From the mill village streets of Buffalo and Monarch Mill to the older neighborhoods of Union, Jonesville, Carlisle and Lockhart, a lot of Union County's homes were built when nobody planned for a bedroom you could reach without climbing. The Buffalo Mill Historic District alone holds 190 contributing buildings, with village housing from one-story worker cottages to larger multi-story supervisors' houses built around 1929.
Many of those two-story homes are still lived in today, along with other early-1900s houses in the county seat. When the bedroom and bathroom sit at the top of the stairs, a stair lift is often the simplest way to keep using the whole house. This page walks through what fits the homes here and where to look for help paying.
The supervisors' houses in Buffalo were built in Queen Anne and shingle-style bungalow forms. Older homes like these tend to have stairs that were built to fit the house, not to a modern standard, so we always measure before recommending anything.
If the staircase runs in one straight flight, a straight stair lift is usually the fit. It mounts to the stair treads, not the wall, so plaster and original trim stay untouched. Stairs that turn at a landing or curve need a curved lift with a rail built to the exact shape of your staircase.
Split-level homes put short flights between each level. Depending on how the house is laid out, one lift may cover the flight you use most, or a curved rail may be needed to connect more than one section.
Ranch-style homes usually keep living space on one floor, but the trouble is often outside: steps up to the porch or down to the carport. An outdoor stair lift, or a platform lift for someone using a wheelchair, can handle those entry steps. In walk-up apartments the stairs are shared, so the property owner needs to be part of the conversation before any install.
Union County covers 515.44 square miles of Piedmont country along the Broad, Enoree, Pacolet and Tyger rivers. As of the 2020 census, 64.3% of residents lived in rural areas, and most housing and services are concentrated around Union.
Outside the town center, senior housing and medical services are limited, so moving is not always a practical option. With 60.1% of residents owning their homes and a median age of 45.1, many families here are looking for ways to make the house they already have work for another stage of life.
No program listed below names stair lifts as a covered item, and one, the VA HISA grant, specifically excludes stair glides. That does not rule out help, but it means calling and asking directly about in-home and home modification options.
Good first calls are the Union County Council on Aging at (864) 429-1682 and the Catawba Area Agency on Aging at (803) 329-9670. Main Street in Union, (864) 429-1605, can explain which VA benefits apply.
Statewide options worth asking about include the South Carolina Assistive Technology Loan Program, the SC Housing Trust Fund Home Repair Program and the South Carolina Homestead Exemption for property-tax relief.
A local nonprofit at 237 N Gadberry St in Union serving adults 60 and older with meals, home care and social activities; stair lift or home modification help is not listed. Call (864) 429-1682 to ask about current in-home services.
The Area Agency on Aging for Chester, Lancaster, Union and York counties, offering caregiver support, Medicare counseling and home and community-based programs; stair lifts are not listed. Call (803) 329-9670 and ask an information and referral counselor about in-home options.
A lifetime VA benefit of $6,800 or $2,000 depending on the veteran's disability, requiring a VA physician's prescription. It does not cover stair lifts, which the VA lists as excluded stair glides, but it can fund permanent ramps and accessible bathrooms.
Up to $126,526 (FY2026 maximum) for veterans with certain severe service-connected disabilities to buy, build or modify a permanent home. Stair lifts are not specifically named among covered adaptations.
Up to $25,350 (FY2026 maximum) for veterans with loss or loss of use of both hands, severe burns or certain breathing injuries, used to buy, build or modify a permanent home. Stair lifts are not specifically named.
Loans up to $40,000 at 1% fixed over 20 years, and grants up to $10,000 for very-low-income homeowners 62 and older, for removing health and safety hazards in eligible rural areas; stair lifts are not named. Call (803) 881-7080 to confirm eligibility for your Union County property.
A Medicaid home and community-based waiver for people who meet a nursing-facility level of care and choose to stay home. Stair lifts are not named on the program page, so ask your case manager what home accessibility help is available.
Home modification support for people with disabilities when it helps them get or keep a job, as part of a vocational rehab plan; stair lifts are not listed. Call (803) 896-6500.
Free weatherization work for low-income households in Union County and neighboring counties, focused on energy efficiency rather than accessibility; stair lifts are not listed. Call (803) 329-5195.
A statewide independent living center for South Carolinians with disabilities that lists mobility and transportation programs; no stair lift benefit is detailed. Call (803) 779-5121 to ask what is available in Union County.
Older adults
2051 Ebenezer Road, Suite B, Rock Hill, 29732
Veterans
320 E. Main Street, Union, 29379
Usually, yes. Stair lifts mount to the stair treads rather than the walls, so they work in older homes like the Buffalo Mill Historic District houses. We measure the staircase first to decide between a straight or curved rail.
Not through the HISA grant, which specifically excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either way, so talk with the Union County Veterans Affairs Office at (864) 429-1605 about your situation.
The Union County Council on Aging at (864) 429-1682 and the Catawba Area Agency on Aging at (803) 329-9670 both serve adults 60 and older. Neither lists stair lifts by name, so call and ask about in-home service options.
The USDA Section 504 program offers repair loans and, for homeowners 62 and older, grants in eligible rural areas. Stair lifts are not named, so call (803) 881-7080 to check whether your home and project qualify.
An outdoor stair lift can carry someone up the entry steps, and a platform lift is an option for wheelchair users. Which one fits depends on the number of steps and the space at the top and bottom.
It is possible, but the stairs are shared, so the property owner has to approve the install. We are glad to talk through the details with you and your landlord.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
