Follow the everyday route
Walk through arriving home, storing a coat, preparing food, bathing and getting to bed. Identify where reaching, turning, seeing, gripping or stepping is difficult. Include carers or other household members where appropriate.
Bring in individual advice
An occupational therapist or appropriate accessibility professional can help define user-specific requirements. Measurements, supports and equipment choices should reflect the person and the actual space. Do not assume a generic product solves every access need.
Coordinate the small details
Lighting, door hardware, thresholds, storage and clear floor space can be considered together. Grab bars need suitable supports. Bathing changes need a plan for waterproofing and use. Ask how each change fits the wider route through the home.
Leave room for the next phase
Consider future equipment, service access and maintenance. Record what can be adapted later. A good plan can combine immediate practical improvements with a longer-term design without implying every improvement must happen at once.
Planning guidance, updated October 11, 2026. Have home-specific conditions and requirements assessed by the appropriate professional.
More planning guides