SAH and SHA Grants: Adapting a Home for Disability

When a service-connected disability changes how you move through your own home, VA has grants that pay to change the home. The two large ones, Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) and Special Home Adaptation (SHA), can fund a ramp, a roll-in shower, widened doorways, or an entire barrier-free build. Two smaller programs, the TRA grant and the HISA grant, fill the gaps around them. The catch is that eligibility turns on a specific list of disabilities, and the money is not automatic; you have to apply. Here is how the four fit together.

Two grants, matched to the severity of the disability

SAH and SHA are both authorized under 38 U.S.C. 2101, and the difference between them is the type and severity of the qualifying disability. SAH is the larger grant, meant to build, buy, or remodel an adapted home so a veteran can live independently. SHA is the smaller grant for adaptations to a home the veteran or a family member already owns. You qualify for one track or the other based on your specific service-connected condition, not on your combined rating percentage.

Who qualifies for SAH

The SAH grant is for the most disabling conditions. Per va.gov, you may qualify if your service-connected disability includes any of the following:

• The loss, or loss of use, of more than one limb.
• The loss, or loss of use, of a lower leg along with the lasting effects of an organic (natural) disease or injury.
• Blindness in both eyes, with 20/200 visual acuity or less.
• Certain severe burns.
• The loss, or loss of use, of one lower extremity after September 11, 2001, that affects your balance or ability to walk without help. This category is capped at 120 veterans per fiscal year, so applying early in the year matters.

Progressive conditions such as ALS commonly qualify through the loss-of-use standard, but VA decides eligibility on the individual medical evidence, so do not rule yourself out by reading the list narrowly.

Who qualifies for SHA

The SHA grant is for serious disabilities that fall outside the SAH categories. Per va.gov, qualifying service-connected disabilities include:

• The loss, or loss of use, of both hands.
• Certain severe burns.
• Certain respiratory or breathing injuries.

If you are close to a category but not squarely inside it, apply and let VA make the determination rather than assuming.

The FY2026 grant amounts

The SAH and SHA maximums are set in statute and adjusted every October 1 for construction-cost inflation, so the figure that matters is the current fiscal year’s. For fiscal year 2026, per va.gov:

• SAH grant: up to $126,526.
• SHA grant: up to $25,350.

You do not have to spend the whole amount at once. If you qualify for an SAH or SHA grant, you can draw on it up to 6 different times over your lifetime, so you can adapt a home now and use the remaining balance later, including on a different home if you move.

The TRA grant: adapting a relative’s home

If you are living temporarily in a family member’s home while you sort out permanent housing, the Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) grant adapts that home without spending down your full SAH or SHA award. The TRA amount is a subset of your main grant, and for fiscal year 2026 the maximums are:

• Up to $50,961 if you are eligible for an SAH grant.
• Up to $9,100 if you are eligible for an SHA grant.

Whatever you use through TRA reduces the maximum still available on your underlying SAH or SHA grant.

HISA: the smaller medical grant any enrolled veteran can use

The Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) grant is a different animal, and confusing it with SAH or SHA costs veterans money in both directions. HISA is a medical benefit run by VA health care (VHA Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service), not a housing grant, and it is available to any veteran enrolled in VA health care when a VA provider certifies the modification is medically necessary. You do not need one of the SAH or SHA qualifying disabilities.

What it pays is far smaller and set by whether the need is service-connected:

• Up to $6,800 lifetime for a service-connected disability (or for a non-service-connected disability if you also hold a service-connected rating of 50% or more).
• Up to $2,000 lifetime for a non-service-connected disability without that qualifying rating.

HISA covers medically necessary work such as roll-in showers, entrance ramps, and lowered sinks or counters. It can be used alongside an SAH or SHA grant on the same home, so a veteran with a large adaptation project often combines the two. Apply with VA Form 10-0103 through your VA medical center’s prosthetics office.

How to apply

For SAH and SHA, apply online at va.gov or file VA Form 26-4555, the Application in Acquiring Specially Adapted Housing or Special Home Adaptation Grant; the full application steps are on the VA disability housing grants page. A VA-accredited representative or VSO can help you document that your disability matches one of the qualifying categories, which is where these grants are won or lost, and they charge nothing for it. If you are also financing an adapted home, see the VA home loans hub, since SAH funds can be paired with a VA purchase or construction loan. VeteranPlug is an independent reference, not affiliated with VA.