By Arosh John, Founder – John Real Estate (MahaRERA Reg. No. A51700001835) | Editor-in-Chief – Thane Real Estate News (TREN)
Thane–MMR | December 2025
Why Senior Living Is Now on the Real Estate Map
Across India, a clear shift is underway in how we think about life after 60.
What was earlier seen only as “old age homes” is now evolving into a structured senior living segment – a combination of housing, services, healthcare and community designed specifically for senior citizens, typically 60 years and above.
Senior living is emerging as a distinct real estate product category, much like affordable housing, student housing or co-living. It sits at the intersection of real estate, hospitality and basic healthcare support.
From Old Age Homes to Senior Living Communities
Traditionally, seniors in India had two primary options:
- Stay with family in a regular home that may not have been designed for ageing.
- Move into an “old age home”, usually run as a charitable or social initiative with basic facilities.
The new senior living community model is fundamentally different:
- Seniors own or lease an apartment or villa in a project designed around their needs.
- Day-to-day services are available – from housekeeping and maintenance to curated food options.
- There is built-in medical support, including a doctor-on-call, tie-ups with nearby hospitals and emergency response systems.
- The environment encourages active, independent and social living, not isolation.
In short, it is:
A regular home inside a community where the design, services and environment are optimised for life after 60.
What Senior Living Means in Real Estate Terms
In real estate language, a serious senior living project combines three layers:
1. Real Estate (the home and campus)
- Apartments, studios or villas in a dedicated community or within a larger township.
- Age-friendly architecture:
- Step-free access and ramps
- Wider doors and corridors
- Anti-skid flooring and grab bars
- Adequate lifts, good lighting and comfortable seating areas
2. Services (the operating backbone)
- Housekeeping and common area maintenance
- Optional laundry services
- Food or meal plan options and assisted dining, where applicable
- Helpdesk/concierge support for repairs, utilities and daily coordination
3. Care & Community (the differentiator)
- Emergency response systems (panic buttons, intercoms, staff trained for emergencies)
- Doctor-on-call, periodic health checks or wellness programmes
- Structured activities, events and clubs to keep residents engaged and socially connected
A project that labels itself “senior living” but offers only basic safety fittings, without a defined service and care framework, is effectively just a standard residential product with minimal adaptations.
Types of Senior Living Communities
Globally and in India, senior living projects broadly fall into a few categories:
1. Independent Senior Living
- For seniors who are largely independent in daily activities.
- Focus on safety, convenience, social life and low-maintenance living.
- Homes are configured like regular apartments, but in a curated environment.
2. Assisted Living
- For seniors who require some assistance with daily tasks (medication, bathing, movement, etc.).
- More staff-intensive and care-led than pure independent living.
- Often includes nursing support and closer monitoring.
3. Continuing Care / Integrated Senior Townships
- Larger campuses that offer multiple levels of care – from independent units to assisted living and, in some cases, higher-dependency care.
- The resident can “age in place”, shifting between care levels without leaving the community.
4. Senior-Focused Towers or Wings Inside Townships
- A model now gaining traction in India.
- A dedicated tower or wing for seniors inside a larger, mixed-use township.
- Residents benefit from both age-specific facilities and the township’s broader ecosystem (schools, healthcare, retail, offices).
Why Demand for Senior Living Is Growing
Structural, long-term factors drive the demand for senior living:
Ageing population
India’s senior population (60+) is rising sharply in absolute numbers and as a share of the total population.
Nuclear families and migration
Children increasingly work abroad or in other Indian cities, while parents remain in metros and tier-1/2 cities, often alone or as a couple.
Financially independent seniors
Many seniors today have pensions, savings or proceeds from the sale of legacy homes, and are willing to pay for comfort, safety and a structured environment.
NRI-led demand
NRIs seek professionally managed communities in India where parents can live with dignity, predictable maintenance and readily available healthcare tie-ups.
Lifestyle expectations
Seniors want active, dignified living rather than dependency. They expect privacy, community and professional services rather than informal arrangements.
For developers and investors, this means senior living is recognised as a serious, long-term asset class, not a one-off social project.
Policy and Regulatory Context: Retirement Homes Recognised
The senior living segment has also begun to attract policy and regulatory attention.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has issued Model Guidelines for Development and Regulation of Retirement Homes, which:
- Recognise “retirement homes” as a distinct category.
- Emphasise universal accessibility, safety and age-friendly design.
- Seek clearer frameworks for service and maintenance contracts.
- Encourage states and Union Territories to integrate retirement homes into local development control regulations and RERA-related frameworks.
For homebuyers and families, this has two practical implications:
- Where a retirement or senior living project is structured as a real estate development, it is expected to comply with RERA norms like any other residential project.
- Buyers must look beyond the flat and carefully review both:
- The Agreement for Sale (real estate)
- The service agreement (recurring services, care, charges and escalation clauses)
A Brief Note on Hiranandani’s Chennai Senior Living Project
Among large township developers, Hiranandani is one of the players that has formally entered the senior living segment.
At its township in Oragadam, near Chennai, Hiranandani has announced a dedicated senior living community – essentially age-friendly apartments within a larger integrated township, with a focus on services and a senior-oriented environment.
This mention is included here only as a factual example of how mainstream developers are beginning to participate in senior living.
John Real Estate and Thane Real Estate News (TREN) are not associated with, appointed by, or marketing this project in any capacity.
How Buyers Should Evaluate a Senior Living Project
Whether you are planning for your own later years or exploring options for parents, evaluation should be structured across three layers:
1. Home and Location
- Is the project in a safe, well-connected area?
- Is the building genuinely age-friendly in layout and circulation?
- Is it a stand-alone campus or part of a larger township with hospitals, markets and public transport nearby?
2. Services and Cost Structure
- Which services are covered: housekeeping, food, laundry, basic medical support and activities?
- What are the monthly/annual charges, and how are future increases governed?
- Who operates the project daily – the developer, an internal entity or a specialised senior living operator?
3. Long-Term Flexibility and Exit
- Can the unit be resold or transferred easily?
- What happens if a resident’s health condition changes – are there assisted living options in the same ecosystem or any partner facilities?
- How are inheritance, nomination and exit handled in the contracts?
Senior living is simultaneously a lifestyle decision, a care decision and a financial decision. It must be assessed with that complete lens, and not only by per-square-foot price.
What Senior Living Could Mean for Thane, Mumbai and NRIs
For Thane–MMR, senior living is still emerging, but the fundamentals are strong:
- Demographics and family structures mirror national trends – ageing parents, nuclear families and NRIs abroad.
- The region already has large integrated townships, robust healthcare infrastructure and ongoing connectivity upgrades.
- As township developers experiment with senior-focused products in other cities, Thane and Mumbai are natural candidates for future senior-living formats.
For NRIs, professionally managed senior living communities can become:
- A structured, safer living solution for parents in India.
- A possible specialised rental product in the long term, subject to very careful legal, contractual and financial due diligence.
About the Author
Arosh John is the Founder of John Real Estate (MahaRERA Reg. No. A51700001835) and Editor-in-Chief of Thane Real Estate News (TREN) — a digital platform dedicated to factual, regulation-aligned and insight-driven coverage of the Thane–MMR property market.
Widely recognised as one of Thane’s leading real estate advisors, he specialises in villas, premium resales and NRI-focused transactions, with a strong emphasis on MahaRERA-compliant documentation, deal structuring and infrastructure-led micro-market strategy. Over more than a decade of on-ground practice, he has advised homebuyers and investors across Thane’s key residential corridors and emerging villa belts, helping them navigate projects, regulations and pricing cycles with clarity and confidence.
Through John Real Estate and TREN, his mission is to make Thane–MMR one of India’s most transparent and well-understood property markets by combining local intelligence, regulatory knowledge and sharp, data-backed commentary.
Disclaimer
This article is intended solely for general information and educational purposes. It is based on publicly available information, sector studies and policy documents as of December 2025.
It does not constitute legal, tax, investment or financial advice, nor an offer, invitation or recommendation to buy, sell or invest in any specific project, developer or scheme. Readers should independently verify all project details, prices, regulatory approvals and contractual terms directly with the respective developer, on the relevant RERA portals and with qualified professionals.
All trademarks, brand names and project names (including those of Hiranandani and other developers) belong to their respective owners and are used here only for identification and informational reference.
For any transaction-specific decision, readers are strongly advised to consult a practising advocate, chartered accountant and registered real estate professional.Thinking
