On April 27, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chair, Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced the Visitable Inclusive Tax Credits for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act to address the housing affordability and accessibility crisis for people with disabilities. There is a severe dearth of accessible housing in the US. LeadingAge supports the bill.

“Far too many older adults and people with disabilities cannot afford accessible housing, live in unsafe housing, or live in institutions even though they’d prefer to stay in their communities. This is unacceptable,” Chairman Casey said in a statement. “We need to ensure that families have a real choice when it comes to the place they call home. My legislation would ensure that we are ramping up accessible housing development to meet the widespread needs of these communities.”

The bill, S 1377, is cosponsored by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

The VITAL Act would increase investment in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program and ensure that developers are building more accessible housing units that are designed for older adults and people with disabilities, and located within communities where residents can walk or move around easily in wheelchairs. The bill would require states administering LIHTCs construct at least 20% of their LIHTC units as accessible and/or walkable and rollable.

An analysis of 2019 American Housing Survey data on residents’ experience of their homes to assess the nature of mismatches between the design of a home and an older resident’s needs found that half of all households with a resident who found it difficult to navigate their home and more than half who had a hard time using the home were living in a household headed by someone 65 or older.

“By 2034, the number of adults age 65 and older will be greater than the number of children under 18 for the first time ever, and we need to make sure our priorities match this changing landscape. As a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, I have traveled across New York talking to older Americans and understand that aging with dignity means safeguarding the right to age in place,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The VITAL Act would make this possible by investing in aging-friendly living spaces that meet mobility and accessibility needs for our seniors and people living with disabilities. With more than 40% of Americans age 65 and older living with some type of disability, this need is urgent. I am a proud cosponsor of this bill and I am committed to removing barriers to affordable and accessible housing for all older Americans.”

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program (and on which Senator Casey serves).