SHA Grant: VA Special Home Adaptation Grant Amounts, Rules, and How to Apply

What the SHA grant is for

VA runs a small family of housing grants under Chapter 21 of title 38 of the U.S. Code. The SHA grant comes from section 2101(b) of that chapter, which is why VA paperwork sometimes calls it the "2101(b) grant." Its job is narrow: pay for the features a home needs because of a specific disability, so the veteran can keep living there.

Think of SHA as the grant for people who can still get around a house but cannot use it the usual way. A veteran who has lost the use of both hands may struggle with door knobs, faucets, light switches, and kitchen controls. A veteran with deep burn scars that limit movement may need changes to the bathroom or to how the home holds temperature. A veteran whose lungs were damaged by smoke or toxic fumes may need changes that support breathing equipment. The specific work is decided case by case, and VA pays only for adaptations it finds reasonably necessary.

The SAH grant, by contrast, is built for disabilities that usually call for a fully barrier-free home, such as losing the use of both legs. That is why its limit is about five times higher. If you are not sure which one fits you, VA decides that during the claim. You do not have to pick the right grant on the form.

SHA, SAH, TRA, and HISA side by side

These four programs are often lumped together online, but they come from different laws, have different owners, and follow different rules. The comparison below uses VA's published fiscal year 2026 figures.

Two rules tie these together. First, a veteran found eligible for SAH cannot later receive SHA. Second, a veteran who starts with SHA and later becomes eligible for SAH can move up, though the earlier SHA or TRA uses still count toward the six-use limit. For a wider look at ramps, lifts, and bathroom changes outside VA, see our guide to grants for home modifications for the disabled.

Current limits and the yearly adjustment

By law, VA raises the SAH and SHA limits each fiscal year using the Turner Building Cost Index, a measure of construction costs. If the index does not rise, the limits stay the same. VA announces the change in the Federal Register, and the new limits apply from October 1.

For fiscal year 2026, VA raised the limits by 3.87%. The notice appeared in the Federal Register on November 18, 2025, about seven weeks after the fiscal year began. The table shows the figures in that notice and on VA's own grants page, which rounds two of them up by a dollar.

Fiscal year 2027 figures

Fiscal year 2027 started on October 1, 2026. When we checked on November 7, 2026, VA had not yet published its fiscal year 2027 notice, and VA.gov still showed the 2026 limits. Based on past years, the new notice tends to appear between October and January. We will replace these figures when VA posts them. A higher limit helps you even if your claim is already open: VA's rules let you receive up to the current maximum in the last year you use the grant.

Who qualifies for an SHA grant?

You must be a veteran entitled to VA disability compensation, or a service member on active duty, with a disability VA has rated as permanent and total. The disability must also fall into one of the groups in VA's regulation for the SHA grant, 38 CFR 3.809a:

• Both hands: the anatomical loss, or loss of use, of both hands.
• Deep partial thickness burns that have caused contractures (tightened scar tissue) limiting the motion of two or more arms or legs, or of at least one arm or leg and the trunk.
• Full thickness or subdermal burns that have caused contractures limiting the motion of one or more arms or legs, or the trunk.
• Residuals of an inhalation injury, which the regulation says include, but are not limited to, pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

You also cannot be entitled to the SAH grant, and you cannot have already received SAH money. If your disability fits SAH, VA steers you there because it pays more.

What changed for blindness

Older guides, including some still online, list blindness in both eyes as an SHA condition. That changed. Congress moved blindness with central vision of 20/200 or less in the better eye (or a visual field of 20 degrees or less) into the SAH grant. VA's grants page now lists blindness under SAH only. If you were told years ago that blindness meant SHA, ask VA to review your eligibility, since SAH is much larger.

Service members and VA-caused injuries

You do not have to wait for a discharge. Members of the Armed Forces on active duty can qualify if the disability was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty and meets the same criteria. VA's regulation also covers some disabilities that VA treats as if they were service-connected under 38 U.S.C. 1151, such as an injury caused by VA medical care. Our guide to government grants for disabled veterans covers the other federal help that a high rating can open up.

Spreading the money over six uses

The SHA grant is not a single check you must spend at once. VA lets you use it up to six times over your lifetime, as long as the total stays within the limit. This matters because needs change. A veteran might adapt a kitchen now, a bathroom after a surgery a few years later, and a new home after a move.

A few details are worth knowing before you plan:

• Every draw counts as a use, including a TRA grant and any approved planning costs paid out when a project is cancelled.
• The cap rises over time. In the year of your final use, you can receive up to whatever the limit is then, minus what you already used.
• Repeat uses cover new costs. Money from a later use can only reimburse adaptation costs from the date VA conditionally approved that use, so get approval before you start work.

Keep copies of every approval letter and payment. VA tracks your balance, but your own records help if you move or switch builders.

Allowable uses: build, buy, or adapt

VA's regulation, 38 CFR 36.4402, lists four ways to use an SHA grant. In each case the home must be one you, or a member of your family, own or will own, and that you plan to live in for the long term.

1. Build on land you or a relative will buy.
2. Build on land you or a relative already own.
3. Adapt a home you or a relative already own. This is the most common use.
4. Buy a home that already has the features you need.

Whatever the plan, VA pays the lesser of two amounts: the actual cost of the adaptations it finds reasonably necessary, or your remaining grant balance. The SHA grant pays for the adaptations themselves, not for the whole house. That is a key difference from SAH, which in some cases can pay toward the purchase price or the unpaid mortgage.

Buying an adapted home versus adapting your own

If you buy a house that already has the right features, VA pays based on the fair market value of those features, not the full price of the home. That can be a good route when the right house comes on the market, but it takes coordination. Talk to VA before you sign a purchase contract, so the home can be checked for suitability and the grant can be built into your closing.

Adapting a home you already own is usually simpler, because you know the house and the neighborhood. The trade-off is that older homes can need more work than expected, such as electrical upgrades to support automatic door openers or new controls. Builder bids will show the real cost before anything is approved.

What the grant does not cover

VA pays for disability-related features, not general upkeep. Roof replacement, routine repairs, cosmetic upgrades, and furniture are outside the grant. If your home also needs basic repairs, look at local repair programs alongside the VA grant rather than expecting one source to cover everything.

Living in a relative's home

Many severely injured veterans live with parents, adult children, or other relatives, at least for a while. VA has two answers, depending on how long you plan to stay.

Long-term stays: the SHA grant itself. The SHA rules allow the home to be owned by a member of your family. You must live there and reasonably intend to keep living there. This is one of the biggest practical differences from SAH, which requires you to own the home.

Short-term stays: the TRA grant. The Temporary Residence Adaptation grant pays to adapt a family member's home where you plan to live temporarily. For an SHA-eligible veteran, the fiscal year 2026 limit is $9,100 on VA's page ($9,099 in the Federal Register). The rules are strict:

• A family member must own, or be about to own, the home.
• You and that relative sign a certification about how likely your temporary stay is.
• You can get a TRA grant only once, and it counts as one of your six uses.
• TRA money comes out of your overall SHA limit, so it lowers what is left for your own permanent home later.

For many families, a modest TRA project during rehabilitation, followed by a full SHA project in a permanent home, is a sensible order.

How to apply for the SHA grant

There is one application for SHA, SAH, and TRA: VA Form 26-4555, the Application in Acquiring Specially Adapted Housing or Special Home Adaptation Grant. VA asks for your Social Security number and, if you have one, your VA file or claim number. You can apply three ways:

• Online through VA.gov, after signing in to your account. Online is the quickest way to get the claim recorded.
• By mail to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444.
• In person at your nearest VA regional office.

Questions about the grants go to VA's housing line at 877-827-3702 (TTY 711), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern time. You can also ask that line to mail you a paper form. VA has also scheduled a one-hour online information session on the adapted housing grants for November 19, 2026, at 11 a.m. Eastern, according to the American Legion.

If you do not yet have a permanent and total rating for a qualifying condition, the housing claim may stall. In that case, file or update your disability claim first. Our guide to Purple Heart monthly compensation walks through how VA disability claims and ratings work.

From eligibility letter to finished project

VA sends a decision letter once it reviews your claim. If you are eligible, the work moves to a VA Regional Loan Center, where a specially adapted housing agent becomes your main contact. The steps below follow VA's regulations; timing varies by region and builder.

1. Home visit and needs review. The agent meets you, looks at the home or the one you plan to buy, and talks through what you need.
2. Suitability check. For SHA, VA confirms that you, or a relative, own or will own the home and that you live there or will. VA uses inspection reports for this, and in 2026 it proposed a new set of property suitability forms (VA Forms 26-1858a through 26-1858d).
3. Conditional approval. Once the disability and suitability rules are met, VA can issue written conditional approval.
4. Planning costs. After conditional approval, VA may authorize you in writing to spend up to 20% of your grant on plans and specifications, land surveys, and legal fees before final approval. Do not spend this money without that written authorization.
5. Plans, specs, and bids. Your architect or builder prepares plans that meet VA's minimum property and design requirements. You choose the builder and sign the contract; VA reviews the cost.
6. Final approval. VA checks the plans, proof of ownership, required fair housing certifications, and flood insurance if the home sits in a FEMA flood zone.
7. Construction and payment. VA usually pays the builder, an escrow agent, or your lender directly. It can repay you only for approved costs you paid yourself.
8. Final review. VA inspects the finished work before closing out that use of the grant.

VA publishes a design handbook, A Guide for Specially Adapted Housing and Special Housing Adaptation Projects, linked from its grants page. Share it with your builder early.

Common mistakes that slow a claim

• Starting work before approval. Costs incurred before VA conditionally approves a use generally cannot be paid back from that use.
• Applying before the rating is right. SHA needs a permanent and total rating for a qualifying condition. A pending or temporary rating can hold up the housing claim.
• Assuming blindness means SHA. It now points to SAH, which is larger.
• Using TRA too early without a plan. TRA is a one-time use that reduces your SHA balance. Weigh it against your long-term needs.
• Hiring a builder who has not worked with VA. Ask your agent how builders take part in the program, and get more than one bid.
• Paying someone to file. Filing Form 26-4555 is free. Be wary of anyone who wants a fee or a share of your grant to "speed up" approval.
• Forgetting flood insurance. If the home is in a special flood hazard area, VA requires coverage before final approval.

Adding HISA through VA health care

The Home Improvements and Structural Alterations benefit, or HISA, is a health care benefit rather than a housing grant. It runs through the Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service at your VA medical center. VA's HISA page lists lifetime limits of $6,800 for service-connected conditions, or for any condition if you are rated at least 50% service-connected, and $2,000 for other veterans enrolled in VA health care.

HISA covers medically necessary changes such as entry and exit access, roll-in showers, lowered counters or sinks, permanent ramps near the home, and plumbing or electrical work for home medical equipment. To apply, you need a prescription from a VA doctor, VA Form 10-0103, an itemized estimate, and a color photo of the area to be changed. Renters need a signed, notarized letter from the property owner.

VA's regulations allow you to use HISA and the SHA grant at the same time, as long as VA does not pay twice for the same work. A common pattern is to use HISA for one medically prescribed item and SHA for the larger project. Congress has considered bills to raise the HISA limits, but when we checked, the amounts on VA's page had not changed.

Pairing the grant with a VA home loan

An SHA grant can sit alongside a VA-backed mortgage, a VA direct loan, or the Native American Direct Loan. When you combine them, the whole transaction has to follow VA's loan rules, and VA can send grant money to your lender at closing.

The biggest saving is often the VA funding fee. VA waives it for borrowers who receive compensation for a service-connected disability, and for service members who have a proposed or memorandum disability rating before closing. Since nearly every SHA-eligible veteran receives disability compensation, most will not pay the fee.

If you are shopping for a lower-cost house, VA also sells homes it acquired after foreclosures. Our guide to VA vendee loans explains how those sales work. Before you make an offer on any home you plan to adapt, check with your housing agent that it is suitable.

State programs that can add funds

Some states fund accessibility work for veterans. These programs are usually smaller than the VA grant and often have income limits, but they can cover items VA does not, or help a veteran who does not meet the SHA criteria. Two examples:

Virginia: Granting Freedom

Virginia Housing administers the Granting Freedom grant for veterans and service members whose line-of-duty injury led to a service-connected disability. Its page lists grants of up to $10,000 that do not have to be repaid, for household income at or below 80% of area median income. Funds can widen doorways, add ramps, install grab bars, or make other changes VA recommends. Applications go through Virginia Housing's approved local agents, and the agency lists the toll-free number 877-843-2123.

New York: Access to Home for Heroes

New York's Homes and Community Renewal agency funds Access to Home for Heroes for veterans with a documented, substantial physical limitation caused by a disability. Household income cannot exceed 120% of area median income, and the home must be your primary residence, owned or rented. It can pay for ramps, lifts, handrails, wider doorways, roll-in showers, and some emergency repairs. Veterans do not apply to the state directly. Local governments and nonprofits run the program, and the state keeps a list of these local partners.

Other states

Every state has a veterans affairs department, and VA keeps a directory of them. Ask yours about home modification help, property tax breaks for disabled veterans, and any state match for VA housing grants.

Nonprofits and free claim help

Homes For Our Troops

Homes For Our Troops is a national nonprofit that builds and donates specially adapted homes to severely injured post-9/11 veterans, at no financial cost to the veteran. It was active when we checked, with homes underway across the country. Its published criteria include:

• An injury in the Iraq or Afghanistan theater after September 11, 2001.
• Being retired, or in the process of retiring, from military service.
• A VA eligibility letter for the SAH grant. An SHA eligibility based on the loss or loss of use of both hands also qualifies.
• Passing criminal and credit background checks, living in the home as your primary residence, and being able to pay upkeep, property taxes, insurance, and utilities.

The group asks you to get your VA eligibility decision first, then submit an inquiry on its website.

Free help with the VA claim

Accredited veterans service officers from groups such as DAV, the VFW, and the American Legion, and your county or state veterans service office, can help you file both the disability claim and Form 26-4555 for free. You can check anyone's accreditation on VA.gov before you share your records.

Related guides

• Foreclosure assistance for veterans
• Utility assistance programs for veterans
• Government grants for a bathroom remodel
• VA loan short sales

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Grant limits, eligibility rules, and state programs are set by VA, Congress, and each state, and they can change. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with VA, any state agency, or Homes For Our Troops. Applying for VA housing grants is always free.