Accessible bathrooms in Montgomery County

Montgomery County has a property tax credit program, Design for Life, to help pay for making a home more accessible, with eligible features such as a no-step entrance, 32-inch doorways, accessible bathrooms and properly installed grab bars.¹³ For an accessibility feature added to an existing home, the Design for Life credit is the lesser of 50% of eligible costs or $2,500 per tax year, less any subsidy received, with one application per dwelling per tax year for owner-paid costs above $500 incurred in the 12 months before applying.¹⁴

The credit hinges on paperwork done before and after the work: the features shown on the permit drawings, a passed inspection, and receipts for what you paid. Tell the company at the first visit that you plan to apply, so the drawings and invoices are set up for it.

Maryland's Accessible Homes for Seniors program serves owner-occupants with at least one resident 55 or older whose household income is no more than 80% of the statewide or Washington, DC metro median.¹⁵ The program makes zero-interest loans deferred for 30 years, or grants of up to $25,000 for applicants who don't qualify for a loan, for changes such as widening doorways, accessible showers, ramps, grab bars and lever handles; applications are available from local county housing offices and Maryland Access Point agencies.¹⁵

Because the county credit is reduced by any subsidy for the same feature, decide with the lender or grant office which part of the job each program will pay for.

DHCA's Single-Family Rehabilitation Loan Program, whose eligible repairs include bathroom fixtures and wheelchair ramps, is not accepting new applications until further notice.¹⁶ Check the county's page before counting on it.

More than one in four adults 65 and older fall each year.¹⁷ Under the ADA standards a doorway needs a clear width of at least 32 inches, measured between the face of the door and the stop with the door open 90 degrees.⁶ A 1980s colonial often has only a powder room on the entry level; turning it into a full accessible bath may mean borrowing from a laundry room or a coat closet beside it.

NAHB's Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) credential trains remodelers in home modifications for aging in place.¹⁸ If you have fallen, the NIA notes, your doctor might suggest that an occupational therapist, physical therapist or nurse visit your home to assess its safety and advise you about changes.¹⁹ If a therapist does visit, pass the report to the company so the seat, the bars and the door swing are set for the person who will use them.

In residential units covered by the ADA standards, a transfer shower may go without a seat as long as the walls are reinforced so one can be installed later.⁶ The same thinking works for grab bars: blocking behind the tile now saves opening the wall later.

Calling the number on this page connects you, on a recorded line, with one independent company that handles accessible bathroom remodels in the Montgomery County area. The layout, the fixtures and the price are worked out between you and that company.

We're paid by that company for the call. It costs you nothing, and nobody from our side will call or text you afterward. How we make money

Search the company's name with the state before you sign. Maryland's Home Improvement Commission licenses home improvement contractors and salespersons, and its License Search shows whether a license is current.²⁰ Check a Maryland license

Then settle who pulls the county permit, since the tax credit depends on it. Homeowners may apply for an alteration permit in their own name, but when a contractor does the work the county strongly suggests listing the contractor as the responsible party, and a contractor must hold a Maryland Home Improvement Commission license to obtain a permit.¹⁰