When You Want to Stay in Your Home, But Your Home No Longer Works for You

Three out of four adults 50 and older want to stay in their current home for as long as possible, according to AARP's 2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey.

It may be where you raised your family. Your neighbors are familiar. Your routines are established. Your community feels like home.

But over time, the house itself may begin to work against you.

Maybe the stairs are becoming more difficult. The bathroom does not feel as safe as it once did. Important rooms are in the wrong location. The home feels too large to maintain. A family member wants to live closer. Or you are starting to think about what life may look like five, ten, or twenty years from now.

Wanting to stay does not mean everything about your home needs to stay the same.

That is where aging in place planning begins.

Start with how you want to live

Aging in place is broader than adding grab bars or making a home wheelchair accessible. Done well, most of it doesn't look like accessibility at all. A curbless shower reads as a modern bathroom. A 36-inch doorway reads as a generous one.

It starts with a more important question:

How do you want your home and property to support your life as your needs change?

For one person, that may mean improving a bathroom, lighting, or circulation.

For another, it may mean creating a bedroom and bathroom on the first floor.

For another family, it may mean building an ADU so parents and adult children can live close to one another while keeping their privacy and independence.

There is no single solution that works for everyone. The right plan begins with understanding the people, the home, and the future needs together.

Signs your home may no longer be working as well for you

You may want to begin thinking about your options if:

• Stairs are becoming uncomfortable or difficult
• Bathrooms or showers feel less safe
• Important rooms are difficult to reach
• You are maintaining more house or yard than you want
• A family member may need to move closer
• You may need help from a caregiver in the future
• You want more privacy between generations living together
• You have unused or underused space
• You are considering moving mainly because of the way the home is laid out
• You want to plan ahead rather than wait for a crisis

None of these automatically mean you need a major renovation or an ADU. They mean it may be time to look at the home and property differently.

You may have more options than you think

Depending on your home, property, family, and goals, there may be several possible paths.

Modify the existing home

Focused changes can make a meaningful difference. This might include a curbless shower, blocking inside the bathroom walls so grab bars can be added later, lever-style door handles, better lighting, flooring that reduces trip hazards, or wider doorways and clearer paths through the home.

Remodel or add space

If the home generally works but something important is missing, a remodel or addition may solve the problem. A first-floor bedroom and bathroom, for example, may allow you to keep living comfortably in a home that otherwise works well.

Create an ADU

An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a self-contained home on the same property, with its own kitchen, bathroom, living area, and sleeping space. It can be detached, attached to the main house, or created by converting existing space such as a garage. California has expanded what homeowners can build through state ADU legislation, though what your lot allows still depends on its size, layout, and local rules.

In the same AARP survey, one in four homeowners 50 and older said they would consider building an ADU to make room for someone who needs care or a place to live.

For some families, an ADU gives parents, adult children, or a caregiver a way to live close to one another while each household keeps its own front door.

Consider multigenerational living

Sometimes the right solution is not a change to one room. It may involve rethinking how the entire property can support multiple generations. That could include an ADU, a home addition, a reconfigured floor plan, or a combination of solutions.

Make changes in phases

Not every improvement needs to happen at once. A thoughtful plan identifies what is useful now, what may be needed later, and which changes should be anticipated today so future improvements are easier. Blocking added while a wall is already open costs little. Adding it after the tile is set means opening the wall again.

Planning earlier can preserve more choices

One of the most useful things you can do is start on these questions before something becomes urgent.

A fall, sudden health change, caregiving need, or family emergency can create pressure to decide quickly.

Planning earlier gives you more time to consider:

• How you want to live
• Who may live with or near you
• What parts of the home may become more difficult
• What your property may allow
• Which improvements matter most
• How you plan to pay for them
• What should happen now, and what can wait

You do not need to know the final answer before you begin. The purpose of planning is to understand the options.

The goal is more than staying in the same house

The goal is to live well in a home that continues to support you.

For some people, that means staying with modest changes. For others, it means redesigning part of the house, or creating an ADU or multigenerational arrangement that keeps everyone connected while each person keeps their independence.

And sometimes the best long-term decision is that the current property is no longer the right fit. Knowing that early is useful too.

Good aging in place planning is not about forcing one solution. It is about understanding how your home, property, family, and future needs fit together so you can make better decisions over time.