From the two-story colonials of New Canaan and Old Greenwich to the split-levels around Danbury and the hillside lots near New Milford and Sherman, the Western Connecticut Planning Region holds a wide mix of staircases. The coastal towns along Long Island Sound sit on flatter ground, while the northern towns bordering the Litchfield Hills turn hillier and more rural. Each of those settings asks something different of a stair lift.
This page walks through how local homes and terrain shape the lift you would need, and which state, federal and local programs may help pay for it. If you are helping a parent in Riverside, Georgetown or Ridgebury, or planning for your own house in Westport Village or Glenville, the same questions apply: what kind of stairs, inside or out, and who to call about money.
Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Westport, Wilton, Weston and southern Norwalk and Stamford are dominated by larger single-family colonial and center-hall homes, many built as two-story properties. For an aging homeowner, that usually means the bedrooms are upstairs and the kitchen is down, so the main staircase gets climbed many times a day.
Center-hall layouts often have one long, straight run from the foyer to the second floor. A straight stair lift is usually the simplest fit there. If the stair turns at a landing or curves near the top, a curved rail built to that staircase is the answer, and it takes careful measuring before anything is ordered.
The region's housing skews newer than Connecticut's older cities. In Danbury 40% of housing was built before 1960, and in Stamford 41%, compared with 66%, 64% and 64% in Hartford, New Britain and Bridgeport. Stamford also has the smallest pre-1940 share, 16%, among the state's largest communities.
Newer stock here includes plenty of split-level homes and townhouses. A split-level has several short flights instead of one long one, and each flight may need its own lift or a single curved rail that follows the turns. Townhouses tend to have narrow, straight stairs where a slim straight lift fits well.
Row houses and walk-up apartments are also part of the mix. With 59.5% of residents owning their homes, a good share rent, and a renter will need the landlord's permission before any rail goes on the wall.
Up toward New Milford, Sherman, Bridgewater and New Fairfield, the land gets steeper and lots get bigger. The trouble there is often outside the house: steps from the driveway, a sloped walk, or a high porch.
An outdoor stair lift is built to handle weather on exterior steps. Where a wheelchair user needs to get up a few steps to the door, a platform lift can carry the chair itself, which a seat-style stair lift cannot do. We look at the whole path from car to kitchen before recommending either one.
For veterans, the VA programs listed below are worth checking early, since some require a VA physician's paperwork before work starts.
The Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs - Office of Advocacy and Assistance (4th District) at 100 Mona Terrace in Fairfield can help with VA applications. Their number is (203) 418-2005.
Incomes vary a lot across the region. The Gold Coast towns are among the wealthiest areas in the country, while Greater Danbury and the Housatonic-area towns have a more moderate-income base, so some families self-fund and others need a loan or grant.
None of the programs below name stair lifts outright in their published sources. Several cover home modifications or accessibility in general terms, so the decision is made case by case. Your local aging agency is the easiest first call: Western CT Area Agency on Aging at (203) 757-5449 for Greater Danbury towns, or Southwestern CT Agency on Aging at (203) 333-9288 for the coastal towns.
Statewide options also include Community First Choice (CFC) and the Homeowners' Elderly/Disabled Circuit Breaker Tax Relief Program, which are worth asking about when you call.
A DSS-run home care program for Connecticut residents 65 and older at risk of nursing-home placement, with a state-funded tier that has no income limit. Minor home modifications for safety and accessibility are covered, but stair lifts are not named, so ask your case manager; call (800) 445-5394.
Low-interest loans from $500 to $30,000 at a fixed 4% or 4.5%, repaid over 1 to 10 years, for residents of at least 1 year with a disability or older adults. Home modifications for accessibility are an eligible use, though stair lifts are not named; call (860) 424-4881.
The intake and referral point for older adults and caregivers in Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield, Roxbury and Sherman. It does not list its own stair lift fund but helps people apply to programs like CHCPE; call (203) 757-5449.
Application help and service navigation for older adults and adults with disabilities in Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Westport, Weston and Wilton. No stair lift grant of its own is listed; call (203) 333-9288.
A nonprofit offering peer support, advocacy and referrals to equipment and funding for people of any age with a disability in Darien, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Weston, Westport and Wilton. Stair lifts are not named in its source; call (203) 378-6977.
A nonprofit serving people of any age with a disability in Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield, Sherman, New Milford and Bridgewater with referrals and advocacy. Stair lifts are not named in its source; call (203) 729-3299.
A volunteer nonprofit based in Wilton that provides free repairs for low-income homeowners in Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven Counties. It serves many seniors and people with disabilities, but stair lifts are not named; call (800) 887-4673.
Loans up to $40,000 at 1% and grants up to $10,000 for very-low-income owners 62 and older in USDA-eligible rural areas, with grant funds allowed for making a home accessible; stair lifts are not named. Coastal towns such as Stamford, Norwalk, Darien and Greenwich are generally not eligible, while towns like New Milford, Newtown, Sherman and Bridgewater are more likely to have eligible addresses.
A lifetime grant of up to $6,800 for veterans with a service-connected disability, or up to $2,000 for other eligible veterans, for medically necessary changes such as stair modifications. Stair lifts are not named and are often treated as equipment rather than a structural change; call (800) 827-1000.
Grants of up to $126,526 (SAH) or $25,350 (SHA) for veterans with specific severe service-connected disabilities to buy, build or adapt a home. The source mentions stair modifications generally but does not name stair lifts; call (800) 827-1000.
Older adults
84 Progress Lane, Waterbury, 06705
Veterans
100 Mona Terrace, Fairfield, 06824
It might. CHCPE covers minor home modifications for safety and accessibility statewide, but its source does not list stair lifts by name, so it depends on the case manager and the care plan. Call (800) 445-5394 to start.
Yes, the two Centers for Independent Living serve people of any age with a disability. Coastal towns go to Access Independence at (203) 378-6977, and Greater Danbury and northern towns go to Independence Northwest at (203) 729-3299.
Probably not. Coastal and urban towns such as Stamford, Norwalk, Darien and Greenwich generally fall outside USDA rural boundaries. Addresses in New Milford, Newtown, Sherman or Bridgewater are more likely to qualify, and each address has to be checked on USDA's map.
Often, with the landlord's written permission, since the rail mounts to the stairs. The VA HISA grant also applies to rented homes when the landlord authorizes the work.
Ridgefield and the other Greater Danbury towns are served by the Western CT Area Agency on Aging at (203) 757-5449. Westport and the other coastal towns are served by the Southwestern CT Agency on Aging at (203) 333-9288.
The CT Tech Act Project lends $500 to $30,000 at a fixed 4% or 4.5% over 1 to 10 years for accessibility needs. Stair lifts are not named in its source, so confirm when you apply at (860) 424-4881.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
