Falls Church covers only 2.2 square miles, and some of its houses are older than most of the country around them. The Falls Church itself dates to 1769, Cherry Hill at 312 Park Avenue is an 1845 Greek-Revival farmhouse, and Mount Hope at 203 Oak Street is a brick Victorian farmhouse built in 1870. Many of the city's two-story frame and brick houses share the same trait: bedrooms and baths upstairs, reached by a narrow staircase.
Newer buildings along Route 7/Broad Street, like Founders Row, come with elevators. The older detached houses, townhouses and duplexes do not. For a family that wants a parent to keep using the upstairs, a stair lift is usually the practical fix, and Northern Virginia has several grant and nonprofit programs that can help with the cost.
The city has about 6,172 housing units as of the 2020 census, and the stock splits between older detached houses and newer multi-story buildings. In the older houses, period staircases tend to be narrow, and some homes have split levels. Those layouts usually rule out adding a home elevator.
A straight staircase with no landing can take a straight-rail lift, which is the simpler install. Stairs that turn, have a landing partway up, or connect split levels usually need a curved rail built to fit that staircase. We measure the stairs in person before recommending either one.
Beyond the historic houses, Falls Church has townhouses, duplexes, walk-up apartments and low-rise buildings. Townhouses often have more than one flight, so it is worth deciding which floors a person really needs before choosing a lift.
In walk-up apartments and duplexes, the stairs may be shared or owned by someone else. Renters should talk with the owner early, since any lift on a rental stair needs the owner's approval. Virginia Housing has a separate grant track for renters, covered below.
About 14.7% of Falls Church residents are 65 or older, and roughly 50.2% of households own their homes. That means about half of the people thinking about a stair lift here are renters, which changes which programs apply.
If that includes someone in your family, note that the VA HISA grant excludes stair glides by name, so veteran families usually do better looking at the Virginia Housing Granting Freedom track.
The strongest local option is the Virginia Housing Accessibility Grant, which explicitly lists chairlifts among covered modifications and pays up to $10,000 with no repayment. Falls Church residents apply through a local agent, and ECNV (Endependence Center of Northern Virginia) serves the city. Call ECNV at (703) 525-3268 to start.
Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church installs donated, volunteer-refurbished stairlifts for some low-income homeowners at no cost. The Virginia Livable Home Tax Credit can return up to 50% of a retrofit cost, capped at $6,500, though the program page does not name stairlifts.
Because Falls Church is fully built out and urbanized, it does not qualify for USDA Section 504 rural home-repair funding. If you are unsure where to begin, the City of Falls Church Housing & Human Services Aging Services line at (703) 248-5005 or the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging at (703) 324-7948 can point you to the right program.
A statewide grant of up to $10,000 with no repayment that explicitly covers installing chairlifts, with income limits of 60% of area median income for owners and renters and 80% for veterans and service members. Apply through an approved local agent such as ECNV; Virginia Housing can be reached at (877) 843-2123.
ECNV is the local agent for Virginia Housing Accessibility Grants and lists ramps, chairlifts and stairlifts among typical funded modifications, up to $10,000 per grant, for homeowners and renters with disabilities in Falls Church and nearby areas at or below 80% AMI. Call (703) 525-3268.
A Medicaid waiver for people who need a nursing-facility level of care, covering Environmental Modifications and Assistive Technology, though the source does not mention stairlifts specifically. Eligibility starts with an LTSS screening through the local Department of Social Services; the Cover Virginia Call Center is (833) 522-5582.
Free home repairs for low-income homeowners in Falls Church and neighboring areas, including installs of donated stairlifts that volunteers refurbish for reuse, with priority for older adults, people with disabilities, families with children and veterans. Call (703) 528-1999.
An information, referral and case management office for older adults and caregivers that connects residents to modification help such as Rebuilding Together; it does not fund stairlifts directly. Call (703) 324-7948.
The city's referral and limited case management service for older adults and people with disabilities; it does not list a direct home-modification or stairlift grant. Call (703) 248-5005 (TTY 711).
A state tax credit of 50% of the cost to retrofit an existing home for accessibility, capped at $6,500, though the program does not name stairlifts specifically. Call (804) 371-7000.
A VA grant of up to $6,800 or $2,000 lifetime for medically needed home changes, but it explicitly excludes stair glides and porch lifts, so it does not cover a stair lift.
Larger VA grants (SAH up to $126,526 and SHA up to $25,350 for FY2026) for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities who own or intend to own the home; the source does not mention stairlifts. The Virginia Department of Veterans Services office in Fairfax is at (703) 359-1210.
Older adults
12011 Government Center Parkway, Suite 720, Fairfax, 22035
Veterans
9990 Fairfax Blvd, Suite 120, Fairfax, 22030
ECNV at (703) 525-3268 is a good first call. It handles Virginia Housing Accessibility Grant applications for Falls Church, and those grants cover stairlifts up to $10,000 with no repayment.
Possibly. Virginia Housing's Rental Unit Accessibility Modification track serves renters with household income at or below 60% of area median income, applied for through a local agent such as ECNV. The property owner still has to approve the install.
Many older Falls Church houses have narrow period staircases or split levels that rule out an elevator. A curved rail is built to the shape of the specific staircase, so the answer depends on measuring your stairs in person.
The VA HISA grant explicitly excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not mention stairlifts. Veterans and service members at or below 80% AMI can instead apply for the Virginia Housing Granting Freedom grant, which covers chairlifts.
No. Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church installs donated stairlifts that volunteers overhaul for reuse, at no cost to qualifying low-income homeowners. Call (703) 528-1999 to ask about income guidelines.
No. Falls Church is fully built out and urbanized, which disqualifies it from USDA Section 504 rural home-repair funding.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
