Housing Projects Exclusively For Senior Citizens Are Now Picking Up In India?

Senior citizens who used to be the investing in properties for their kids has now started to buy homes for their post retirement life. Old aged Parents are now opting to play life's final innings on their own terms, and a number of serviced housing projects are enabling these to live together in a comfortable, hassle and safe-free environment with dignity. Throughout our middle and youth age, we focused on career and bringing up children," says an IT professional retired as a senior manager from TCS, now aged around 67, who lives in Ashiana Utsav, a seniors-only housing project in Bhiwadi near Delhi. "Now, the time has arrived for us to live for ourselves."

Modern senior housing is a world which is totally different from the 'old-age homes' of yesteryears where the elderly went to stay simply because they were heirless and too sick to take care of themselves, or unwanted by their kids. Far from becoming a pejorative, it is a lifestyle statement, as is apparent from the mixture of residents. Utsav, for instance, houses several retired officers from the, IAS and IPS armed forces, besides many doctors, engineers and teachers.

Realizing the expectations of their clients, the managements are adding recreational facilities, including hobby classes. "We have not retired from life only from our all-consuming professional routines," said a dance teacher, who now heads the dance and singing club at her Senior Citizen Housing Society in Bhiwadi. Sometimes, residing in their peer group also means new beginnings. For example, at a Pune housing society two residents in their late 60s found their soul mates in each other.

State of the art health services with doctors, nursing staff and ambulance are a common feature of seniors-only housing and many have tied with nearby hospitals for cashless treatment of residents in emergencies. Some have care homes for residents with osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, arthritis, dementia and Parkinson's etc.

Seniors-only housing-for individuals aged above 55-took off in India about fifteen years ago, and is also growing fast. There are about 3,500 occupied homes in more than a dozen housing projects in India, and more than 5,000 are being built in 20 new projects. While Pune's Paranjape Group, Bengaluru's Mantri Group and Ashiana Housing in Delhi-NCR are among the established names, Max Group and Tata Housing have also launched senior residential projects in Bengaluru and Dehradun, respectively.

Senior housing is usually created in the suburbs to help keep costs down. Even though it is part of a big township project, entry is restricted to the residents. Leasing is definitely an option, but many clients buy. Prices begins from Rs 20 lakh for any one-bedroom unit to Rs 60 lakhs for any three-bedroom unit, in the NCR; Rs 25 lakh to Rs 60 lakh in Pune; Rs 40 lakh to Rs 1 crore in Bengaluru; Rs 30 lakh to Rs 70 lakh in Chennai, and Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore in Coimbatore. too, Lavasa and today is also providing senior homes priced from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.50 crore.

Max India offers units in its Antara Senior housing project in Dehradun on a lifelong lease model, at rates which range from Rs 1.7 crore for a one-bedroom unit to Rs 7 crore for a three-bedroomunit with staff accommodation. The lease is renewable by the heirs of the original residents, and while they could exit in the market value, new buyers have to be approved by the management.

Cleaning, housekeeping and mopping of the homes, besides upkeep of the common areas and health clinic are covered within the monthly charges that vary from Rs 2,500 for Ashiana's smallest unit to Rs 70,000 for top-end accommodation at Antara. Paranjape Group takes a Rs 8 lakh deposit instead of monthly charges. Although all senior housing units come with kitchens, the managements also run canteens.

Management of such senior citizen homes try to keep the residents entertained and engaged. The group has even started training event managers for senior living homes. "Aside from an understanding of real estate, hospitality and nursing, a senior living venture requires community building with care and passion. Sushil Mantri, CMD of Bengaluru-based Mantri Developers that runs the housing projects in Bangalore exclusively for seniors, such as Primus Eden, said, "Housing for senior citizens is a lot more than a property business." The company is using its experience and data of the hospitality sector to cater to the requirements of its elderly clients.