All About Accessibility
Accessibility isn’t just a checkbox for Adapt Homes – it’s been built into our DNA from the very beginning.
From Tiny Houses to Real Homes on Wheels
Traditional tiny homes on wheels often mean steep loft ladders, narrow corridors, and compromises that make them challenging for people with mobility needs. Adapt Homes decided to change that.
Instead of following the tiny house template, we offer real houses on wheels – constructed to the National Construction Code. That means standard roof heights, wider hallways, no loft bedrooms, and normal beds at ground level.
Built-In Accessibility Standards
Because many of Adapt Homes’ designs meet the Silver Accessible Living Standard, they already include:
Extra-wide corridors and bathrooms
Reinforced walls for grab rails
Step-free thresholds
Wheelchair-friendly layouts
These features aren’t add-ons – they’re part of the starting blueprint.
Adding a 14-metre long accessibility ramp + landing for one of our homeowners
Tackling the Height Challenge
One unique consideration with homes on wheels is their elevation. Sitting on a repurposed semi-trailer, the floor is typically 1.7 meters off the ground. While that’s perfect for transport, it does create access challenges, for which we offer three main solutions:
Standard Access – Strong, full-width household staircases with proper guardrails.
Lowered Homes – Specialised trailers can drop the height to about 1.1 metres, making stairs shorter or ramps more feasible.
Entrenched Access – Excavating and engineering a lowered pad so the home sits much closer to ground level – sometimes just 20cm up, perfect for a short ramp.
The choice depends on your site, budget, and mobility needs. As Geoff puts it, “We named the company Adapt Homes for a reason – let’s look at your site and design what works for you.”
Ramp Options
For some of our clients, ramps are ideal. While they can be a larger investment – especially from 1.7 meters high – they work well when paired with a lowered home or sloping site. In these cases, we design ramps that blend with the environment, sometimes combining them with small land cuts to reduce cost and length.
Custom Interiors
Because every Adapt Home is customisable, storage heights, bench tops, and kitchen layouts can be adjusted from the outset. Lowered cabinetry for wheelchair access? Done. Pull-out shelving for easy reach? Absolutely.
Looking Ahead
While Adapt isn’t yet set up for high-intensity NDIS housing, which may require lifts and specialised layouts, we plan to expand into this space in the future.
Accessibility isn’t one-size-fits-all. For our team, it’s about listening, problem-solving, and designing homes that fit your life, mobility, and environment. Whether it’s a wheelchair-ready hallway, a low-set entrance, or a custom kitchen, their mission is simple: make living easier, no matter where your home sits. Let’s connect and talk about your accessibility needs.
Financing your Tiny Living Dream
What if you have more options than you think?
If you’ve considered making the switch from a conventional home to living in a tiny house, there’s no doubting the appeal of having housing security without the weight of a large mortgage and the stress that entails. Yet financing a smaller home on wheels can still prove difficult for many of us.
That’s why we at Adapt Homes recommend working with the team at Great Escape Finance, who offer a range of lending solutions that have been developed especially for the Australian Tiny House industry, and cater to the particular needs of tiny homeowners. Not only were they pioneers in securing loans for tiny houses across the country, they remain number one in Australia to this day. The family-operated business works with a growing panel of lenders who understand the industry and its specific requirements and realities.
Expert guidance is crucial
Tiny home financing presents unique hurdles. Traditional mortgages are rarely an option unless you have pre-existing land, leaving borrowers to rely on personal loans. These loans often come with higher interest rates and shorter repayment terms (typically up to seven years). Securing adequate funding may necessitate stacking multiple loans, complicating the process.
It's essential to partner with a finance professional who specialises in tiny home loans. This expertise can help you both secure the necessary financing, and avoid damaging your credit score (a common pitfall for the uninitiated).
How much can I borrow?
When it comes to borrowing capacity, Great Escape Finance uses a simplified guideline:
Potential borrowing capacity is roughly equivalent to your annual income (or combined income for couples), minus existing liabilities.
Monthly repayments are estimated at 2% of the borrowed amount.
For example, a couple with a combined annual income of $120,000 may be able to borrow up to $120,000, with estimated monthly repayments of $2,400.
Best advice we can share when it comes to financing?
Don’t put off your tiny living journey because you think you won’t qualify for a loan. The first step is to get in touch with the team at Great Escape Finance, filling out an initial query form stipulating the amount you are after, and getting the ball rolling! This service is free of charge, completely confidential, won’t affect your credit rating, and doesn’t oblige you to anything.
One of their brokers will then sit down with you personally, taking the time to truly understand your financial situation, and determine which steps are in your best interest and which strategies will yield a successful outcome. In short, they will figure out where you are currently, and where you want to get to. And if need be, they will help work out a plan to get you on the right path to be lending-ready in the near future.
Ready to explore your options?
To be clear, all services provided by Great Escape Finance are completely free until loan applications are successful and Adapt receives nothing in return. Fees are capitalised onto the loan, and in almost all instances, loan recipients won’t require a deposit.
So reach out today, or visit Great Escape Finance’s FAQs for more answers to common enquiries. You may very well find that their support and expertise goes well above finance alone.
