In a country of seniors, there are hardly any homes designed for them.
It is one of the contradictions that Spain suffers, despite the fact that different international organizations have been warning for years that by 2050 it will have one of the oldest populations in the world.
The fact is that the houses that currently exist are not adapted to their needs.
The reason?
Lack of money.
54% of people over 55 years of age say that economic problems are the main barrier to reforming their home and adapting it to the needs of age, according to a study presented this Wednesday at the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM).
Universal design elements such as bathtubs, step-free entryways, single-level living areas, or wheelchair-friendly hallways and doors.
Many of these things could be standard features in a home, but they usually arise from later renovations when the need arises and that have not been planned.
The report, carried out by Sigma Dos, together with COAM and Leroy Merlin
,
shows that practically 70% of those surveyed believe that it is not necessary to adapt the home before the age of 71, although experts consider that this should begin to be done among those 55 and 65 years of age.
When it finally becomes inevitable to replace the bathtub with a shower tray or widen the hallways to move around better, it turns out that many people do not have enough money to pay for it, hence the homes stay the same.
The price of materials and labor, together with low income, are behind the problem, as explained by the dean of Madrid architects, Sigfrido Herráez Rodríguez.
“Someone who has a pension of 400 euros per month can hardly consider major reforms.
Then there is the lack of labor, since it is directly impossible to find someone to put or remove certain construction materials, and that paralyzes the work and increases costs,” he detailed in his intervention.
The minimum contributory pension for those over 65 years of age was set for 2024 at 11,552.8 euros per year, that is, about 962 euros per month — and at 14,466.20 in the case of retirees with a dependent spouse.
Despite surpassing the example that Herráez set, it is still an adjusted salary to face certain reforms.
For example, adapting a bathroom for a person with reduced mobility (a priority for more than 40% of those interviewed) has an average cost of 2,300 euros, according to different service platforms.
Analysts agree that both the market and the authorities are focusing all their efforts on covering the housing needs of the younger population, despite the fact that a third of Spain's inhabitants are over 55 years old.
“Legislating to end the problem of access to housing among the youngest is good, but public institutions must govern to end all inequalities,” said Vânia de la Fuente-Núñez, who has worked in the area of aging. at the World Health Organization.
Building houses that from the beginning take into account the aging of the population, she added, would have a transversal impact and would avoid unnecessary abandonment of housing.
For now, the specialist places emphasis on reproducing one of Barcelona's star measures: housing with services for older people.
They are social housing for protected rentals aimed at people over 65 years of age who do not have their own home or, even if they do, it is not accessible to them (for example, it does not have an elevator).
The beneficiaries have the right to use the property for life, paying a rent that is established based on the level of income.
Many of them are adapted for people with wheelchairs, they have an average surface area of 40 square meters and, among other things, they have adequate bathrooms to prevent falls and centralized alarms that allow notification in the event of an accident.
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