Most of Virginia Beach was built after 1963, when the small resort town merged with Princess Anne County to form a 253-square-mile city. Kempsville, Bayside, Lynnhaven and Princess Anne filled in with subdivisions, and many of those houses put bedrooms up a flight of stairs or split the floor plan across half levels.
South of the Green Line the city still looks rural, with 172 working farms around Pungo, Back Bay and the North Landing River. A stair lift that works for a Kempsville split-level is a different job from one for an older farmhouse or a colonial-era home. This page walks through what fits where and which programs can help pay for it.
The typical Virginia Beach candidate is a multi-level suburban house from the decades after the 1963 merger. A single straight run of stairs in a two-story single-family home or townhouse usually takes a standard straight rail, which is the simplest install.
Split-level homes are different. Short flights broken by a landing, or stairs that turn, often need a curved rail built to the staircase. We measure each flight before quoting so you know which type your home needs.
The city has 18 sites on the National Register of Historic Places, plus colonial-era houses such as the Adam Thoroughgood House and the roughly 200-year-old Francis Land House. Surviving pre-1900 homes and scattered farm properties often have narrow or irregular stairs that call for a curved or custom rail rather than a straight track.
Distance matters too. Service in the rural south, around Pungo and Back Bay, works differently than in the dense urban north, so it helps to plan an assessment early if you live below the Green Line.
Virginia Beach is low-lying. The Southern Rivers Watershed covers over 205 square miles, about 67% of the city, and holds more than 90% of the city's land below 3 feet in elevation. Wind-tide flooding and drainage problems are common there.
For someone aging in place near ground level, the entry steps can be as much of a barrier as the indoor staircase. If outside steps are the problem, an outdoor lift or a platform lift may be worth discussing alongside a ramp, keeping in mind that equipment outdoors faces weather.
About 77,600 Virginia Beach residents were 65 or older as of 2024, and 64.9% of households own their homes. Owners are the ones most likely to install a permanent rail, and several local programs require that you own and live in the house.
That makes VA benefits and the Virginia Housing program for veterans especially relevant here.
Two programs below name chairlifts directly: Virginia Housing's accessibility grants and Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads' Home Repair Program. Both have income limits. Start with those if your household qualifies.
Other programs cover accessibility work in general without naming stair lifts, so ask staff before you count on them. The VA HISA grant specifically excludes stair glides. For help sorting options, Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia at (757) 461-9481 and the Endependence Center at (757) 461-8007 can point you to funding sources.
Pays up to $5,000 per person per calendar year for home adaptations for Medicaid-eligible people who meet a nursing-facility level of care; the rules list ramps, grab bars and doorway widening but do not mention stair lifts, and approval is case by case. Call Cover Virginia at (833) 522-5582 or apply through the local Department of Social Services.
A city grant of up to $30,000 for owner-occupants at or below 80% of Area Median Income to fix health and safety hazards, code violations or accessibility needs; stair lifts are not named, so confirm with staff. Call (757) 385-5750.
Grants up to $10,000 per household with no repayment, and chairlifts are listed as a covered modification; people with disabilities at or below 60% AMI and veterans with a service-connected disability at or below 80% AMI may qualify. Apply through an accepted local agent such as The Up Center, or call (877) 843-2123.
Serves adults 60 and older, people with disabilities and caregivers in South Hampton Roads with options counseling, care coordination and referrals rather than cash grants; it does not list a stair lift program. Call (757) 461-9481.
Provides up to $6,800 lifetime for veterans with a service-connected disability, or $2,000 for other eligible veterans, for permanent changes like ramps and roll-in showers. It does not cover stair glides.
For veterans who own a home and have certain severe service-connected disabilities, with SAH up to $126,526 and SHA up to $25,350; the VA gives ramps and doorway widening as examples and does not mention stair lifts. Call (800) 827-1000.
Keeps a list of home-modification funding sources for renters and owners with disabilities in Virginia Beach and nearby cities, plus housing counseling; it does not list its own stair lift benefit. Call (757) 461-8007.
Makes repairs at no cost to eligible Virginia Beach homeowners with household income below $69,000 who have owned and lived in the home at least 2 years, and it names interior chairlifts as a covered item. Intake can pause when funding runs out; call (757) 837-0081.
Older adults
2551 Eltham Avenue, Suite Q, Norfolk, 23513
Veterans
293 Independence Boulevard, Pembroke 5, Suite 109, Virginia Beach, 23462
Sometimes. If one flight runs straight with no turn, a straight rail can fit it. Split-levels often have short flights and landings, which usually need a curved rail or a separate lift for each flight.
The HISA grant excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA pages do not mention stair lifts either way. Veterans with a service-connected disability at or below 80% AMI can look at Virginia Housing's Granting Freedom grant, which lists chairlifts. The Virginia Beach - Pembroke Office is at (757) 552-1884.
Yes. Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia serves adults 60 and older and can help you sort options at (757) 461-9481. Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads gives priority to seniors and lists interior chairlifts as covered.
The CCC Plus waiver funds environmental modifications up to $5,000 per calendar year, but the regulation does not name stair lifts. Approval is decided case by case through the member's care coordinator, so ask before planning around it.
Yes, though service in the rural south of the city works differently than in the urban north. Older farm properties there often need a curved or custom rail, so schedule a measurement early.
The OORP covers accessibility modifications for income-eligible owner-occupants up to a $30,000 grant, but it does not name stair lifts. Call (757) 385-5750 and ask whether a lift could be part of your rehab scope.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
