The Montréal Home Adaptation Program (HAP) offers a subsidy to owners of dwellings that are occupied by one or more people living with disabilities who require adaptations in order to access their home, to move around in the home and to carry out everyday activities.

This program is the same as the Société d’habitation du Québec (SHQ) HAP program, but specifically for Montréal residents.

Montréal’s HAP provides financial support for expenses related to the adaptation and installation of equipment required to meet your needs. Certain inherent costs are also eligible.

The following adaptation work is eligible:

• Improving outdoor access to the dwelling or building by installing a handrail, access ramp or platform
• Installing an accessible (barrier-free) shower
• Adapting the bathroom
• Adapting the kitchen
• Improving mobility through the home and adapting rooms such as the living room, bedroom or office (moving outlets and switches, widening door frames, etc.)

The following equipment is eligible:

• Platform lift
• Overhead lift with rail
• Stair lift
• Automatic garage door opener
• Communication equipment (intercoms, flashing doorbells, etc.)

Some fees required for the adaptation work are also eligible. They include some of the professional fees for the occupational therapy report, construction permit fees, tree felling permit fees, as well as architect and engineer fees.

To be eligible, you must:

• Be a handicapped person as defined in the Act to secure handicapped persons in the exercise of their rights with a view to achieving social, school and workplace integration (RSQ, chapter E-20.1).
• Need to adapt your home.
• Not have received any subsidy to adapt your home during the five years prior to filing your application, apart from exceptional cases.
• Not have received financial support to adapt your home as part of any other program, insurance plan, or private or public compensation. For example: Insurance payouts from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, a compensation plan from the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), including the Programme d’indemnisation des victimes d’actes criminels (IVAC), or Veterans Affairs Canada’s Health Benefits Program (home adaptation component), apart from exceptional cases.

Reapplying before the five-year term

Did you receive adaptation assistance offered by the government of Québec or from Montréal’s HAP less than five years ago? If so, you are still eligible for the HAP subsidy in the following cases:

Other programs or plans

If your adaptation application was denied by a public or private insurance or compensation plan or program because the cause of your disability is not recognized by the plan or program, you may be eligible for Montréal’s HAP.

If you have already received financial assistance from another insurance or compensation program or plan, you may not apply for assistance under Montréal’s HAP.

An occupational therapist must confirm your adaptation needs, and write a report specifying:

• Your current requirements in order to carry out daily life tasks 
• Your foreseeable future requirements and their impact on the adaptations to be made as your condition evolves
• Any psychosocial context that may influence your needs

To get a report, you must contact your CLSC or a private occupational therapy clinic.

Documents for occupational therapists

Are you a health and social services professional who needs to produce a report for Montréal’s Home Adaptation Program (HAP)? Consult our list of useful forms and appendices.

The maximum amount of the subsidy is $35,000 per dwelling, and $45,000 if the building is a family-type resource (in French) or a private residence for seniors (in French) for nine or more people.

Maximum eligible amounts vary depending on the category of work, the type of equipment and the type of fees, as indicated in the tables below.

Work

Work not eligible for the subsidy

• Work that started prior to the date when the application is approved.
• Work that was not carried out during the 12 months following the approval date.
• Improvements to outdoor access to the home or adaptation to the kitchen of private residences for seniors and family-type residences, because their certification already requires that the buildings be accessible, and that meals are provided in those facilities.

Equipment

Note: The amounts listed above include the equipment, sales tax and installation fees.

Inherent costs

• For an occupational therapy report produced by a private clinic (maximum eligible amount: $2,500)
• Portion of the permit fees for construction work related to the adaptation (maximum eligible amount: $450)
• Occupancy of public property for the duration of the work (maximum eligible amount: $300)
• Tree felling permit fees related to the home adaptation work (maximum eligible amount: $100)
• Portion of the architect’s or architectural technologist’s fees related to the residential adaptation work, where required for permits to be issued (maximum eligible amount: $1,500)
• Portion of the engineer’s fees related to the residential adaptation work, where required for permits to be issued (maximum eligible amount: $2,000)
• Certificate of location, where required under by-laws for permits to be issued (maximum eligible amount: $600)

Calculating your subsidy

Depending on the adaptation project and the needs formulated in the occupational therapy report, the maximum eligible amounts by work category, equipment and associated costs are all added together to calculate the total subsidy amount you are entitled to.

This amount will not exceed $35,000 ($45,000 for a family-type resource or a private residence for seniors).

Payment of the subsidy

The subsidy is paid to the homeowner, upon presentation of receipts, except in the case of occupational therapy fees, which are paid directly to the person living with a disability, based on proof of payment.

Work must be carried out within the 12 months following the approval of the application, and must be deemed compliant by the city upon inspection, once work is completed.

Registration

1. Fill out the registration form (in French) and, if applicable, a schedule (in French) for every additional person.
2. If you are a tenant, send the authorization form (in French) to your landlord and ask him or her to fill it out.

All supporting documents must be sent by email to [email protected].

If you do not have internet access or do not have an email address, call us at 514-588-7098.

Once the city has received all of these documents, it will open your file.

The city will review your file at no cost.

Next steps

3. You must send the city an occupational therapy report establishing your adaptation needs as soon as possible.
4. Once the occupational therapy report is received, the city will organize a visit to your home, along with your landlord if you are a tenant, as well as the occupational therapist who assessed your needs.
5. The city will then send you, along with your landlord if you are a tenant, a detailed program that states the work required and the maximum amount of the subsidy that you are entitled to based on your needs.
6. The homeowner (you or your landlord) is responsible for submitting the program to various contractors to obtain quotes.

Did you already register with the Société d’habitation du Québec before Montréal’s HAP came into force?

If your SHQ application has already been approved, and you have received a letter confirming the amount of your subsidy, your file will be processed within the framework of the SHQ’s program. It will not be possible to transfer your file to the city’s program.

If your file was not yet approved by the SHQ, your application will be processed through Montréal’s HAP.