Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants
Senior living essentially refers to homes that cater to adults aged 55+ who are looking to live independently in a peer environment.
Seniors who gravitate towards such housing options tend to have no major health issues and are active enough to more or less take care of themselves.
Such projects usually provide a variety of facilities for recreation and socializing, including a clubhouse, health club or gym, facility management services, squarely focused on the needs of the elderly.
Assisted living, on the other hand, pertains to homes for adults who need some or considerable assistance to live their daily lives. These seniors are not entirely bed-ridden yet need assistance in their day-to-day lives.
Many of such seniors require nursing home care, including full-time nursing to assist in personal hygiene, ambulation and perhaps even feeding.
The more traditional old-age homes are establishments usually run by NGOs or government agencies and are populated by senior citizens who can, for any number of reasons, no longer cohabit with their families or are entirely homeless.
There are more than a thousand old-age homes in India with most of them offering free accommodation.