A proposed tax credit for senior-friendly home renovations could have a significant impact in Centretown, says Yasir Naqvi, Liberal MPP for Ottawa Centre.
Naqvi says many homes in Centretown were built in the early 1900s, when building codes did not take safety into account.
Acting on a key campaign promise, the provincial government’s Healthy Homes Renovation Tax Credit would cover up to $1,500, or 15 per cent, of the total renovation costs.
This includes any permanent renovations that would allow seniors to live comfortably in their homes, including stair lifts, wheelchair ramps or non-slip bathroom flooring.
“We want to ensure that our seniors continue to live in their own homes as long as they want . . . and with this tax credit they can retrofit their home,” says Naqvi.
Naqvi says the program would help seniors still living on their own and create new jobs in the renovation industry.
Many seniors in the city cannot afford the upgrades they need to be safe at home, forcing them into nursing homes, says Ann McSweeney, executive director of The Good Companions, a seniors’ centre on Albert Street.
“The last thing a senior wants to do is look at going into long-term care,” she says. “They see it as their last stop.”
Simple changes such as safety bars in the bathroom or a raised toilet seat can prevent falls, says Sophie Parisien, director of client services at Ottawa’s Community Care Access Centre located on Labelle Sreet.
“Sometimes, seniors will be living at home without any trouble but a fall is what forces them to leave,” she says.
Parisien says fewer falls means fewer costs for emergency visits to hospitals and surgeries.
Ernie Lightman, a professor of social work at the University of Toronto, says the immediate benefits of the tax credit would be overwhelmingly positive.
“Living in a nursing or retirement home can cost $150 a day,” he says. “It is much less expensive to renovate, so the cost is trivial and the payoff is huge.”
Lightman says the program could reduce the costs the province spends on nursing homes.
The government also expects the tax credit to generate about $800 million in home renovation activity and 10,500 new jobs.
This projection is based on results from the federal government’s home renovation tax credit and the province’s growing senior population, says Naqvi.
“The renovation sector is a big industry within the provincial economy,” he says. “This will assist in a big way.”
Lightman says the program still needs to address the possible risk that contractors will take advantage of seniors looking to renovate their homes.
The tax credit would be retroactive for renovations made from Oct. 1 this year until Dec. 31, 2012.