If you’re a veteran with a serious service-connected disability, the VA’s Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grant can help make a home safer and more usable, even if you don’t own it yourself.
How Much Does the SHA Grant Pay?
For fiscal year 2026, the SHA grant can pay up to $25,350 toward adapting a home to fit your needs.
Who Qualifies for SHA?
SHA has more flexible ownership rules than its larger counterpart, the SAH grant. You or a family member can own or be about to own the home.
On the disability side, you may qualify with:
- Loss of use of both hands; OR
- Certain severe burns; OR
- Some serious respiratory injuries
What Can the Money Pay For?
Like the SAH grant, SHA funds are meant for real accessibility changes, not cosmetic upgrades. That includes things like widening doorways, adding ramps, and modifying bathrooms so you can use them independently.
The VA says you may be able to use the grant more than once over your lifetime, as long as you stay under the total lifetime limit.
How Do You Apply?
You can apply in any of these ways, and none of them cost anything:
- Online, through the VA’s housing grants portal.
- By mail, using VA Form 26-4555.
- In person, at a VA regional office.
Have your Social Security number and VA file or claim number ready if you have one. This program runs year-round with no seasonal deadline, so take the time to get your application right rather than rushing it.
Renting or Living With Family Instead? There’s a Related Grant
If you qualify for SHA but you’re currently living temporarily in a family member’s home rather than your own, the Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) grant can help you modify that home instead. We cover that program in a separate guide, since it has its own rules and dollar amounts.
Relief Recap
We covered this one because SHA’s more flexible ownership rules make it accessible to veterans who don’t fit the mold of the typical homeowner, and it’s easy to overlook next to the larger SAH grant.
If home repairs are on your mind and this program doesn’t fit your situation, our guide to free home repair grants rounds up other options you may qualify for.
