called HASI, or Home Adaptations for Seniors’ Independence.
These home adaptations are minor enough that they do not dramatically change the environment of the home. They could be as simple as changing the knob on the front door to a home.
Harry, a retiree and grandfather, has been living in the same home in Halifax for 40 years. At one time, the heavy knob on the front door to his home was stylish and he turned it with ease. In recent years, however, because of his arthritis, he gets frustrated as he tries to turn the knob. The replacement of the old knob with a new lever door handle makes this task much easier and less frustrating.
Door handles represent just one example of the home adaptations HASI can make possible. Other typical adaptations include: installation of a small ramp to the front door; handrails in corridors; walk-in showers with grab bars; bathtub grab bars and seats; and easy-to-reach storage areas in the kitchen. Between 1996 and 2005, HASI assisted more than 25,000 households.
Who is eligible for HASI? Homeowners and landlords alike may qualify for assistance as long as the occupant of the dwelling where the adaptations will be made meets certain criteria such as: being 65 years of age or older; experiencing difficulty with normal daily activities brought on by aging; and living in a permanent residence. The occupant must also have a total income below a certain amount, based on where he/she lives in Canada.
Those who qualify for assistance through HASI can receive help in the form of a forgivable loan of up to $3,500. The loan does not have to be repaid, as long as the homeowner agrees to occupy the unit for the six month loan forgiveness period. In cases where the adaptation work is being done on a rental unit, the landlord must agree that rents will not go up as a result of these changes.
Through their Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP), says Tanya Hutchens, the CMHC also offers ways to help people who want to convert space in existing dwellings to create secondary suites or garden suites for low-income seniors.
For more information about HASI, RRAP or other CMHC programs, call 1-800 668-2642. For more than 60 years, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada’s national housing agency and a source of objective, reliable housing expertise. This CMHC report was reviewed by Tanya Hutchens.
