As of: March 9, 2024, 12:00 p.m
By: Friedbert Holz
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Suitable age-appropriate apartments could ensure that seniors leave their houses, which are too large for them, to the young.
© Symbol image:Westend61/Imago
The municipality of Bockhorn wants to make the exchange of apartments between the older and younger generations more attractive.
The basic idea is to build apartment buildings for older people.
Bockhorn
- When children fledge and move out, leave their parents' house and strive for their own home, two problems usually arise - parents are usually left with a house that is much too big.
Children have to look for a new apartment.
So why not try for an exchange?
Bernhard Stein (CSU) put forward an idea at the local council meeting that revolves around age-appropriate living: He could imagine that the community or investors would offer apartment buildings in which there are age-appropriate apartments.
Stein is convinced that such domiciles, equipped with barrier-free access, elevators and appropriate sanitary facilities, could make it attractive for older people to move out of their house.
The younger generation, in turn, could then move into their former house, but the seniors could still live in their usual surroundings - just with a little less space and ultimately even more comfortably.
So much for the proposal of the CSU local council, which essentially put a local housing model for seniors up for discussion and voted for an appeal to interested parties in the local newspaper.
Some of his council colleagues liked this suggestion.
Christof Kronseder (Kirchasch Citizens' List) also sees an aging society with increasingly scarce living space.
Peter Feller (Grünbacher List) can imagine extending this idea to people with disabilities.
Martin Haindl (FW) stated that the classic single-family home with a garden “can no longer be the solution for the future”.
In addition, there are already initiators of the idea proposed by Stein in other communities, said Haindl.
However, his group colleague Thomas Fisch pointed out that the implementation of such a concept requires a longer lead time.
“When building real estate, investors tend to think of new houses rather than new apartments and of course want to make a corresponding profit.”
Annelie Hinterwimmer (FW) advocated for more information.
She suggested joint viewings of properties that have already been implemented, but also believes that such a housing exchange requires a longer rethinking process among the population, especially in rural areas with very traditional structures.
Hubert Strasser (Kirchasch Citizens' List) also expressed concerns, as he said he is certain that many older people do not want to leave their ancestral home, especially in old age.
If the municipality as a developer wants to deal with this idea of age-appropriate living, Franz Auer Jr. advised.
(CSU) on a strict regulation: “It shouldn't happen that we end up with an influx of interested parties who don't come from our community.
“Therefore, clear control from the community is needed,” he warned.
Finally, Judith Praxenthaler from the Munich Planning Association, who took part in the meeting in a different capacity, suggested, based on her experience with this topic, that citizens be offered an information event to inform them about the details.
“Only then,” said the expert, “should the community start a query about who specifically is interested in such an age-appropriate housing solution.”