Back to the news

Home adaptation grant from the SAAQ

Did you know that if, following a traffic accident, you remain with a physical disability that prevents you from accessing your home or moving around in it properly, the SAAQ provides reimbursement of certain costs to adapt your residence? . Any home adaptation project must first be authorized before being carried out.

Eligibility Requirements

The eligibility requirements for this project in order to be eligible for reimbursement are as follows:

  • Your condition must be the result of a traffic accident.
  • Your condition must be significant and persistent
  • Your environment does not allow you to access and use your home

The home adaptation must:

  • Be necessary to compensate for your disability
  • Be supportive for marked progress. Do not harm your condition and allow you to stay at home.
  • Must represent the appropriate solution at the lowest cost
  • Coming from the recommendation of an occupational therapist.

Where to go

The first person you should speak to should be your case officer. He or she will be able to answer your questions and point you in the right direction.

The goal: to adapt your home to give you back a certain level of autonomy

  • By promoting safe access to and use of your home.
  • By making the essential activities of your life functional and safe, such as: sleeping, eating, hygiene care, travel, household maintenance, parental obligations and family responsibilities as well as the use of communication devices.
Eligible dwelling

Your principal residence is eligible whether it is a house, apartment or condo; your home can be adapted.

Reimbursable home adaptation costs

Various costs may be reimbursable such as standard quality building materials, labor which must be legally qualified to carry out the work. The purchase and installation of specialized equipment. Some household appliances can also be reimbursed as well as certain legal documents necessary for the application of the directive on home adaptations.

Steps in the process

First, an SAAQ accident services advisor will contact you to analyze your needs and give you more information.

Second, the SAAQ home adaptation specialist will write a list of your eligible needs.

Third, an architectural consultant of your choice will write a report that will be sent to the SAAQ and analyzed.

Thereafter, the SAAQ will ensure that the proposal made meets the demands of the occupational therapist and represents the best solution available at the lowest cost. The solution with the lowest cost is the one that is the most economical among the solutions developed by the architectural consultant who is in charge of your file.

Finally, once the appropriate solution has been chosen, a home adaptation project is developed and sent to you via the architectural consultant.

If, however, your choice differs, you will bear the difference in cost.

Preparation for work

The architectural consultant prepares the quote for you to call on two bidders. En Mouvement has the compulsory licenses from the Régie du Bâtiment du Québec to complete this type of submission. We will carefully examine your quotes and make sure to accompany you for the rest.

Carrying out the work

You can hire the contractor of your choice among the bidders. The work must comply with municipal and provincial regulations and the building code. When it comes to specialized devices, En Mouvement is fully qualified, with the specialized RBQ license to apply and comply with the installation standards for lifting devices for people with reduced mobility.

Verification and adaptation

At the end of the work, an assessment by the occupational therapist and the architectural consultant will be required to ensure that the adaptations made are functional and safe.

Following these steps, the adaptation costs will be reimbursed upon presentation of supporting documents.

What you need to know

It is your responsibility to inform the SAAQ before having a home adapted. They should also be informed before acquiring a new home or moving from a home that has already been adapted for you.

If you wish to obtain a refund, you must obtain authorizations before buying equipment to adapt your home or before having it repaired.

You must also do business with professionals recognized by the competent authorities.

You must ensure that the work is carried out by contractors recognized by the RBQ, obtain guarantees from suppliers, see to the maintenance of new installations and develop an emergency plan with your municipality.