Home → VA Home Modification Grants: SHA, SAH, HISA → VA Home Renovation Grants → SAH/SHA/HISA
VA home renovation grants are available to defray the costs of adapting a disabled veteran's home to allow for greater mobility and access. Do to a recent cahnge in the law, veterans are now eligibile to receive a special adaptive home modification grant of $10,000 or $50,000, depending on their level of disability that can be ised uo to three times (up to the limit of the available grant. .
The VA has several types of home modification programs. The first is the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant program. The SAH grant is available for constructing an adaptive home or modifying an existing home. The maximum allowable SAH grant amount is currently limited to $50,000. Eligibility for an SAH grant requires that the veteran must have been awarded service-connected disability compensation for certain disorders that the VA has rated as permanent and total. These disabilities include the loss, or loss of use, of both legs that precludes locomotion without the assistance of braces, crutches, canes or a wheelchair or; blindness in both eyes with only light perception, plus the loss, or loss of use, of one leg or; the loss, or loss of use, of one leg together with either the residuals of an organic disease or injury, or the loss, or loss of use, of one arm which adversely affects the individual’s balance or propulsion so as to require the use of braces, crutches, canes, or a wheelchair or, the loss, or loss of use, of both arms so as to preclude use of the arms at or above the elbow.
The second type of VA home modification program is the Special Home Adaptation (SAH) grant. The SHA grant is available to assist veterans in modifying an existing home to meet their adaptive needs. The maximum allowable SHA grant is $10,000. Similar to the SAH grant eligibility requirements, the SHA grant requires that the veterans have a service-connected disability that entitles him or her to compensation for permanent and total disability due to blindness in both eyes with visual acuity of 5/200 or less or; the anatomical loss, or loss of use, of both hands or arms extremities below the elbow.
The third type of VA home modification program is the Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) grant. HISA grants are available to veterans with service-connected disabilities, or veterans with disabilities not related to their military service. These grants provide assistance for any home improvement necessary for the continuation of treatment, or for purposes of allowing access to the home or modifying a bathroom. Eligibility requires a medical determination that improvements and structural alterations are necessary or appropriate for effective and economical treatment of the veteran’s disability. A veteran may receive a HISA grant concurrently with either a SHA or SAH grant. The maximum HISA grant amounts are $4,100 for service-connected veterans and $1,200 for nonservice-connected veterans.
The VA imposes strict procedures during the grant process. Applicants for VA home modification grants must file a completed VA Form 26-4555, Veterans Application in Acquiring Specially Adapted Housing or Special Home Adaptation Grant, with their local VA regional office for SAH and SHA grants, or VA Form 10-0103, Veterans Application for Assistance in Acquiring Home Improvement and Structural Alterations, with their local VA medical center. Both forms must be filed prior to the start of construction. Once a grant has been approved, the VA will work closely throughout the entire process with contractors and architects to design, construct and modify homes that meet the individuals’ housing accessibility needs. The VA may also inspect an existing home or construction plans for a new home before approving a home modification grant.
