HOUSINGVA program
Special Home Adaptation (SHA) Grant
Grant of up to $25,350 (FY 2026) to adapt, build, or buy a home for veterans with certain service-connected disabilities: the loss or loss of use of both hands, certain severe burns, or certain breathing injuries. The grant can be used up to 6 times.
Available to veterans with a service-connected loss of use of both hands, severe burns, or breathing injury
Example value
Up to $25,350FY 2026 maximum, usable up to 6 timesStep-by-step guide
What you get
A VA grant to build, buy, or change a home so it fits a service-connected loss of both hands, certain burns, or an inhalation injury. It can be used up to six times, up to a total maximum the law sets.
What VA looks for: a disability on the SHA list
- A disability on the SHA listRated permanent and total: loss or loss of use of both hands; deep partial thickness burns with scar tightening that limits motion of two or more limbs, or one limb and the trunk; full thickness or subdermal burns with scar tightening that limits motion of one or more limbs, or the trunk; or the lasting effects of an inhalation injury, such as pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, or COPD. For a breathing condition, VA looks for one caused by breathing steam or toxic fumes, gases, or mists, such as in a fire, not the diagnosis alone.
- Connected to service, and no SAH grantA veteran needs VA compensation for the disability, including one VA pays as if service connected under 38 U.S.C. 1151. A service member needs a disability that started or got worse in the line of duty. SHA applies only when the SAH rules are not met and no SAH grant was paid before.
Source: 38 CFR 3.809a(c) (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.809a(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.809a(b) (opens in new tab)
Which part of the grant are you on?
- The disability VA looks for
VA rates whether your disability is one the law lists for this grant. SHA is for disabilities that do not meet the larger SAH grant rules. One application covers both, and a decision that says no to SAH also looks at SHA.
Source: 38 CFR 3.809a(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.809a(c) (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab)
- The home and how the grant is used
The grant can help build a home on land you or a family member buys or owns, change a home you or a family member owns, or buy a home that is already adapted. VA pays the cost of the changes it finds reasonably necessary, or for an adapted home you buy, the fair market value of those changes, up to the grant maximum.
- A home you or a family member ownsYou live in, or will live in, and plan to keep living in a home that you or a family member owns or will own. Family means people related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption.
- Plans and property that meet VA rulesThe plans meet the minimum property and design requirements, a home in a federal flood hazard area has flood insurance, and you sign the fair housing certifications. VA also looks at where the home is.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4402(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4405(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4404(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4401 (opens in new tab)
What to gather, and what it shows VA
| Document | What it shows | How VA gets it | Have it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your VA rating decision The VA decision letter that lists your service-connected conditions and their ratings, including any decision on the housing grant. | A listed disability VA connects to service, and whether VA rated it permanent and total | VA already holds it in your file, and you can download decision letters on VA.gov. | Yes |
| Medical records of the disability VA or private medical records that show the loss or loss of use of the hands, the burns and how they limit motion, or the inhalation injury and what caused it. | The disability and how it limits you | VA will request your VA records for you. For private records, send copies to VA, or complete VA Form 21-4142 and VA Form 21-4142a so VA can request them. | |
| Application for the grant (VA Form 26-4555) The VA form for the SAH or SHA grant. It asks for your Social Security number and VA file number, and whether you applied before for specially adapted housing. | Your request and any past grant use | Apply online on VA.gov, mail the form to the Claims Intake Center address VA.gov gives, or bring it to a VA regional office. | |
| Deed for your home or a family member's home A deed showing that you or a family member own the home, or papers showing one of you will own it. | Who owns the home you live in or will live in | VA asks for it before final approval. It goes to VA, not to BeneVets. | Yes |
| Plans, specifications, and builder bid The plans and specifications for the changes, and the bid from your builder. | That the changes meet VA design requirements, and what they cost | An architect or builder prepares them, and they go to VA for final approval. A home in a federal flood hazard area also needs a flood insurance policy. |
Records and forms go to VA. BeneVets does not ask for copies of them.
Steps, in order
- Get the disability rated first
The grant starts from a disability VA connects to service. If you have not filed a disability compensation claim for it, file VA Form 21-526EZ first.
Source: VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.809a(b) (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.B (opens in new tab)
- Get free help from a VSO
Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you. VA also answers housing grant questions at 877-827-3702 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for an adapted housing grant (opens in new tab)
- Apply on VA Form 26-4555
Apply online on VA.gov, or mail VA Form 26-4555 to Department of Veterans Affairs, Claims Intake Center, PO Box 4444, Janesville, WI 53547-4444. You can also bring it to your nearest VA regional office.
Source: VA Form 26-4555 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for an adapted housing grant (opens in new tab)
- Read the decision on the disability
VA rates whether the disability meets the SAH or SHA rules and sends you a letter. If you disagree, you can ask for a decision review.
Source: M21-1 XIII.i.2.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for an adapted housing grant (opens in new tab); VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab)
- Work with the loan office on the home
VA's Regional Loan Center checks that you live, or will live, in a home you or a family member owns, and how much of the grant you have left. Final approval then looks at the plans, ownership, flood insurance, location, and the fair housing certifications.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4405(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4405(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4404(b) (opens in new tab); M21-1 XIII.i.2.B (opens in new tab)
- Keep records as VA pays
VA usually pays the builder, an escrow agent, or your lender, and can repay you for approved costs you paid yourself. Keep invoices and receipts, since VA can ask for proof of costs at any time.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4406 (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4408 (opens in new tab)
- Plan any later use
If you have uses and money left, apply again for a later project. A later use repays only costs from on or after its conditional approval.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4403 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab)
Good to know
The law sets a total maximum, and VA can raise it each October 1 in step with a building cost index. VA.gov lists the maximum by fiscal year. You can use the grant up to six times over your lifetime, as long as all uses together stay within the maximum.
Source: VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4411(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4403 (opens in new tab)
If your disability later meets the SAH rules, VA can move you to the larger SAH grant. The SHA and TRA grants you used before count toward the six uses.
Source: 38 CFR 3.809a(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4402(d) (opens in new tab)
BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you
Sources checked October 7, 2026: 38 CFR 3.159(c)(1) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.159(c)(2) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.809(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.809a(a) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.809a(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.809a(c) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4401 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4402(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4402(c) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4402(d) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4403 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4404(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4405(a) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4405(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4406 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4408 (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 36.4411(a) (opens in new tab), M21-1 XIII.i.2.B (opens in new tab), VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab), VA.gov: how to apply for an adapted housing grant (opens in new tab), VA.gov: download VA benefit letters (opens in new tab), VA.gov: decision reviews and appeals (opens in new tab), VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab), VA Form 26-4555 (opens in new tab), VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab), VA Form 21-4142 (opens in new tab), VA Form 21-4142a (opens in new tab)