Nearly one in five Oregon households has accessibility needs, yet homes that meet those needs are in short supply. Our partners at Community Vision just released the Accessibility Roadmap (September 2026) outlining a vision for increasing the supply of accessible homes with key action items identified to make it happen. They interviewed 25 developers, contractors, property managers, lenders and public officials across the state.
Two findings stood out to us, and they match what we see at LiveAble Homes every day.
1. Many in the industry don't know the rules
Only 34% of respondents were familiar with the different types of accessible units: Type A, Type B and fully accessible. Only 39% were familiar with the accessibility requirements for new multifamily buildings.
That gap has real consequences. When teams don't know the standards, accessibility becomes an afterthought. Mistakes caught late in construction are costly and can mean tearing out finished work and starting again.
2. People want to do this, but they're confused
Here's the good news: there is broad willingness to include accessibility features. The problem is uncertainty. People weren't sure what the rules require, what disabled residents actually want, or how compliance works when state and federal requirements differ.
Confusion breeds caution, and caution usually means doing the bare minimum. That's a missed opportunity, because the roadmap shows that including accessibility features from the start adds an average of only 0.5% to 2.8% to construction costs. The real barrier is knowledge, not money.
How LiveAble Homes Can help
Closing this knowledge gap is exactly why LiveAble Homes exists. We help builders, designers and homeowners turn good intentions into homes that work for people of all ages and abilities.
Clear design guidance. We translate the standards into practical decisions, from step-free entries and wider doorways to accessible bathrooms and layouts.
Early consultation. We work with project teams at the design stage, when accessibility is simplest and cheapest to include, so there are no costly surprises later.
Certification. The LiveAble Homes Certification verifies a home's accessibility features. It gives builders a clear standard to build to, and helps buyers and Realtors find homes that meet their needs.
The roadmap calls for education that demystifies universal design and reframes accessibility as good design rather than costly compliance. We couldn't agree more.
If you're planning a project and want to get accessibility right from the start, get in touch. And read the full Accessibility Roadmap to learn more.
