This article was written by our expert who is surveying the industry and constantly updating the business plan for a retirement home.
Retirement homes face rising demand and must plan equipment spending with precision.
This guide gives clear, quantitative budgets and practical benchmarks for a retirement home’s equipment plan in October 2025.
If you want to dig deeper and learn more, you can download our business plan for a retirement home. Also, before launching, get all the profit, revenue, and cost breakdowns you need for complete clarity with our retirement home financial forecast.
Over 2025–2030, the senior living demand pool is projected to expand by ~28%, keeping occupancy high and forcing tighter equipment planning. The tables below summarize headcount assumptions, core categories, and realistic budget ranges for a mid-size retirement home.
Figures reflect current 2025 market ranges, regulatory requirements, and typical vendor pricing for mid-market facilities; adjust for local codes and wage/utility levels.
| Item | What to plan | Typical 2025 range (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Resident capacity (Year 1 → Year 5) | Start 60–80 residents; plan 20–30% throughput growth with high occupancy | 60 → 75–95 residents |
| Medical & care equipment (capex) | Beds, lifts, wheelchairs, AEDs, vitals monitors, med carts, oxygen | $2,500–$5,500 per resident equivalent |
| Kitchen & dining (capex) | Commercial line, refrigeration, dishwash, smallwares, dining furniture | $50,000–$250,000+ |
| Laundry & housekeeping (capex) | 2–4x washer/extractor + dryers, carts, finishing/ironing, storage | $10,000–$40,000 |
| Safety & emergency (capex) | Fire alarm/sprinklers, emergency lighting, generators, handrails, signage | $60,000–$180,000 (new build or major upgrade) |
| Recreation & wellness (capex) | Light gym, therapy tools, AV, activity materials, outdoor furniture | $5,000–$20,000 (baseline) |
| Technology systems (capex) | Nurse-call, Wi-Fi, network, CCTV/access control, EHR/ops software | 5–10% of total equipment capex |
| Annual maintenance & replacements (opex) | Parts, service contracts, calibration, replacement cycles | 5–8% of operating costs |
| Contingency (capex) | Buffer for code updates, shortages, inflation, scope changes | 10–20% of equipment budget |
How many residents should we plan to accommodate in the next five years?
Plan for 60–80 residents at opening and 75–95 residents by Year 5 due to sustained demand growth.
Market analyses indicate the senior living demand pool is growing roughly 28% by 2030, keeping occupancy elevated in most regions. For a mid-size retirement home, this translates to a practical planning envelope that grows total resident headcount by 20–30% over five years.
Model base case at 70 residents in Year 1 and 85 in Year 5, with staffing, kitchen capacity, laundry throughput, and nurse-call concurrency sized to the Year-5 load. Stress-test a high case of 95 residents and a low case of 75 residents to check resilience in procurement and service levels.
Lock dining seats at ~0.8× peak residents with two meal waves, and size hot holding/refrigeration to a 1.2× safety factor of average meal count. Align storage, waste, and linen inventories to peak-week consumption to avoid periodic shortages.
Always tie equipment counts to the Year-5 headcount so you avoid costly mid-cycle retrofits.
What equipment categories are mandatory in a retirement home?
Six categories drive the equipment budget in a retirement home: medical/care, kitchen/dining, laundry/housekeeping, safety/security, recreation/wellness, and technology/IT.
Each category contains must-have assets that support safe care delivery, food service, infection control, and emergency readiness. Quantities should scale with resident headcount, care acuity, and applicable codes.
Medical/care includes hospital beds, patient lifts, wheelchairs/walkers, AEDs, vital signs monitors, oxygen concentrators, med carts, exam tables, PPE, and incontinence supplies. Kitchen/dining covers commercial cookline, refrigeration, dishwashers, smallwares, and dining furniture/ware. Laundry/housekeeping covers commercial washers/dryers, ironing/finishing, linen carts, and chemical dosing.
Safety/security spans fire alarm, sprinklers, emergency lighting, generators, handrails, non-slip flooring, exit signage, CCTV, and access control. Recreation/wellness includes light fitness, therapy tools, AV, and activity materials. Technology/IT includes nurse-call, Wi-Fi/network, monitoring devices, and core software.
Use a structured asset list per category to build accurate bills of quantities and procurement bundles.
What minimum regulatory standards affect the equipment budget?
Fire protection, accessibility, emergency response, medication management, and hygiene standards set your equipment floor.
Expect mandatory fire detection/suppression, grab bars/handrails, anti-slip flooring, emergency lighting/egress signage, and a documented evacuation system. Many jurisdictions require compliant medication storage, nurse-call coverage, and minimum mobility equipment availability.
Hygiene and environmental controls typically require adequate lighting, pest control protocols, and safe chemical storage; medical equipment may require periodic calibration and records. Accessibility provisions drive corridor/bathroom fixtures and anti-skid surfacing, while electrical/life-safety systems dictate backup power and routine testing.
These standards influence line items like alarm panels, devices and cabling, sprinkler heads/piping, emergency fittings, reinforced bathroom hardware, and compliant storage solutions. They also add recurring inspection/maintenance costs.
Budget to the code minimum plus a margin to avoid failed inspections and rework.
What is a realistic cost per resident for essential medical and care equipment?
Budget $2,500–$5,500 in capex per resident equivalent for essential medical and care equipment in a retirement home.
This range covers beds/pressure mattresses, lifts and slings, wheelchairs/walkers, vitals monitors, med carts, oxygen concentrators, and emergency devices (e.g., AED). Variation depends on acuity, proportion of semi-electric/electric beds, and the lift-to-resident ratio.
As an operating expense, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals commonly equal 10–15% of total operating costs, with 5–8% of operating costs allocated to equipment leasing/maintenance when applicable. Standardize SKUs to reduce consumable costs, and bundle vendor PM (preventive maintenance) to protect warranties.
Calibrate monitors and service lifts on manufacturer intervals to prevent downtime and compliance issues. Hold 3–5% spare critical items (e.g., wheelchairs, slings, batteries) to absorb failures without disrupting care.
Size this per-resident allowance to your Year-5 census so capex scales correctly.
How much should we spend on kitchen and dining equipment?
Plan $50,000–$250,000+ for a retirement home’s commercial kitchen and dining setup depending on scale and menu complexity.
Lower ranges suit small facilities or light cook-chill models; higher ranges reflect full hot lines with combi ovens, heavy refrigeration, high-capacity dishwashers, and robust smallwares. Dining furniture and tableware are separate, and should be phased to the final seat count.
Engineer capacity for two service waves at peak occupancy; specify ventilation and fire suppression for code compliance; right-size cold storage to 3–5 days of perishables at peak. Include backup hot holding and insulated carts for room-service trays where applicable.
Standardize brands across cookline and dishwash to simplify spares and training. Include water treatment for steam appliances to extend life and reduce scale-related failures.
Align the kitchen capex with your menu method (cook-serve vs. cook-chill) and staffing plan.
What do laundry and housekeeping equipment cost to meet hygiene standards?
Set $10,000–$40,000 for core laundry equipment in a retirement home, with additional annual spend for chemicals and service.
A typical mix includes 2–4 commercial washer-extractors with auto chemical dosing, matching dryers, finishing/ironing station, linen/soiled carts, and storage racks. Throughput should meet peak-week linen volume with 20% headroom.
Plan service contracts and periodic drum seal, bearing, and belt replacements; specify drain and ventilation per local code; segregate clean vs. soiled flows to prevent cross-contamination. Housekeeping carts, vacuums, and chemical dilution stations should be included in the opening kit.
Track cost per occupied bed per day (CPoBPD) for laundry to manage vendor pricing and dose rates. Add spare carts and racks to smooth shift changes and delivery windows.
Protect dryers with lint management and scheduled duct cleaning to reduce fire risk.
What are the costs of safety and emergency equipment, including fire systems and mobility aids?
Expect significant upfront capex for life-safety systems in a retirement home, plus per-unit costs for mobility aids.
For new builds or major upgrades, plan roughly $60,000–$180,000 for code-compliant fire alarm, sprinklers, detection devices, emergency lighting, and egress signage (scope drives variance). Backup generators or battery systems add further cost depending on load.
| Safety asset | What it covers | Typical 2025 cost |
|---|---|---|
| Fire alarm & panels | Panel, initiating devices, notification appliances, cabling, commissioning | $25k–$60k |
| Sprinkler system | Piping, heads, valves, hydraulic calc, tie-ins to water supply | $20k–$80k |
| Emergency lighting & exit signs | Luminaires, battery packs, photoluminescent signs | $5k–$15k |
| Backup power | Generator/inverter, transfer switch, fuel/storage or battery packs | $20k–$120k+ |
| Mobility aids | Wheelchairs ($300–$2,000), walkers ($80–$300), canes ($20–$60) | $500–$2,500 per resident set |
| Handrails & grab bars | Continuous rails in corridors, ADA/accessible bathroom bars | $8k–$25k |
| Drills & training | Annual drills, documentation, third-party trainers | $2k–$5k per session |
How much should we allocate to recreation and wellness equipment?
Reserve $5,000–$20,000 for baseline recreation and wellness equipment in a retirement home.
Start with light fitness (recumbent bike, treadmill/elliptical with safety features), therapy tools (resistance bands, balance pads), AV gear, and activity supplies (arts/crafts, games). Outdoor seating and shade improve usability at low cost.
Scale up to a modest therapy room if acuity and care services require it; add fall-safe flooring where balance work is frequent; and ensure clear staff sightlines. Track utilization and refresh high-touch items annually to maintain engagement and hygiene.
Prefer commercial-grade devices with local service support to minimize downtime. Phase upgrades in Year 3–4 after tracking program adoption.
Anchor choices to resident profiles and measured participation rates.
You’ll find detailed market insights in our retirement home business plan, updated every quarter.
What portion of the budget should go to technology systems?
Allocate 5–10% of total equipment capex to technology in a retirement home.
This envelope should cover nurse-call, Wi-Fi and network switches, servers or secure cloud setup, monitoring devices (e.g., wander management where allowed), CCTV/access control, and core software/licenses. Redundancy for life-safety signaling is essential.
Specify open protocols and vendor-supported APIs to avoid lock-in; map VLANs and QoS for nurse-call and VoIP traffic; and define retention periods for video consistent with privacy regulations. Budget for user devices (workstations-on-wheels, tablets) and charging docks.
Include implementation, training, and first-year support in the capex; convert later support to opex with SLAs and uptime guarantees. Schedule annual security reviews and firmware patch cycles.
Keep a 10–15% sub-contingency within the tech line for fast-moving standards.
How much contingency should we include for price changes or surprises?
Hold a 10–20% contingency on the retirement home’s equipment budget.
Use 10–12% for projects with firm scopes and locked vendor quotes; use 15–20% where supply chains are volatile, code reviews are ongoing, or site conditions are uncertain. Keep contingency outside base packages to preserve bid comparability.
Release contingency in tranches after key milestones (design freeze, AHJ approval, rough-in inspection) to avoid gold-plating. Track change orders separately to keep visibility on drivers.
Update the contingency as quotes arrive and as inflation indices change for foodservice, healthcare, and electrical goods. Re-baseline at 50% construction progress.
Contingency is a management tool, not a spending target—treat it accordingly.
What are realistic maintenance and replacement costs over ten years?
Plan 5–8% of operating costs annually for maintenance, service contracts, calibration, and routine replacements in a retirement home.
Major equipment typically follows 5–10-year replacement cycles: beds/mattresses at 7–10 years, lifts at 7–10 years (with sling replacements earlier), dishwashers at 7–10 years, and washers/dryers at 7–10 years depending on duty cycle. Life-safety electronics may need panel upgrades within 10 years due to code or parts obsolescence.
| Asset | Maintenance focus & cycle | Typical replacement window |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital beds & mattresses | Quarterly inspection; mattress pressure relief testing; motor checks | 7–10 years (mattresses 5–7) |
| Patient lifts & slings | Annual load testing; sling fabric rotation; battery care | 7–10 years (slings 2–3) |
| Dishwash & cookline | Descaling, gaskets, spray arms; hood/duct cleaning | 7–10 years |
| Washers/dryers | Bearings/seals; vent/dryer duct cleaning; chemical pump service | 7–10 years |
| Nurse-call & network | Firmware/security patches; battery changes; device testing | 7–10 years (controllers 5–7) |
| Fire alarm/sprinklers | NFPA/local code inspections; flow tests; device replacements | 10+ years (device refresh 7–10) |
| Generators/backup | Load tests; oil/fuel service; ATS inspection | 10–15 years (batteries 3–5) |
How big should the recreational and wellness budget be—and what should it buy?
Start with $5,000–$20,000 and buy what residents will actually use in your retirement home.
Prioritize fall-safe, easy-entry equipment, adaptable therapy tools, engaging AV, and shaded outdoor seating. Add modular items to expand programming without large capex.
Track utilization weekly and rotate underused items; refresh soft goods annually; and pilot new programs with rental/loaner equipment before purchase. For memory care areas, incorporate sensory items and music therapy tools.
Schedule quarterly feedback sessions with activity staff and resident councils to inform purchases. Align selections with staffing skills to ensure safe supervision.
Aim for high utilization per square foot rather than a large, underused gym.
This is one of the strategies explained in our retirement home business plan.
How should we budget technology (nurse-call, monitoring, IT infrastructure)?
Dedicate 5–10% of equipment capex to technology systems in a retirement home and document a clear architecture.
Break the budget into endpoints (pull cords, bed stations, wearables), core (controllers/servers), network (switches/APs/cabling), and applications (EHR/ops software). Enforce device and data security policies aligned with healthcare privacy rules.
Run a wired backbone for life-safety signals and use Wi-Fi for staff mobility and non-critical monitoring; isolate VLANs for nurse-call and video; implement UPS on key switches. Define SLAs and escalation paths with vendors.
Train staff thoroughly at go-live and after six weeks; keep spares of handsets, batteries, and critical sensors. Review alarm fatigue and thresholds quarterly and adjust to reduce false positives.
Capture TCO by including licenses, renewals, and replacement reserves from Year 4 onward.
What contingency is recommended for unexpected needs or price swings?
Use a 10–20% contingency on retirement home equipment, weighted by risk.
Apply higher contingency to technology and life-safety lines (fast-changing standards) and to kitchen equipment (volatile metals/lead times). Keep a separate escalation line if your project spans multiple years.
Release contingency only after inspections pass and long-lead items are installed. Maintain a decision log to document draws against contingency and lessons for future phases.
Re-price critical items 60–90 days before procurement to reflect updated indices and supplier capacity. Consider hedging key components with alternate brands approved during design.
Be explicit about what the contingency may cover and what it will not.
What financing or procurement strategies best optimize the equipment budget?
- Bundle categories (e.g., beds + lifts + mattresses) to unlock 10–20% bulk discounts and lower freight/consolidation costs.
- Use leasing for fast-depreciating or high-tech assets (monitors, IT, dishwash) to smooth cash flow and keep technology current.
- Negotiate preventive-maintenance contracts tied to uptime SLAs, parts discounts, and loaner devices during repairs.
- Pursue subsidies/grants for safety, accessibility, and energy-efficient equipment where available; assign one owner to track programs.
- Standardize SKUs across sites to reduce training burden and spare-parts inventory, and to increase bargaining power.
We cover this exact topic in the retirement home business plan.
Can you give a cost breakdown table for medical, kitchen, laundry, safety, recreation, and tech?
Use the retirement home equipment budget table below as a practical starting point for a mid-size site opening in 2025.
Adjust for local codes, acuity, and site constraints; size to your Year-5 census to avoid near-term retrofits.
| Category | What’s included | Typical 2025 budget |
|---|---|---|
| Medical & care | Beds, mattresses, lifts/slings, wheelchairs/walkers, AEDs, vitals, oxygen, med carts | $2,500–$5,500 per resident eq. |
| Kitchen & dining | Cookline, refrigeration, dishwash, smallwares, hot holding, dining furniture/ware | $50,000–$250,000+ |
| Laundry & housekeeping | Washers/dryers, finishing, carts, dilution stations, storage | $10,000–$40,000 |
| Safety & emergency | Fire alarm/sprinklers, emergency lighting, egress signage, generators, rails | $60,000–$180,000 |
| Recreation & wellness | Light fitness, therapy tools, AV, outdoor furniture | $5,000–$20,000 |
| Technology/IT | Nurse-call, network/Wi-Fi, CCTV/access control, devices, software | 5–10% of capex |
| Contingency | Unforeseen scope changes, inflation, code updates | 10–20% of equipment capex |
What are the minimum standards we must meet, in table form?
The table summarizes key minimum standards impacting a retirement home’s equipment scope.
Use this to verify early design and to plan inspections and documentation.
| Standard area | Implications for equipment | Budget impact |
|---|---|---|
| Fire protection | Alarm panels, detectors, notification, sprinklers, testing records | High upfront; recurring inspections |
| Accessibility | Grab bars, handrails, non-slip flooring, clearances, signage | Moderate upfront; low recurring |
| Emergency response | Nurse-call coverage, backup power, evacuation tools and plans | Moderate–high upfront; periodic tests |
| Medication management | Secure med storage, carts, refrigeration monitoring | Moderate upfront; audits/calibration |
| Hygiene & infection control | Commercial laundry, chemical dosing, PPE, waste segregation | Moderate upfront; ongoing consumables |
| Environmental controls | Adequate lighting, ventilation hoods, water treatment | Moderate upfront; service contracts |
| Records & calibration | Calibration kits/services for medical devices with logs | Low upfront; recurring service |
Conclusion
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Readers are encouraged to consult with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. We accept no liability for any actions taken based on the information provided.
Want to go further?
Explore structured guides, checklists, and financial models tailored to retirement homes. Build a budget you can defend to investors and regulators with clear, current numbers.
Sources
- Senior Housing News — 2025 Outlook
- CNBC — Senior living demand vs. supply
- Dojo Business — Retirement home equipment list
- Dojo Business — Retirement home startup costs
- UK HSE HSG220 — Health and safety in care homes
- Retirement Village Code of Practice
- Model Guidelines for Senior Citizen Homes
- Residential Care Homes Minimum Standards
- Operating and running costs of retirement homes
- Commercial kitchen equipment cost guide
