The meaning of a home for the elderly transcends the financial and physical qualities of brick and mortar. Gillsjo, Schwartz-Bardot and Von Post (2011) suggest that “home was experienced as the place without which the elderly person could not imagine living, but also as the place where one might be forced to leave” (p 2). Despite an American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) (2010) survey that showed that “the majority of older adults surveyed preferred to age in place” (p. 1), the dilemma for many older adults is how to achieve this in the face of the deterioration of their situation. housing conditions and “insufficient resources in retirement” (Neil and Neil, 2009, p. 53). In an effort to supplement their insufficient retirement income, some older adults have capitalized on their “built-up home equity” (Kroleski, Ryan, & Bottiglieri, 2009, p. 37) by issuing reverse mortgages. Other elderly homeowners facing housing conditions considered unsafe or unacceptable by objective housing standards have chosen to stay in their homes for the rest of their lives until they are forced to leave, according to Dee Gillis , City of Gastonia Code Enforcement Administrator (personal communication, March 2017). 23, 2011). Furthermore, Oswald and Wahl (2005) suggest that many older homeowners have become oblivious to potential dangers and threats within their homes and have adapted to these environmental obstacles. Although the goal of housing standards and reverse mortgages may be to promote habitability in existing housing, the unintended consequences of both phenomena may inevitably serve to displace older homeowners. Therefore, this article will examine existing housing quality standards developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and a local municipality...... middle of article ......ege , Center for Retirement Research Website http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/2/27/46263009.pdfNahemow, L. (2000). The ecological theory of aging: the legacy of Powell Lawton. In R. L. Rubenstein, M. Moss, & M. H. Kleban (Eds.), The many dimensions of aging (pp. 22–40). New York: Springer. Neil, BA & Neil, BA (June 2009). Is a reverse mortgage a viable option for baby boomers? Journal of Business and Economics Research, 7(6), 53-58. Oswald, F. and Wahl, H.-W. (2005). Dimensions of the meaning of home. In G.D. Rowles & H. Chaudhury (Eds.), Home and identity at the end of life: International perspectives (pp. 21-45). New York: Springer. Travis, L. (April 2010). Protecting older homeowners: reverse mortgages as a foreclosure intervention tool. Retrieved March 24, 2011, from http://academicarchive.snhu.edu/bitstream/handle/10474/1649/sced2010travis.pdf?sequence=2