Active adult communities near you now include apartment-style rental options that eliminate homeownership entirely while keeping the age-restricted lifestyle and resort amenities. You're renting an apartment in a community designed for adults 55 or 62+, with monthly rent covering your unit, amenities, exterior maintenance, and often some utilities.
Learn more about what is active adult living to understand this lifestyle choice completely.
Let's be honest upfront.
These aren't care facilities. Nobody helps you bathe, manages your medications, or cooks your meals. You're completely independent. What you're getting is an apartment in an age-restricted building with a fitness center, pool, clubhouse, and activities calendar. Think luxury apartment complex that doesn't allow kids or young families.
The apartment-style model offers flexibility the Del Webb homeownership communities don't. No down payment. No property taxes. No equity building, but also no capital tied up. If your health changes in two years and you need assisted living, you give 30-60 days notice and leave. Try selling a condo that fast.
What you're actually renting:
Senior Care Finder shows you apartment-style active adult communities nationwide. Compare monthly rent, what's included, amenity quality, and whether that fitness center you'll pay for actually gets used.
Compare active adult apartments to independent living if you're weighing rental options with more services.
The active adult market split into two distinct models.
Del Webb homeownership model:
Apartment-style rental model (what this page covers):
Both are age-restricted. Both offer amenities. Both require you to be completely independent. The difference is ownership vs. rental, and the flexibility that comes with not owning.
Apartment-style active adult communities bundle services into monthly rent that homeownership communities charge separately.
Typical inclusions:
What you pay separately:
What you're NOT getting:
If you need any personal care or regular meals, that's independent living or assisted living territory. Apartment-style active adult communities are for people who are completely self-sufficient but want maintenance-free rental housing with built-in social opportunities.
Explore assisted living options if you need personal care assistance.
Every apartment-style active adult community markets resort-style amenities. Most residents rarely use them.
Common amenities:
Discover the best fitness activities for seniors to make the most of your community's amenities.
Visit unannounced at 10am on a Tuesday. Is the fitness center packed or empty? Are the pool lounges occupied or vacant? Is the activities calendar bustling with participants or the same six people at every event?
You're paying for these amenities whether you use them or not. Monthly rent at $2,500 includes that fitness center. If you never use it, you're still paying for it. That's fine if you're realistic about your habits. It's expensive disappointment if you thought moving here would magically transform you into someone who exercises daily and joins clubs.
Ask during tours: "What percentage of residents participate in activities regularly?" Most won't answer directly. Observe for yourself.
Apartment-style active adult living works for:
People who want:
People who are:
Many residents are semi-retired and continue working part-time. Explore the 9 best part-time and side jobs for seniors if you're looking for flexible work options during this lifestyle transition.
Anyone needing:
Anyone wanting:
If you need services beyond a roof and amenities, look at independent living. If you want to own property and build equity, look at homeownership-based active adult communities. If you want rental flexibility with age-restricted lifestyle, apartment-style fits.
Compare senior living options to see all care levels side by side.
Rent varies dramatically by location, unit size, and amenity level.
National ranges (2025):
Geographic reality:
Monthly cost breakdown example (one-bedroom, mid-range community):
Additional potential costs:
Run your own numbers. Does the flexibility and maintenance-free lifestyle justify the cost compared to aging in place?
Scheduled tours showcase the best-case scenario. Return at:
What you observe unannounced is what you'll experience daily.
Ask residents you encounter:
They'll tell you the truth the leasing office won't.
Verify:
Clarify exactly:
These communities don't provide medical care. As you age, proximity matters.
Check distance to:
Remote locations with scenic views offer limited healthcare access when you eventually need it.
Read about aging well with simplified small habits to maintain your health and independence in active adult living.
Add up:
Compare that total to your current all-in monthly housing costs. Is the difference worth the amenities and maintenance-free lifestyle?
Scheduled tours showcase the best-case scenario. Return at:
What you observe unannounced is what you'll experience daily.
Ask residents you encounter:
They'll tell you the truth the leasing office won't.
Verify:
Clarify exactly:
These communities don't provide medical care. As you age, proximity matters.
Check distance to:
Remote locations with scenic views offer limited healthcare access when you eventually need it.
Read about aging well with simplified small habits to maintain your health and independence in active adult living.
Add up:
Compare that total to your current all-in monthly housing costs. Is the difference worth the amenities and maintenance-free lifestyle?
Flexibility when health changes.
Here's what nobody says in the leasing office: most people moving into active adult communities at age 68 won't stay there at age 78. Health changes. Needs change. That fitness center you love at 68 becomes irrelevant when mobility declines at 76. That apartment you rent becomes too much to manage when you actually need assisted living at 79.
Apartment-style lets you leave. Give notice. Move to higher care. Done.
Homeownership-based active adult communities trap you. Selling a condo when you're 78 and declining takes months. Dealing with real estate agents, showings, negotiations while your health deteriorates? Nightmare. By the time you sell and move, you've delayed needed care by six months.
This flexibility matters more than equity building for many people entering their 70s. If there's a 40% chance you'll need assisted living within 10 years, tying up capital in a condo you'll struggle to sell makes no sense. Renting an apartment you can leave in 60 days makes perfect sense.
Staying connected and engaged also matters. Check out the top 10 apps for older adults to help you manage your lifestyle and stay connected with family and community.
You know whether maintenance-free apartment living with age-restricted community appeals to you. Find communities that actually deliver it.
Senior Care Finder shows you apartment-style active adult options nationwide. Search by location. Compare monthly rent and what's included. Check amenity quality and resident reviews. Contact properties directly when you're ready to tour.
This works beautifully for people who value flexibility and peer community. It disappoints people who pay for amenities they never use while staying isolated in their apartments.
Be honest about your habits before signing a lease.
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