BENGALURU: The concept of senior living (adults aged above 55 and without major health issues, living in an environment surrounded by people of the same age) is yet to catch up in the city. Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai, however, feature on the list of cities that have adopted the concept ahead of others, a recent report shows.
Such housing projects provide seniors with a variety of facilities for recreation and socialising. Adoption levels, however, are still low, because for many, staying in a place reserved for seniors is a major taboo. Additionally, there are several challenges that the sector itself faces.
“In the current scenario, the only housing segment receiving significant policy level incentives is affordable housing. Because of the higher costs involved, senior living obviously does not qualify as affordable housing,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman of real estate consulting firm ANAROCK. He added that the government was yet to give senior living recognition as a priority segment. “If such recognition does come, the supply of such housing options would certainly get a shot in the arm because it would attract more players,” he said.
The city has some projects in the outskirts which cater to seniors, with maximum projects being in the Rs 40-70 lakh range. Houses available are sized between 600 to 1450 square feet. Add-on charges for food cost around Rs 15,000 per month and maintenance costs around Rs 2-7 per sq feet, according to
ANAROCK. According to Puri, the reason senior living projects don’t become popular with developers is because builders don’t have much experience in providing a specialised service, an essential factor in senior living.
“It is a given that any developer can erect buildings. However, when it comes to providing the specific services that senior living calls for, we are looking at a much smaller spread of eligible players. Senior living is not a typical ‘build-sell-forget’ proposition. It calls for the dedicated involvement of healthcare partners and facility management firms,” he said.
These services have to be assured through the life cycle of the project or it would lead to a collapse of the purpose.“The majority of Indian developers lack the requisite expertise and will shy away from
making such commitments. Most of them prefer to build a housing project, hand over the completion
certificates, absolve themselves of further responsibility after forming the mandatory housing society, and thereafter turn to new undertakings,” Puri said.