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What is Livable Housing Design in a Halcyon home

Update
August 18, 2017

All new Halcyon homes achieve a minimum Silver level of certification for Livable Housing Design (LHD).

LHD guidelines provide peace of mind by ensuring our homes are accessible and easily adaptable to our changing mobility needs as we get older.

The guidelines are an initiative of Living Housing Australia – a partnership between the community, consumer groups, government and industry – and they are expected to become mandatory for all new housing in Australia by 2020.

These future-proof design elements support ageing in place and enable Halcyon homeowners to stay in their own homes longer, and in safety and comfort.

Meeting these LHD guidelines during the construction phase also removes the cost and inconvenience of having to retrofit your home down the track.

There are three levels of LHD performance – Silver, Gold, and Platinum – that homes can achieve.

Halcyon has voluntarily embraced the Silver level as standard in its new homes.

This level prescribes the following design features:

A safe, continuous and step-free path of travel from the street entrance and/or parking area into the home entrance, which is level

At least one level (step-free) entrance into the home to enable homeowners to easily enter and exit

Internal doors and corridors that allow unimpeded movement between spaces – wider halls and doorways

Bathroom designed for easy and independent access including hobless shower recess

Bathroom and toilet walls are built to enable grab rails to be safely and economically installed in the future

Gold and Platinum-level homes incorporate more extensive and generous design elements suited to a higher level of disability.

Halcyon gives homeowners the option of upgrading to these higher specifications.

LHD is subtle and does not detract from the appearance of the home, but it does provide the peace of mind that it’s there if you need it.