HOUSINGVA program

Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) Grant

Allows veterans who meet the SAH or SHA grant rules to adapt a family member's home while living there temporarily. TRA money comes out of the SAH or SHA maximum and counts as one of the grant's 6 uses.

Available to veterans who meet the SAH or SHA grant rules and live temporarily in a family member's home

View on VA.gov

Step-by-step guide

What you get

A one-time VA grant to change a family member's home where you live for a while, when your disability meets the SAH or SHA rules. It comes out of your SAH or SHA total.

What VA looks for: an SAH or SHA disability

A disability that meets the SAH or SHA rulesA service-connected disability of the kind the SAH or SHA grant covers, such as loss or loss of use of the legs or of both hands, blindness in both eyes, certain burns, an inhalation injury, or ALS. The SAH and SHA chapters list each one.
One TRA grant, within your SAH or SHA totalYou can get a TRA grant once, and it counts as one of your six housing grant uses. What TRA pays comes out of the same total maximum as your SAH or SHA grant, so it lowers what is left for a permanent home.

Source: 38 CFR 36.4404(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.809(b) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.809a(c) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4403 (opens in new tab)

Which part of the grant are you on?

The disability VA looks for
TRA has no disability list of its own. VA looks for a service-connected disability that meets the SAH or SHA grant rules, and TRA shares the total for that grant.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4404(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4403 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab)
A family member's home where you stay for a while
TRA pays the actual cost of changes to a home a family member owns, where you plan to live for a while. You do not have to own the home. TRA has its own lower limit, with one amount for an SAH disability and a smaller one for an SHA disability.
1. A home a family member ownsA family member owns the home, or shows VA they will own it. Family means people related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption.
2. A plan to live there for a whileYou and the family member who owns the home sign a certification about how likely it is that you will live there for a while. Living there for a season counts as living there.
3. Changes and property that meet VA rulesThe plans for the changes meet VA minimum property and design requirements, a home in a federal flood hazard area has flood insurance, and you sign the fair housing certifications.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4402(c) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4405(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4401 (opens in new tab)

What to gather, and what it shows VA

Documents for this benefit: what each is, what it shows VA, and how VA gets it
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 SAH or SHA grant.	A disability VA connects to service that meets the SAH or SHA rules	VA already holds it in your file, and you can download decision letters on VA.gov.	Yes
Housing grant application (VA Form 26-4555) The application VA.gov points housing grant applicants to. Its title names SAH and SHA, and it asks whether you applied before for specially adapted housing.	Your request and any past grant use	Apply online on VA.gov, by mail, or in person at a VA regional office. To ask how to request TRA on it, call VA at 877-827-3702 or ask a VSO.
The family member's deed A deed showing your family member owns the home, or papers showing they will own it.	That a family member owns or will own the home	Your family member provides it, and it goes to VA before final approval.	Yes
Certification of your temporary stay A signed statement from you and the family member who owns the home about how likely it is that you will live there for a while.	That you plan to live in the home for a while	You and the owner sign it, and it goes to VA before final approval.
Plans and builder bid for the changes 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
TRA 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 36.4404(a) (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 through VA.gov
VA.gov sends housing grant applicants to VA Form 26-4555: online, by mail to the VA Claims Intake Center in Janesville, Wisconsin, or in person at a VA regional office. The form names SAH and SHA, so ask a VSO or VA how to show you want TRA.
Source: VA Form 26-4555 (opens in new tab); VA.gov: how to apply for an adapted housing grant (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (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)
Gather the owner's papers
Ask your family member for the deed, or for papers showing they will own the home.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4405(b) (opens in new tab)
Sign the temporary stay certification
You and the family member who owns the home sign a certification about how likely it is that you will live there for a while.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4405(b) (opens in new tab)
Meet the final approval rules
For final approval, VA looks at the plans, the ownership papers and certification, flood insurance if the home is in a flood hazard area, and the location. You also sign the fair housing certifications.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4405(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 36.4405(b) (opens in new tab)
Plan for a permanent home later
What is left of your SAH or SHA total after TRA, and your remaining uses, can go toward a permanent home later.
Source: 38 CFR 36.4403 (opens in new tab)

Good to know

TRA counts against your SAH or SHA grant

TRA is a one-time grant. It counts as one of your six housing grant uses, and what it pays comes out of the same total maximum as your SAH or SHA grant.

Source: 38 CFR 36.4403 (opens in new tab)

A lower limit of its own

TRA pays the actual cost of the changes, up to a limit the law sets. The limit is higher with an SAH disability than with an SHA disability, and VA.gov lists both by fiscal year.

Source: 38 CFR 36.4402(c) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: disability housing grants (opens in new tab)

If you later move from SHA to SAH

A TRA grant you got before VA found the disability meets the SAH rules still counts toward the six uses.

Source: 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