Overview
- A Pestel-Institut analysis commissioned by the Bundesverband Deutscher Baustoff-Fachhandel showed in late June that only a tiny share of apartments are suitable for people using rollators or wheelchairs.
- Regional counts include about 57,600 suitable units in Hamburg out of more than one million apartments, roughly 3,900 of 61,000 in Landkreis Günzburg, and about 6,300 of 151,500 in Chemnitz.
- The study flags specific physical barriers that block independent living: narrow hallways and doors, undersized kitchens and bathrooms, and a widespread lack of bodengleiche (level-access) showers.
- Researchers and the BDB are calling for a nationwide 'Senioren‑Umbau‑Offensive' and large federal 'Boomer‑Zuschüsse' because current subsidies of about 10% for bathroom conversions are judged far too small to trigger mass retrofits.
- Advocates say large public investment would match most people's wish to age at home and could be cheaper than expanded institutional care, but Berlin has not committed to a large-scale funding program and faces budget constraints.