1. PURPOSE: On July 30, 2008, the President signed H.R. 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This circular explains changes to the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) program made by Sections 2602, 2603, and 2605 of that Act.

a. Section 2605 of H.R. 3221 increases the maximum amount of assistance available through Paraplegic Housing (PH) grants to $60,000. The maximum amount of assistance available through Adaptive Housing (AH) grants is increased to $12,000. TRA grant amounts remain unchanged.

b. These changes apply to grants already in process that were not paid in full prior to July 1, 2008. Funds added to an escrow account for a grant that was in process from July 1, 2008 through July 30, 2008 will be considered a supplemental grant and will not count as one of the individual’s three available grant usages. An individual is still limited to a total of three SAH grant usages (including PH, AH, and TRA grants) over his or her lifetime.

c. PH and AH grant amounts will also be adjusted annually based on a cost-of-construction index. The first adjustment will occur October 1, 2009, with adjustments each October 1 thereafter. These adjustments will increase the grant amounts or leave them unchanged; they will not decrease the grant amounts.

4. SAH GRANTS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERE BURN INJURIES: Section 2603 of H.R. 3221 expands eligibility for PH, AH, and TRA grants to include veterans and servicemembers with permanent and total service-connected disabilities that are the result of severe burn injuries. Additional details about this new provision will be forthcoming. For more information, contact Brian Bixler, Chief of Specially Adapted Housing, at 202-461-9546 or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .