VA Housing Benefits: Affordable Housing for Veterans

These VA housing programs can help you buy a new home, keep your current home, or make it easier to get around.

Imagine getting the keys to your dream home without the usual stress or high costs. For veterans, active-duty service members, and eligible surviving spouses, this isn't just a dream. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can help make it real.

Maybe you want to buy a new home, make your current home more accessible, or refinance to save money. The VA has programs to help you every step of the way. In this article, we'll walk you through the main VA housing benefits, from home loans to grants for home adaptations.

Getting started is simple. For most home loan programs, you'll need a Certificate of Eligibility (COE). This paper shows lenders that you qualify for a VA-backed loan. You can get one on VA.gov, or your lender can often get it for you in minutes. Each program has its own steps, but most involve working with the VA or a lender that makes VA loans. Rules and amounts can change, so it's always smart to check VA.gov or talk with a VA representative.

To learn more about all the benefits available to you and your family, sign up now for BenefitKarma!

Key Summary: VA Housing Benefits at a Glance

The VA home loan lets most veterans buy with no down payment and no PMI. Grants of up to $126,526 help veterans with severe disabilities adapt a home. Amounts below are current as of September 2026.

1. The VA Home Loan Guarantee lets veterans buy homes with no down payment and lower interest rates.

The VA Home Loan Guarantee is one of the biggest housing benefits for veterans. The VA doesn't lend you the money. Instead, it backs part of your loan, which helps you get better terms from a private lender:

• No down payment in most cases
• Lower interest rates than many other loans
• No private mortgage insurance (PMI)
• Limits on some closing costs

If you have full entitlement, the VA doesn't set a limit on how much you can borrow. (It ended those limits in 2020.) Your lender will still check your credit and income to decide how much you can borrow. If part of your entitlement is still tied up in another VA loan, county loan limits may affect how much you can borrow with no money down.

Also good to know: you're now allowed to pay your own buyer's agent if the seller won't. The 2025 VA Home Loan Program Reform Act made this rule permanent, which can help your offer compete with other buyers.

The VA Funding Fee

Most VA loans have a one-time funding fee. For a first-time buyer with no down payment, it's 2.15% of the loan. It's 3.3% if you've used a VA loan before. The fee goes down if you put 5% or more down. You can pay it at closing or add it to your loan. Good news: veterans who get VA disability compensation, Purple Heart recipients on active duty, and many surviving spouses don't have to pay it at all.

Eligibility: Most veterans qualify if they served at least 90 days in a row during wartime, or 181 days in a row during peacetime. If you served after September 7, 1980, you usually need 24 months in a row, or the full time you were called to serve. National Guard and Reserve members usually need 6 years of service, or 90 days of active duty. Surviving spouses may also qualify. Your discharge must not be dishonorable.

How to apply: First, get your Certificate of Eligibility (COE) on VA.gov, or ask your lender to get it for you. (The old eBenefits site has been retired.) Then apply for your loan with any lender that makes VA loans. It's smart to compare offers from a few lenders.

2. Adapted Housing Grants help modify homes for veterans with disabilities.

Try it: Smart VA Disability CalculatorEstimate your combined VA rating in under 2 minutes.

For veterans with disabilities, the VA offers grants to help make a home safer and easier to live in. These grants can help you buy, build, or change a home so you can live more on your own. Unlike a loan, a grant doesn't have to be paid back. Here are the amounts for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026):

• Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) Grant: Up to $126,526 to build, buy, or change a home. This is for severe disabilities, like losing the use of both legs.
• Special Housing Adaptation (SHA) Grant: Up to $25,350 to change a home. This is for disabilities like blindness in both eyes or losing the use of both hands.
• Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) Grant: Up to $50,961 (if you qualify for SAH) or $9,100 (if you qualify for SHA). This helps change a family member's home where you're living for a while.
• Home Improvements and Structural Alterations (HISA) Grant: Up to $6,800 if your disability is service-connected, or if you have a 50% or higher service-connected rating. Up to $2,000 for other disabilities. This helps pay for changes like ramps, wider doorways, or an accessible bathroom.

SAH, SHA, and TRA amounts go up each October 1, so expect new amounts for fiscal year 2027. You can often use these grants more than once, up to the total limit.

Eligibility: SAH and SHA are for veterans and service members with certain severe service-connected disabilities. HISA is for veterans who get VA health care and need home changes for medical reasons.

How to apply: For SAH, SHA, or TRA, apply online at VA.gov or use VA Form 26-4555. For HISA, talk to your VA health care team and use VA Form 10-0103.

3. The Native American Direct Loan Program offers affordable home loans for veterans on federal trust land.

Native American veterans can use the Native American Direct Loan (NADL) program to buy, build, or improve a home on federal trust land. They can also use it to refinance an NADL to a lower rate. With this program, the VA itself is your lender.

• Direct loan from the VA
• No down payment in most cases
• No private mortgage insurance (PMI)
• A 30-year fixed rate. VA.gov says the current rate starts at 2.5%.
• A lower funding fee: 1.25% to buy, build, or improve, and 0.5% to refinance. Veterans who get VA disability compensation don't pay it.

Eligibility: Native American veterans, and non-Native American veterans married to a Native American. Your tribe must have an agreement with the VA (called a memorandum of understanding, or MOU). You'll also need to show you have enough income to make the payments, and you must live in the home.

How to apply: Get your Certificate of Eligibility (COE), then contact an NADL coordinator at NADL@va.gov or 888-349-7541. They can also tell you if your tribe has an agreement with the VA.

4. The Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) program makes mortgage payments cheaper.

If you already have a VA loan, the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) can help you refinance to a lower interest rate. It's also called a "Streamline Refinance" because it usually takes less paperwork than a regular refinance.

IRRRL benefits include:

• A lower interest rate, or a switch from an adjustable rate to a fixed rate
• The VA doesn't require an appraisal or a full credit check, but some lenders still ask for them
• You can usually add closing costs to the loan, so you pay little or nothing up front
• A low funding fee of 0.5% (waived for veterans who get VA disability compensation)

Keep in mind that adding costs to your loan means you'll pay them over time, with interest. Your lender must also show that you'll make back your closing costs through lower payments within 36 months.

Eligibility: You must already have a VA loan on the home, and you must live in it now or have lived in it before. You also need to have made at least 6 monthly payments on your current loan, and at least 210 days must have passed since your first payment.

How to apply: Contact a lender that makes VA loans. You don't have to use your current lender. It's smart to compare offers from a few.

5. The VA-Backed Cash-Out Refinance Loan turns home equity into cash.

Need cash for home repairs, to pay off debt, or for other costs? A VA-Backed Cash-Out Refinance replaces your current mortgage with a new, bigger VA loan. You get the difference in cash. You can also use it to switch a regular (non-VA) mortgage into a VA loan, even if you don't take any cash out. With this option, homeowners:

• Can borrow up to 100% of the home's value under VA rules, though many lenders limit it to about 90%
• Can use the cash for any purpose
• Pay a funding fee of 2.15% the first time or 3.3% after that (waived for veterans who get VA disability compensation)

Be careful: taking cash out means you'll owe more on your home, and your monthly payment may go up. Make sure the new loan is a good deal for you.

Eligibility: You must qualify for a VA loan (with a COE), meet your lender's credit and income rules, and live in the home.

How to apply: Apply through a lender that makes VA loans.

6. Foreclosure Avoidance Assistance helps veterans manage mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure.

Struggling with mortgage payments? The VA and your mortgage company can work with you to help you keep your home. Options include:

• Repayment plan: Pay a bit extra each month until you catch up
• Special forbearance: Extra time to pay, or lower payments for a while
• Loan modification: Change the terms of your loan to make payments easier
• More time to sell your home, or other ways to leave the home without a foreclosure

New in 2026: The VA Partial Claim Program

The VA launched its Partial Claim Program on June 15, 2026. A 2025 law called the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act created it. Here's how it works:

• The VA pays your missed mortgage payments for you, up to 25% of the amount you still owe on your loan.
• That amount becomes a separate loan on your home. It has no interest and no monthly payments.
• You only pay it back when you sell the home, refinance, or pay off your mortgage.
• You'll usually need to finish a 3-month trial payment plan first.

The program replaced an older one called VASP, which ended in May 2025. Mortgage companies have until November 28, 2026, to fully add the Partial Claim Program to their systems, so ask your servicer about it.

Eligibility: Veterans with VA-backed loans who are behind on payments, or who are about to fall behind. The home must be your main home.

How to apply: Call your mortgage servicer (the company you send your payments to) as soon as you think you might miss a payment. The earlier you ask, the more options you'll have. If you can't work things out with your servicer, call the VA at 877-827-3702, option 6.

Not sure what you qualify for?

VA housing benefits can open a lot of doors, but the rules can feel confusing. Here are a few tips to make it easier:

• Start With Your COE: Your Certificate of Eligibility is the first step for most VA home loans. You can get it on VA.gov or through your lender.
• Shop Around: Rates and fees can be very different from one lender to the next. Compare offers from at least three lenders that make VA loans.
• Get Free Help: The VA has regional loan centers that can answer your questions at 877-827-3702. HUD-approved housing counselors also offer free advice on buying a home or avoiding foreclosure.
• Need a Place to Stay? If you're homeless or about to lose your home, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838. It's free and open 24/7.

Amounts and rules can change each year, so check VA.gov for the latest details. To learn more about all the benefits available to you and your family, sign up now for BenefitKarma!