Qld developing housing for aged using Universal Design Principles

Queensland developers and builders, including AV Jennings, are building homes that cater for people for mobility problems as Australia’s population ages. They claim the homes could attract more buyers and longer term tenants, need less maintenance and make more money for their owners.

Qld Universal Design Working Group chairman, Jan Jensen, says such homes need to be developed to avoid a looming crisis for Queensland’s ageing population , as one in five already lived with a disability, one in 10 used a device to help them get around and more than half of all people aged 60 plus were disabled in some way. Ninety percent of people with a disability lived in a private house.

He said younger people also sought out homes with universal design features to assist in moving prams about. People with temporary disabilities such as sports injuries would also benefit. “My mission is to take the ‘disability’out of it, to emphasise everyone who can benefit from it,” he said.

AV Jennings has developed an investment property in northern Brisbane – a house and land package for $317,000 with $3000 worth of design changes including wider hallways and doorways and lowered benchtops, no steps and level changes, and say it makes good business sense to develop disability-friendly housing.

There is a huge demand for such housing both for rental and resale.