Home Remodeling for Better Accessibility for Disabled Veterans

As a disabled veteran, remodeling for better accessibility can keep you in a home you love; but, the process can be beyond budgetary resources for many disabled service members and their families. Fortunately, the Department of Veterans Affairs has grants available to assist with renovation, or even to buy a new home to accommodate disability. These grants supplement other funding options available to the general public, and the money can be used to make major modifications or just add some small aids such as grab bars or a handicap ramp.

Grants to Assist Remodeling for Better Accessibility for Veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs offers three programs:

The Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant. For veterans who want to be homeowners, the SAH grant allows a veteran to build a specially adapted home on land he owns or acquires, or to remodel an existing home to make it more accessible. Available in amounts up to $73,760 in 2016, they can also be applied against the unpaid mortgage balance of a suitable home that a veteran has acquired. To be eligible for this grant, you must have multiple disabilities, such as:

• The loss of use of both arms or legs
• Blindness, coupled with the loss of use of one leg
• A loss of one lower leg, along with the residual effects of organic disease
• The loss of one leg and one arm
• Certain severe burns
• Loss or loss of use of lower extremities September 11, 2001

This Special Housing Adaptation (SHA) grant. Available to veterans or family members, this grant can help modifications on a new or existing home up to $14,754 to make mobility safer. It can be used in conjunction with an with an SAH loan for those who have conditions such as:

• Blindness in both eyes
• Loss or loss of use of both hands
• Severe burn injuries
• Severe respiratory injuries

The third type grant is the Home Improvement and Structural Alteration (HISA) grant that offers assistance to both disabled vets with service connected disabilities, and those with disabilities not connected to the terms of service. The purpose is to improve access within the house and to bathroom facilities. Available for up to $4,100, this grant will pay for some minor alterations to the home.

During 2012, disabled veterans received more than $58,000,000 of adapted housing assistance with 100 recipients of SHA grants and 1000 SAH grants.

Qualifying for Grants

To see if you qualify for any of these programs, the first step is to fill out the proper application. You apply for an SAH or SHA grant by filling out V.A. Form 26-4555 and submitting it to a V.A. regional office. You apply for a HISA grant by filling out an Application for Assistance and submitting it to a local V.A. medical center. Qualifying for these grants can be tricky as the government has strict eligibility requirements, but you can talk to a Specially Adapted Housing Agent in your state for assistance.

Once you have been approved for these grants, the experienced contractors at Western Stairlifts can work with you to select the products you need and then complete the remodeling for better accessibility.