Provides loan guarantees to qualified private-sector lenders with the goal of increasing the supply of affordable rental housing for individuals and families with low and moderate income in rural areas and towns. Helps facilitate lending to qualified borrowers to carry out construction, acquisition, and improvement projects for multifamily rental housing units. Loans may also support purchasing and improving of land and providing the infrastructure necessary for multifamily housing.
Multifamily housing developed under this program is reserved for tenants in rural areas with low or moderate income, defined as an income at or below 115% of the area median income adjusted for family size.
Loan guarantees of up to 90% of the loan amount are available to qualified lenders.
For-profit entities may borrow up to 90% of the total development cost or appraised value, whichever is less. Nonprofit entities may borrow up to 97%.
Interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan guarantee, with terms between 25 – 40 years.
Private lenders may apply for a loan guarantee on loans made to eligible borrowers who are building or preserving affordable rural rental housing.
Private lenders are automatically eligible if approved and active in 1 of the following programs:
Eligible borrowers include:
Eligible areas include rural areas and towns with 35,000 or fewer people and federally recognized tribal lands. Use the USDA Rural Business Services Property Eligibility search tool to determine if an address is located in an eligible area.
Additional requirement include:
Buildings and Facilities • Capacity Building • Equipment
Application instructions, requirements, and other information can be found in the Federal Register.
Contact the appropriate USDA RD Multifamily Housing Regional Director to discuss your specific project and start an application.
Use the USDA Multifamily Housing Rentals search tool to find housing and apply as a tenant.
For program questions:
Contact the appropriate USDA RD Multifamily Housing Regional Director from the "contact" tab on the program website.
Community Planning and Coalition Building • Housing and Homelessness • Infrastructure
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