What a HAIP grant pays for
DHCD lists ramps, stair lifts, walk-in showers, and changes to bathrooms and kitchens. The test for each item is whether it takes away a physical barrier and helps the person get around the house.
The grant goes up to $30,000. HAIP sits inside DHCD's Single Family Residential Rehabilitation Program, so you will see the two names together on DHCD paperwork.
Who can get a HAIP grant
Most of the rules are about the house and its records. You must own a DC home in a building of four units or fewer, and it must have been your primary residence for at least three years.
DHCD also checks that homeowners insurance is current, that property taxes are current and that the mortgage has been current for the past 12 months. Income has to be within program limits. Accessibility work needs a doctor's note.
Gather those papers before you apply. A missing tax record or a lapsed insurance policy stalls the file, and that is something you can fix ahead of time.
How HAIP money moves
DHCD writes the scope of work. A licensed contractor does the work, and DHCD pays. So the plan inside the grant is the one DHCD sets, not one you bring in.
What we can and cannot do for a HAIP applicant
We are not a participating contractor for HAIP, and we do not apply for you. Ask DHCD how it assigns the contractor for your job. We hold a Washington, DC home improvement license, but that alone does not put us on a HAIP job.
Meanwhile the rest of the house keeps aging. The Livability Assessment puts every hazard in the house in order, and a fix that falls outside DHCD's scope can get its own written price and be done privately while the grant is pending. Anything DHCD has put in its scope stays out of that work, so the grant can still pay for it.
Questions about DC HAIP
Does a condo or a large apartment building qualify for HAIP?
Only a building of four units or fewer qualifies, according to DHCD. A rowhouse or a small flat building can fit. A unit in a big condo building does not.
Is HAIP a loan I pay back?
DHCD calls it a grant of up to $30,000. Ask DHCD about any conditions attached to it when you apply, since the program sets those terms.
Services DC HAIP can pay for
Where this comes from
Handicapped Accessibility Improvement Program (HAIP), inside the Single Family Residential Rehabilitation Program (SFRRP), run by DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Current as of October 2026. DC HAIP decides eligibility and amounts, so confirm its terms before you plan around it.