Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec

Home adaptation

If a traffic accident has left you with a physical disability that prevents you from gaining access to or using your home, the SAAQ can reimburse some of the costs incurred to adapt your home. However, all adaptation projects must first be authorized by the SAAQ.

Eligibility conditions (when applying for the first time)

You are eligible for the reimbursement of certain costs incurred to adapt your home if your physical disability:

  • was caused by a traffic accident
  • is significant and persistent
  • prevents you from gaining access to or using your home

A home adaptation must:

  • be necessary to compensate for your disability
  • lead to significant improvement, avoid a deterioration of your condition and allow you to remain in your home
  • be the most appropriate and least expensive solution
  • be recommended by an occupational therapist

Before starting any home adaptation project, including the purchase of a new home, you must contact the person in charge of your file at the SAAQ. He or she is there to help.

Adapting your home will allow you to regain a degree of independence by helping you:

  • safely access and use your home
  • safely and functionally perform activities of daily living at home, such as preparing meals and eating, sleeping, carrying out tasks related to personal hygiene and care, moving around your home, using communication devices, doing housekeeping and fulfilling parental and family obligations

Eligible home

Only your principal residence—whether a house or an apartment—can be adapted.

Expenses covered

We reimburse home adaptation expenses related to:

  • purchasing standard quality construction material
  • hiring the legally qualified labour required to carry out the approved adaptations
  • purchasing and installing specialized equipment and certain appliances
  • the cost of obtaining the legal documents required pursuant to the home adaptation guideline in effect at the SAAQ (refer to the document entitled Outil d’aide à la décision : Directive – Adaptation du domicile, available in French only).

Steps involved in adapting a home

Step 1 – Evaluating the situation

One of our accident victim counsellors will contact you in a timely manner in order to analyze your needs and provide you with additional information.

Step 2 – Analyzing and choosing a solution

The SAAQ professional assigned to home adaptation will draw up a list of your eligible needs. 

The architectural consultant of your choice will submit a report to the SAAQ so that the analysis of your application can be completed.

Upon receiving your documents, we will ensure that the home adaptation solution being considered is the most appropriate and least expensive solution.

A solution is appropriate if it meets the needs noted by the occupational therapist and if the cost of the alterations is covered by the SAAQ.

The least expensive solution is the one that costs the least among all those proposed by the architectural consultant in charge of your file.

Once the most appropriate and least expensive solution has been determined, a home adaptation project will be drafted and submitted to you by the architectural consultant.

If you choose a more costly home adaptation solution...

You must cover the additional costs.

Step 3 –Preparing for the alterations 

The architectural consultant will prepare the specifications and send them to you so that you can obtain 2 bids from building contractors of your choice. Both building contractors must hold permits issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec⁠ ⁠ (RBQ).

You must send us the 2 bids so that we can inform you of the amount that can be reimbursed, which is usually based on the lowest bid.

Step 4 – Carrying out the alterations

You can hire the contractor of your choice from the two bidders to carry out the work. Note that we will not be entering into a contractual relationship with the contractor you choose. 

The home alterations must comply with provincial and municipal regulations⁠ ⁠ (website in French only), as well as the Construction Code⁠ ⁠.

Step 5 – Inspecting the alterations

Once the alterations have been finished, inspections by the occupational therapist and the architectural consultant must be conducted in order to ensure that the authorized alterations have been carried out and are compliant and safe.

We then reimburse expenses upon presentation of supporting documents.

Your responsibilities

Inform us before:

  • making any alterations to the home (house or apartment)
  • purchasing a new home or moving into a home that has already been adapted

Obtain our authorization before:

  • purchasing any equipment required for the alterations
  • repairing any equipment included in the alterations

Choose the following professionals:

To facilitate the search for and selection of professionals, visit the webpage Home Adaptation – Useful Information and References.

Ensure that:

  • the alterations are carried out
  • guarantees are obtained from the suppliers
  • the new installations are maintained
  • an emergency plan is drafted in collaboration with the municipality

If you purchase a new home, you must take your physical disabilities and needs into account.

Story

By clicking on the video, you will change the context of this page.

Témoignage d’un accidenté à moto grièvement blessé
(the story of a seriously injured victim of a motorcycle accident) (in French only)

Transcript :

Last update: February 18, 2022