Saarland project: 1.5 million for barrier -free living!

Saarland project: 1.5 million for barrier -free living!

The Saarland has again invested in age -appropriate living. Today, on February 4, 2025, it was announced that 1.5 million euros will be made available for measures to improve the living situation of older people. This initiative aims to promote the quality of life and independence in old age by enabling residents to live a self -determined life in a familiar environment. The need for barrier -free living opportunities, especially for people with walking disabilities and care levels, is steadily increasing.

The funding focuses on older people aged 60 and over as well as people with walking disabilities or need for care. In order to secure the whereabouts in the usual four walls despite structural barriers, structural adjustments are necessary. These adjustments are supported by a specific support program, the directional aspects of which are the improvement of the living situation of older people. The program is expected to be extended until December 31, 2025 after the funding budget has already been reinforced.

funding conditions and support

families who rely on this funding must adhere to the given income limits. These provide for one -person households a limit of 32,000 euros net annually, while two -person households up to 48,000 euros and three -person households up to 55,800 euros can earn every year. Different maximum funding amounts are available for the various measures for barrier reduction:

• Complete barrier -free adjustments:
• 7,500 euros for older people aged 60 and over
• 11,250 euros for people with walking disabilities or care levels
• Individual barrier -reducing measures:
• A maximum of 5,000 euros for older people from the age of 60
• A maximum of 7,500 euros for people with walking disabilities or care levels

Applications for these funding must be directed to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Women and Health. In addition, it is pointed out to the crediting of benefits from social service providers.

nationwide initiatives for barrier reduction

The efforts to reduce barriers in the housing stock are not only limited to Saarland. The federal government is also committed to this central concern. Since 2014, the KfW subsidy program has been promoting the barrier-free conversion of existing real estate. Until November 2023, almost 344,672 committees for grants of 722.2 million euros were granted, of which benefited over 388,421 residential units.

The demographic development shows that the need for barrier -free living opportunities will continue to increase: 21.5 % of the population has already been over 65 years in 2018, and by 2050 every ninth will be older than 80 years. The evaluation from 2020 shows that only about 1.5 % of the apartments are barrier -free, while over 2 million apartments need adjustments.