Barrier-Free Housing
Background
As Taiwan has entered an aging and low-birth-rate society, the population of people with disabilities has also increased day by day. With the rise of human rights and human awareness, the needs of people with disabilities and the elderly have become more and more important to the need for accessible spaces. The “Barrier-Free Housing” is to eliminate all kinds of tangible and intangible obstacles existing in the house, so that people with disabilities can enjoy all kinds of resources like ordinary people, and through the improvement of buildings, the enhancement of equipment and the change of attitudes of the general public, people with reduced mobility are provided with a friendly living environment. In order to create an accessible environment, we need to improve and cooperate in many aspects. We should consider the obstacles and inconveniences that people with physical and mental disabilities and the elderly may encounter in their lives and actions. We should consider their ability to take care of themselves, and improve and enhance the accessibility, which includes outdoor access, ramps and handrails on the refuge floor, entrances and exits, indoor access corridors, lifting equipment, stairs, room configuration, bathrooms and kitchens for specific rooms, etc. All of these jointly create a friendly, healthy and safe space.
The Barrier-Free Housing Design Code and Incentives
The government is currently actively promoting barrier-free housing. The basis for this is Article 46 of the Housing Law. The Ministry of the Interior has formulated design standards and incentives for barrier-free housing. The content of the measures is to commend the barrier-free housing of newly built houses. The common and exclusive parts are subsidized to improve the barrier-free facilities. The purpose is to encourage the builders and owners of the house to improve the barrier-free performance of the house, and gradually introduce a comprehensive and generalized residential environment by applying for the design and improvement benchmarks that should be met. Moreover, it may achieve the goals of accessibility, convenience and security.
The on-Going Projects of Barrier-Free Housing
In 2023, the Construction and Planning Agency, Ministry of the Interior has accepted 11 local governments' applications, planning to subside 15 cases of the apartment with 5-floors or fewer improving the barrier-free equipment and facilities, and a subsidy of expenses up to 45% of the cost and maximum amount of NT$2.16 million is applied. The project also subsides 15 cases of apartments for the public spaces to becoming barrier-free with expenses up to 45% of the cost and limit to the maximum amount of NT$360 thousand, each case.