Making Your Home Safer to Age in and to Share

Here is an example, not a real person. A home provider in her late 70s has lived in the same two-story house for 40 years. She knows which stair creaks and where the hall switch is in the dark. Thinking about sharing her home, she wonders what she has stopped noticing.

Changes that help you stay safely in your home can also make it a better home to share. This guide covers how to check your home, how to tell required safety repairs from optional improvements, and how to handle both with the person you share it with. Our guide "Is my home ready to share?" covers what a room needs before you offer it.

Start with a checklist, then a second set of eyes

About 1 in 4 older adults report falling every year¹. Two free checklists can guide a walk-through:

• CDC's "Check for Safety"² covers floors, stairs, the kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms.
• The AARP HomeFit Guide³ is free, illustrated, and comes with worksheets in five languages.

A professional can see what a checklist misses:

• An occupational therapist looks at how you move through your day. Ask your doctor whether a home safety evaluation makes sense and what your insurance covers.
• Your Area Agency on Aging can refer you to home modification help, and some offer home safety assessments⁴.
• A Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) has completed a National Association of Home Builders credential program on aging-in-place modifications⁵. A credential is not a license, so also check state licensing and insurance.

Required repairs first, then improvements

Some changes are needed to make the home safe for anyone living there, and local codes or landlord-tenant law may require them. Others are improvements that make daily life easier. Handle the first group before anyone moves in. The second can happen now, later, or not at all.

Required safety repairs (local codes decide the details):

• Hazards: broken steps, loose handrails, exposed wiring, and gas or heating problems.
• Working alarms: The U.S. Fire Administration recommends interconnected smoke alarms inside and outside each bedroom and on every level. Test them monthly and replace them every 10 years. Alarms with strobe lights or vibration are available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing⁶. Put carbon monoxide alarms outside each sleeping area and on every level⁷.
• Locks: a lock on the home seeker's bedroom door, and entry locks both of you can open in the dark. Consider rekeying between matches, and agree in writing who has keys to what.
• A safe way out of every bedroom (see the next section).

Optional improvements to consider:

• Stairs: a second handrail, and lights at the top and bottom.
• Floors and paths: throw rugs removed or secured, and cords along the walls.
• Bathroom: grab bars by the toilet and in the tub or shower, and non-slip mats or strips. A towel bar is not a grab bar, and a grab bar is only as strong as its installation.
• Lighting: a lamp within reach of the bed and nightlights along the path to the bathroom.

For some people, an "optional" change such as a grab bar is essential. An occupational therapist can help you decide which ones matter for you.

A safe way out of every bedroom

Every bedroom needs a way out in a fire, and local building and fire codes decide what counts. Ask your building department or fire department:

• Does a bedroom in my home need an emergency escape window or door, and what size?
• Do window security bars, painted-shut windows, or a basement or attic room need changes?
• Do you offer home safety visits or free smoke alarms?

Check that the person sleeping there can open the window without tools and that furniture does not block it. Once you share your home, agree on an escape plan and a meeting place outside.

Sharing the work, the cost, and the decisions

Not every safety cost is up for negotiation. A few ground rules help:

• Settle required repairs first. Before you negotiate optional improvements, settle who is responsible for required repairs. Local law may decide it, so ask your building department or a legal aid office if you are unsure.
• Then agree on optional improvements in writing. Agree on who pays, who arranges the work, and whether anything is removed when the match ends. Our guide "What goes in a home sharing agreement" covers the agreement itself.
• The person you share your home with is not your contractor or caregiver. Home sharing is housing. It is not caregiving, case management, counseling, or treatment. Trading help around the house for lower rent, or paying someone for help, can create employment, tax, and insurance obligations whether or not anyone intended it, so get advice before either of you agrees to it. For grab bars, railings, wiring, or ramps, hire someone licensed and insured.
• Tell your insurer about major changes, such as a ramp.
• Fair housing law can apply. If a home seeker with a disability asks for a physical change, federal, state, and local law may decide whether the rules apply to a room in your own home, who pays, and whether anything must be restored when the match ends. Ask a local fair housing organization (your Area Agency on Aging or legal aid office can refer you), read the HUD and Justice Department joint statement on reasonable modifications, PDF, and see "Choosing who lives with you, fairly."
• Watch for home repair scams. Be wary of anyone who knocks because they are "in the area," wants full payment up front or cash only, or pressures you to decide now⁸.

Conversation starters

If you are an adult child or friend talking with an older adult:

• "Could we walk through the house with the CDC checklist this weekend?"
• "Would you be open to someone looking at the bathroom and stairs?"
• "Even if you never share your home, these changes could help you stay here."

If you are an older adult talking with family or caregivers:

• "Would you help me find someone qualified to look at the stairs and bathroom?"
• "If I share my home, I want the changes agreed in writing before anyone moves in."
• "I'm not ready to redo the bathroom, but I'd like to start with lighting and alarms."

The person you share your home with is not your contractor or caregiver.

Last reviewed September 25, 2026