KfW and BMUB’s “Age-appropriate Conversion” programme turns five

• Promotional funds have helped convert 134,000 residential units to meet senior citizens’ needs since the programme’s launch
• Commitments more than doubled in 2013
• Need for barrier-free homes remains high

Frankfurt, Germany, 9-9-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — For the last five years, KfW and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) have been promoting measures to reduce barriers in homes with the help of their “Age-appropriate Conversion” programme. Some 134,000 residential units overall have been converted to meet the needs of senior citizens with a funding volume of EUR 1.65 billion since the programme was initiated in 2009. In 2013, the commitments more than doubled to over EUR 400 million. This strong demand is continuing in 2014.

Dr Ingrid Hengster, member of the Executive Board of KfW, explains: “We promote age-appropriate conversions to address demographic change, which is one of the most prominent challenges we are facing today. The programme enables senior citizens and persons with restricted mobility in particular to remain in their own homes and determine their own lives. Moreover, the reduction of barriers raises the level of comfort for all generations, including for example families with children.”

The aim of the loan programme is to increase the share of age-appropriate housing, which is still too low, and to provide incentives for early and preventive conversions. It enables owners and tenants to raise the comfort of living by, for instance, installing floor-level showers, doors without thresholds or modern room layouts. The programme also promotes burglary prevention measures like burglar-resistant entrance doors to houses and apartments. For real estate owners wishing to improve the energy-efficiency of their properties, a combination with measures to reduce barriers can be particularly attractive.

Detailed information (including press material, charts) on the “Age-appropriate Conversion” programme is available at

Altersgerecht Umbauen – Das Wichtigste in Kürze

Barrierereduzierung – Ihr Förderkredit für mehr Wohnkomfort

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Contact

Sybille Bauernfeind

Phone +49 69 74 31-20 38
Fax +49 69 74 31-32 66e
Mail sybille.bauernfeind@kfw.de

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Das barrierereduzierte Haus
Quelle: KfW