Application Window - Closed
We are not accepting applications at this time. To receive announcements about upcoming funding opportunities and workshops, visit the GovDelivery subscriber page to sign up for USDA Rural Development updates.
What does this program do?
This program provides competitive financing for affordable multi-family rental housing for low-income, elderly, or disabled individuals and families in eligible rural areas.
Who may apply for this program?
This program assists qualified applicants that cannot obtain commercial credit on terms that will allow them to charge rents that are affordable to low-income tenants. Qualified applicants include:
- Individuals, trusts, associations, partnerships, limited partnerships, nonprofit organizations, for-profit corporations and consumer cooperatives.
- Most state and local governmental entities.
- Federally-recognized Tribes
Borrowers must have legal authority needed to construct, operate and maintain the proposed facilities and the services proposed
What is an eligible area?
A list of designated eligible places is available from the regional contacts that can be found on the Contact tab.
How may funds be used?
Construction, improvement and purchase of multi-family rental housing for low-income families, the elderly and disabled individuals is the primary objective for this program.
Funding may also be available for related activities including:
- Buying and improve land
- Providing necessary infrastructure
- For a complete list see Code of Federal Regulations, 7 CFR Part 3560.53.
Who may live in the rental housing?
- Very-low income to moderate-income families or individuals (1)
- Elderly people aged 62 or older
- People with disabilities
What kinds of funding are available?
Direct, competitive loans
What are the loan terms?
- Up to 30 year payback period
- Lowest rate at either the time of loan approval or loan closing will be used
How do we get started?
A Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) or Notice of Solicitation of Applications (NOSA) is posted in the Federal Register
Who can answer questions?
Find a regional contact on the Contact tab or you can find Rural Rental Properties here to apply as a tenant.
What governs this program?
- Code of Federal Regulation, 7 CFR Part 3560
- HB-1-3560
- HB-2-3560
- HB-3-3560
- Title V of the Housing Act of 1949
NOTE: Because citations and other information may be subject to change please always consult the program instructions listed in the section above titled "What Law Governs this Program?".
(1) Very-low to moderate income: Very-low income is below 50% of area median income; low-income is 50-80% of area median income; moderate income is capped at $5,500 above low-income limit.
Transfer of Ownership Application Submission Process: This link provides instructions for submitting new applications for transfers of ownership.
Handbook-3-3560 Attachment 7-B-1 (PDF) – This document provides a list of documents constituting a complete application for Rural Development approval of a proposed transfer.
MFH GovDelivery Subscription Link - Sign up to receive emails on MFH announcements.
MFH Property Preservation Tool - The dashboard has been updated with June 2017 maturing mortgage data, which provides loan-level information on dates when Section 514 and 515 properties are projected to pay off their loans and exit USDA's Multi-Family Housing program. A spreadsheet containing the raw data can be accessed here.
CNA Template (xlsm) - The CNA Template Ver 1.5h should be used in lieu of all previously used versions of CNA Worksheets. The CNA Template Ver 1.5i 52318 contained errors and should not be used. The template documents the findings reached when using RD's Addendum the Capital Needs Assessment (CNA) process. It includes updated estimated useful life tables and incorporates the rehabilitation guidance and miscellaneous format revisions for consistency with current program initiatives. This form has been tested and verified using the standard Windows Microsoft Excel ® (Excel 2013) to resolve compatibility issues previously reported. Use with other operating systems such as those from Apple® or Android®, or those using earlier spreadsheet programs may continue to experience compatibility issues requiring further discussion in the CNA report.
Capital Needs Assessment Process Addendum (PDF) - This Addendum addresses the Capital Needs Assessment (CNA) process for RD-financed properties. It provides guidance and clarification to assist RD borrowers, providers and staff for all RD required CNA assessments for loan making and servicing. This Addendum includes general instructions to be used in completing the RD CNA reports, specific instructions on how to use the expected useful life tables, and a set of applicable forms including the Terms of Reference form; Systems and Conditions forms; and Evaluator's Summary forms. This Addendum is comprised of nine main sections: 1) Definitions; 2) Contract Addendum; 3) Requirements and Statement of Work (SOW) for a CNA; 4) The CNA Review Process; 5) Guidance for the Multi-Family Housing (MFH) CNA Recipient Regarding Contracting for a CNA; 6) Revising an Accepted CNA During Underwriting; 7) Updating a CNA; 8) Incorporating a Property’s Rehabilitation into a CNA; and 9) Repair and Replacement Schedule. This entire Addendum should be made available to RD MFH property owners, applicants and CNA Providers who are or are planning to submit transactions using the MPR or any other RD RRH or FLH program loan making or servicing authorities. Only CNAs following this Addendum will be accepted.
Preliminary Assessment Tools (Download.zip/xltm) PAT (v8.4.1) released 09/25/2024 as posted contains updates that align the Preliminary Assessment Tool (PAT) with the 2024 LIHTC and 2024 HUD FMR Rents, 2025 Management fee, 2023 State Average Actual Cost Analysis for comparison . This version retains the same enhancements and functionality of Version 8.4. The PAT (v8.4.1) can now upgrade older versions 8.3. and 8.3.1 and 8.4 to the 8.4.1 version. A summary of updates may be found on the “About This Template” sheet within the template. A new feature to the PAT (v8.4.1) is that Agency FIN reports can be uploaded without any modification. The FIN 1700,1200 and 2000 can be uploaded without adjusting any columns in the report.
Preliminary Assessment Tool Customer Comments and Questions (xlsx)
Multifamily Housing Construction Monitoring Checklists (zip) The Construction Monitoring Checklists provide guidance and clarification to assist RD borrowers, applicants and staff throughout the construction submittal, project delivery, and construction monitoring processes. These checklists include general instructions used in meeting the construction requirements per 7 CFR 1924 and 7 CFR 3560.
Multifamily Housing Appraisal Assignment Guidance (zip) The Appraisal Assignment Guidance documents provide standardized appraisal guidance for each multifamily housing program. The documents remove the need for specific appraisal assignment guidance for each individual project. The applicant will download the applicable appraisal assignment guidance based on their specific transaction and provide it to their appraiser in order to obtain an appraisal. Once the appraisal is completed, the applicant will submit the appraisal along with the complete application package to the agency. The appraisal must be submitted with the application. If an appraisal is submitted prior to the application submission, it will be returned to the applicant. The agency will no longer provide specific appraisal assignment guidance for each individual project, instead, the applicant will be responsible for downloading the applicable standardized appraisal assignment guidance for their specific transaction and providing it to their appraiser.
Individual states may have particular requirements based on state and local regulations. For information, contact your designated regional office. You can find contact information on the Contact tab.
Individual states may have particular requirements based on state and local regulations. You can find contact information on the Contact tab.
Rural Development environmental requirements can be found here: RD 1970 Environmental Policies and Procedures. Benefits of the 1970 environmental regulations are described here: 7 CFR 1970 Benefits.
There are no other additional requirements at the national level. If there are additional state-specific requirements they will be listed above.
On October 11, 2020 Rural Development’s Multifamily Housing Program finalized its structural realignment which, in some cases, redistributed the existing portfolio to a servicing Specialist within our new Field Operations Division. If you are looking for the servicing Specialist for a specific property, you will find a complete and sortable list here: https://www.sc.egov.usda.gov/data/MFH.html
Our Field Operations Division maintains local relationships through regionally organized servicing teams and handles all day-today servicing of Multifamily housing properties to ensure that tenants have safe and affordable housing. The four regions and the contact information for each Regional Director follows:
Western Region: Becki Meyer, Regional Director, MFHFODWest@usda.gov
(AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY)
Southern Region: Byron Waters, Regional Director, MFHFODSouth@usda.gov
(AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, PR, SC, TN, TX, VI)
Midwest Region: Eric Siebens, Regional Director, MFHFODMidwest@usda.gov
(IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI)
Northeast Region: Donna O'Brien, Regional Director, MFHFODNortheast@usda.gov
(CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT, WV)
If you need information on a loan transaction currently in process, or have questions on a new transaction, our Production & Preservation Division (PPD) processes, underwrites, and closes all multifamily direct, preservation, and guaranteed loan transactions. PPD will support all the Multifamily Housing Programs, including 515, 538, Multifamily Preservation and Revitalization (MPR), prepayments, and preservation efforts. This division will also oversee Notice of Solicitation of Applications (NOSA) drafting and administration efforts for Farm Labor Housing, Housing Preservation Grants, MPR, technical assistance, and 515. The email contact information for the Production & Preservation Division follows:
Processing and Report Review Branch 1 MFHprocessing1@usda.gov
(CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SD, VA, VT, WI, WV)
Processing and Report Review Branch 2
MFHprocessing2@usda.gov
(AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, KY, LA, MS, MT, NC, NM, NV, OK, OR, PR, SC, TN, TX, UT, VI, WA, WY)
In March 2023, USDA Rural Development solicited applications for Section 515 Rural Housing subsequent loans. The subsequent loans will address physical conditions that pose an exigent risk to tenant health and safety, accessibility improvements, and funding gaps in preservation transactions. Below is the final list of borrowers who received funding.
Rural Housing Service hosted a Stakeholder Information Session for the Availability of FY 2023 Section 515 Subsequent Loan Funds on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Rural Housing Service hosted a Webinar for the FY 2023 SuperNOSA on Wednesday February 8, 2023.
Rural Housing Service hosted a Listening Session for the Simple Transfer Pilot Program on September 28, 2022. The following is a downloadable copy of the presentation.