Barrier-free conversion of your own home is subsidized

The state of Hesse subsidizes necessary conversion measures to remove barriers in people's own homes. Applications for funding can be submitted to the Housing Promotion Office of the City of Offenbach am Main.

Apartments and houses are usually not designed for the restrictions associated with the need for care or a disability. The necessary adaptations, such as converting the bathroom with a level-access shower or installing a lift to manage the stairs, usually require major investments.

Under certain conditions, the state of Hesse will subsidize the conversion with a grant of up to 50 percent. In addition to major measures in the bathroom or on the stairs, smaller adaptations to improve freedom of movement and the elimination of injury hazards for blind and visually impaired people in the house, apartment or on the property can also be subsidized.

The amount of the subsidy depends on the measure. For example, the conversion of a bathroom, toilet or kitchen is subsidized with a maximum of 5,500 euros. The installation of an elevator or stairlift is even subsidized up to 6,500 euros. All other eligible individual measures can be subsidized with a maximum of 3,000 euros. The condition is that the conversion measures have not yet been started.

The prerequisite for a grant is social and health-related urgency. The subsidy can be applied for by people who cannot afford the adaptation from their own resources and who, or their relatives, have at least a care level of two or a degree of disability of 50 percent.

The care insurance funds also subsidize adaptation measures. For this reason, you should also ask the care insurance fund whether the adaptation measures are subsidized by the care insurance fund. As a rule, 4,000 euros are paid out for this, regardless of household income.