Barrier-free conversion instead of moving

As at: June 2026 · ← back to the guide

The answer first. Staying is often the calmer choice: instead of moving or selling, you can adapt your existing home for the coming years. A few well-planned measures — a step-free entrance, a walk-in shower, wider doors, handrails — take the most common hurdles out of a house. The decisive thing is to plan early, while no fall and no need for care is setting the pace. And you do not bear the cost alone: the KfW funds age-appropriate conversion, and where a care level is recognised the care fund contributes to improving the living environment.

Most barriers in a home can be markedly reduced with a handful of familiar interventions. A step-free entrance at the front door — via a ramp or a lower threshold — makes coming and going safe. In the bathroom a floor-level, walk-in shower replaces the tub; handrails at the shower, the toilet and along the routes give support. Wider doors create room should a walking frame or wheelchair ever be needed. Where floors are to stay connected, a stair lift helps. None of these measures requires a new build — most houses carry them without trouble.

It makes sense to look at the bathroom and the entrance first: that is where most falls happen, and where a change has the greatest effect. Anyone renovating anyway is best advised to plan the barrier reduction in at the same time.

The most important advice is also the most unremarkable: start early. While you yourself can decide and weigh things up calmly, the conversion can be well planned, funded and spread over time. If it only becomes necessary after a fall or a sudden need for care, everything falls due at once — and pressure takes the choice away. "Conversion instead of moving" is therefore not a last resort but a forward-looking decision for your own home.

If the renovation is also about insulation, heating or windows, it is worth looking at the energy side with its own rules and funding — we have set that out under Funding, renovation and the GModG.

You do not have to shoulder the conversion alone. The KfW programme Altersgerecht Umbauen offers a low-interest loan for barrier reduction; where budget is available, a grant is also possible at times. Terms and availability change — what counts is always the current information from the KfW, best clarified before the contract is awarded.

Where a care level is recognised, the care fund also contributes to measures that improve the living environment — precisely the kind of conversions that keep living at home possible. Here too: clarify the amount and conditions with the care fund in advance. The two routes can often be combined, and they are a good reason to plan early rather than under time pressure.

This article provides orientation and does not replace construction, funding or tax advice. Clarify funding amounts and conditions with the KfW and the care fund in advance; the planning of the conversion we prepare with you.