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VA Grants Help Remodelers Meet Veterans’ Special Needs
 The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) offers grants to seriously wounded and disabled veterans returning from tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan who need help remodelling and adapting their homes so they can achieve a level of independent living.
The Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) program provides construction and remodeling assistance to veterans with serious service-connected disabilities. The program provides VA technical assistance and enables them to work with their local contractors.
Two types of grants are administered through the program.
The Specially Adapted Housing Grant is for veterans who require prostheses, braces, crutches or a wheelchair. The grant provides up to 50% of the total cost of adapted housing or remodeling ― to a current maximum of $50,000.
Through this grant, the VA determines eligibility based on the nature and extent of the disability and then works with the veteran and his or her contractor to redesign the home in order to accommodate the veteran’s needs.
The grant can be used for a variety of remodeling projects, including:
- Creating accessible entrances and exits
- Widening doorways and hallways
- Creating accessible kitchens
- Creating sufficient maneuvering space in master bedrooms
- Creating specially designed closet and storage areas
- Creating accessible bathrooms and installing accessible fixtures and roll-in showers
Generally, if a veteran is determined to be 100% permanently disabled and requires a wheelchair, VA can provide SAH grant assistance.
The second grant, the Special Home Adaptations Grant, is available to veterans who are blind in both eyes or who have suffered the loss or loss of use of both hands. These grants provide up to $10,000 for home adaptations.
The SAH program was established in 1948 and has provided more than $565 million to more than 32,000 veterans since its inception.
For more information, visit the VA Specially Adapted Housing Web site at www.homeloans.va.gov/sah.htm, or contact the VA Regional Loan Center that serves your area.
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