With Accessible Homes in Short Supply, Should You Move or Adapt?

New analysis from the property sector has put a number on something many older households already feel: accessible homes are getting harder to find. With bungalows now making up around 1% of new builds and the over-65 population growing fast, more families are weighing up whether to move or to adapt the home they already have. For a great many, staying put and making practical changes is becoming the more realistic option.

What the new figures show

Research published in May 2026 by Propertymark, the professional body for estate and letting agents, highlights a widening gap between the homes older people need and the homes actually being built or made available to rent. According to its analysis, bungalows and step-free properties remain in chronically short supply, even as demand climbs.

The headline figure is striking. Bungalows now account for roughly 1% of all new homes, with just 309 of the 30,643 new properties completed in a single recent quarter being single-storey. In the rental market, the number of bungalows and retirement properties available has fallen to around 17,083 in 2025, down from 17,225 the year before and lower by about 4.2% since 2023. Meanwhile, Propertymark notes that over 3 million people aged 65 and over now live in rented accommodation, and nearly 867,000 households in England’s private rented sector are headed by someone aged 55 or over.

The demographic pressure behind these numbers is only set to grow. Households headed by someone aged 65 or over are projected to rise by around 22% by 2032, while those headed by someone aged 85 or over could increase by more than 40%. The supply of suitable homes is moving in the opposite direction to the need.

Why this matters for older homeowners

It is easy to assume this is a problem only for renters, but the squeeze affects homeowners too. Many older people who would like to downsize into a bungalow or a level-access flat simply cannot find one in their area, at a price they can afford, near family and familiar services. When suitable homes are scarce, moving stops being a straightforward choice.

This is where the practical case for adapting an existing home becomes stronger. Most people aged 65 and over live in ordinary, multi-storey housing that was not designed with changing mobility in mind. Rather than competing for one of the few accessible properties on the market, many households are choosing to make their current home work for them, often starting with the staircase, which is usually the single biggest barrier to staying independent at home.

Move or adapt? Weighing the options

There is no single right answer, and the best choice depends on your home, your health and your finances. Moving can make sense if your current property has fundamental problems that adaptation cannot solve, such as a very steep or narrow staircase combined with bathrooms that cannot be reconfigured. But moving also carries significant costs and upheaval, from estate agent and legal fees to stamp duty and the emotional strain of leaving a long-standing home and community.

Adapting, by contrast, lets people stay in the home and neighbourhood they know. Common changes include installing a stairlift, fitting grab rails, creating a level-access shower, or widening a doorway. A stairlift in particular is often the change that makes the difference between coping and struggling, because it restores safe access to bedrooms and bathrooms on an upper floor. Typical UK prices reported by industry sources put straight stairlifts in a lower range than curved models, which are made to measure for turning or split staircases. You can see current figures on our stairlift prices page.

Help with the cost of adapting

One reason adaptation appeals to so many households is that financial support is available, which is rarely the case when buying a new property. In England, the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) can contribute up to £30,000 towards eligible home adaptations, including stairlifts, ramps and accessible bathrooms. The grant is means-tested for adults and administered by local councils, usually following an assessment by an occupational therapist. The equivalent maximum is higher in Wales and differs in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Smaller works costing £1,000 or less, such as grab rails, are often provided free of charge by councils without a full grant application. For anyone considering their options, a good first step is to request a free needs assessment from your local authority, as the occupational therapist’s report is the key document in any grant claim. Our guide to stairlift grants explains who qualifies and how to apply.

What this means going forward

The shortage of accessible homes is unlikely to ease quickly. Campaigners, including Propertymark and the government’s own Older People’s Housing Taskforce, continue to press for more bungalows, step-free flats and adaptable layouts to be built across all types of housing. That is welcome, but it will take years to make a meaningful dent in the gap, and it offers little comfort to someone who needs a safer home now.

In the meantime, the message for older homeowners and their families is a reassuring one. If finding a suitable home to move into feels impossible, you are not stuck. Adapting your current home is often quicker, less disruptive and, with grant support, more affordable than many people expect. The starting point is simply to understand your options: get a needs assessment, find out what funding you may be entitled to, and gather a few quotes so you can compare costs without obligation. Staying safe and independent at home is, for most people, exactly what they wanted in the first place.