Single Family Housing

Single Family Housing

The Single-Family Housing Program provides homeownership opportunities to low and moderate-income rural Americans through several loan, grant, and guarantee programs. The program also makes funding available to individuals to finance vital improvements necessary to make their homes decent, safe, and sanitary.

Direct Loan Program (Section 502)

Under the Direct Loan program, individuals or families receive direct financial assistance directly from the Rural Housing Service in the form of a home loan at an affordable interest rate.

Most of the loans made under the Direct Loan Program are to families with income below 80% of the median income level in the communities where they live. Since RHS is able to make loans to those who will not qualify for a conventional loan, the RHS Direct Loan program enables many more people to buy homes than might otherwise be possible. Direct loans may be made for the purchase of an existing home or for new home construction.

To learn more details about this program, click here.

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Guaranteed Loan Program (Section 502) 

Under the terms of the program, an individual or family may borrow up to 100% of the appraised value of the home, which eliminates the need for a down payment. Since a common barrier to owning a home for many low-income people is the lack of funds to make a down payment, the availability of the Guaranteed Loan program from RHS makes the reality of owning a home available to a much larger percentage of Americans.

For more details about this program, click here.

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The Mutual Self-Help Housing Program makes homes affordable by enabling future homeowners to work on homes themselves. With this investment in the home, or "sweat equity", each homeowner pays less for his or her home. Each qualified applicant is required to complete 65% of the work to build his or her own home.

Once accepted into the Self-Help Housing Program, each individual enrollee generally applies for a Single-Family Housing Direct Loan (Section 502).

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For very low income families who own homes in need of repair, the Home Repair Loan and Grant Program offers loans and grants for renovation. The Home Repair Program also provides funds to make a home accessible to someone with disabilities.

Money may be provided, for example, to repair a leaking roof; to replace a wood stove with central heating; to construct a front-door ramp for someone using a wheelchair; or to replace an outhouse and pump with running water, a bathroom, and a waste disposal system.

Homeowners 62 years and older are eligible for home improvement grants. Other low income families and individuals receive loans at a 1% interest rate directly from RHS.

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Rural Development Multi-Family Housing programs provide a number of finance options to developers of low-income community housing. For more information about loans to developers, click here.

Rural Housing Service assistance to individual residents of multi-family dwellings comes primarily in the form of rental assistance. Rent subsidies under the Rental Assistance Program ensure that elderly, disabled, and low-income residents of multi-family housing complexes financed by RHS are able to afford rent payments. With the help of the Rental Assistance Program, a qualified applicant pays no more than 30% of his or her income for housing.