Generally speaking, Retirement Communities and Independent Living Facilities refers to any housing arrangement designed exclusively for seniors (usually defined as persons over age 55), in which the resident does not need daily assistance with medical or personal care.
This encompasses all kinds of planned retirement communities, including rural and suburban single family home developments, urban and suburban condominium and apartment complexes, mobile home parks and manufactured home communities, and subsidized municipal housing projects for low income elderly. This also includes a variety of smaller-scale senior housing facilities often referred to as “congregate housing” or “senior apartments