The VA provides grants up to $109,986 to help disabled veterans modify or build accessible homes. Here's how the SAH and SHA grant programs work.
For veterans with severe service-connected disabilities, the cost of making a home accessible can be enormous. Wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, accessible bathrooms, and other modifications can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The VA's Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) and Special Housing Adaptation (SHA) grants help cover these costs — and the amounts are substantial.
The Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant is the larger of the two programs. The current maximum is over $100,000, and it can be used to build a new adapted home, modify an existing home, or purchase an already-adapted home. To qualify, you must have a service-connected disability that includes loss or loss of use of both legs, loss or loss of use of both arms, blindness in both eyes plus loss of use of one leg, certain severe burns, or loss or loss of use of a lower extremity together with certain other conditions that prevent normal locomotion without assistive devices.
The Special Housing Adaptation (SHA) grant is smaller — the current maximum is over $40,000 — and applies to veterans with different qualifying disabilities. These include blindness in both eyes, loss or loss of use of both hands, and certain severe burn injuries. The SHA grant can also be used by veterans who are entitled to compensation for a service-connected disability rated permanent and total, and their home needs adaptation to accommodate the disability.
Both grants can be used more than once, up to the maximum lifetime amount. If your needs change over time — for example, if your condition worsens and you need additional modifications — you can apply for supplemental grant funding as long as you haven't reached the lifetime cap.
There's also the Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) grant for veterans who are living temporarily in a family member's home. The TRA grant allows you to make accessibility modifications to that residence, up to $42,585 for SAH-eligible veterans or $7,717 for SHA-eligible veterans. This is particularly useful for veterans staying with family while their permanent home is being modified or while they're searching for accessible housing.
To apply, contact your local VA regional office and request a Specially Adapted Housing application. A VA SAH agent will be assigned to your case to evaluate your eligibility and help you through the process, including reviewing your construction or modification plans.