Multifamily Housing assists rural property owners through loans, loan guarantees, and grants that enable owners to develop and rehabilitate properties for low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals and families as well as domestic farm laborers.
Multifamily Housing works with the owners of its direct and farm labor housing loan properties to subsidize rents for low-income tenants who cannot afford to pay their full rent. Additionally, when a direct loan ends before its initial term, Multifamily Housing provides vouchers to protect eligible tenants who otherwise may face hardship if they cannot find other affordable housing.
Multifamily Housing utilizes a variety of tools to revitalize and preserve the physical and financial health of more than 14,000 properties currently in USDA’s rural rental portfolio. For example, restructuring loans for existing rural rental housing and off-farm labor housing properties allows them to maintain sufficient reserve funds to make necessary major repairs and improvements throughout the lifetime of these properties.
Our Programs
Multifamily Housing Direct Loans
This program provides competitive financing for affordable multi-family rental housing for low-income, elderly, or disabled individuals and families in eligible rural areas.
Multifamily Housing Loan Guarantees
The program works with qualified private-sector lenders to provide financing to qualified borrowers to increase the supply of affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income individuals and families in eligible rural areas and towns.
Off-Farm Labor Direct Loans & Grants
This program provides affordable financing to develop housing for year-round and migrant or seasonal domestic farm laborers.
On-Farm Labor Housing Loans
This program provides affordable financing to develop or rehabilitate affordable rental housing for very-low income domestic, migrant, and seasonal farm laborers.
Multifamily Housing Preservation & Revitalization (MPR)
This program restructures loans for existing Rural Rental Housing and Off-Farm Labor Housing projects to help improve and preserve the availability of safe affordable rental housing for low income residents.
Multifamily Housing Rental Assistance Program
This program provides payments to owners of USDA-financed Rural Rental Housing or Farm Labor Housing projects on behalf of low-income tenants unable to pay their full rent.
Multifamily Tenant Voucher Program
This program provides vouchers to protect eligible tenants in Multifamily Direct Loan properties who may face hardship when the loan on the property is prepaid, or the property is foreclosed.
Multifamily Housing Nonprofit Transfer Technical Assistance Grants
USDA Rural Development awards grants to eligible nonprofit organizations and public housing authorities (PHAs) to provide technical assistance (TA) and other services to enable affordable housing preservation through the transfer of Multifamily Housing Direct Loan properties from current owners to nonprofits or PHAs.
Farm Labor Housing Technical Assistance Grants
USDA Rural Development awards grants to nonprofit organizations to provide technical assistance to applicants for Farm Labor Housing (FLH) loans and grants.
Section 521 Stand-Alone Rental Assistance
Decoupling Rental Assistance allows eligible USDA Rural Development Multifamily Housing (MFH) direct loan borrowers to continue receiving long-term rental assistance in exchange for agreeing to preserve and operate their multifamily property as affordable rural housing.
Tools and Resources
Multifamily Housing has produced a series of resources for our stakeholders, owners, managers, and tenants. These resource links include MFH tools, announcements, and stakeholder training opportunities. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions or if you desire further information or assistance.
Multifamily Housing Contacts
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
Midwest Region
Eric Siebens, Regional Director
MFHFODMidwest@usda.gov
IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI
Southern Region
Byron Waters, Regional Director
MFHFODSouth@usda.gov
AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, PR, SC, TN, TX, VI
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
Multifamily Housing Mailing Addresses
For general correspondence to Multifamily Housing, that does not contain financial documents for a new or existing Multifamily Housing loan, please use the mailing address:
USDA Rural Development
Attn: Multifamily Housing
P.O. Box 771340
St. Louis, MO 63177
Multifamily Housing lenders, borrowers, or management agents who need to send correspondence containing financial documents (such as a loan agreement, loan transfer, restrictive use covenant, or re-amortization) for a new or existing Multifamily Housing loan, please use the USPS, Fed Ex, or UPS mailing address:
- Mail sent via the United States Postal Service:
USDA Rural Development
Attn: Multifamily Housing
P.O. Box 775038
St. Louis, MO 63177
- Mail sent via FedEx or UPS:
USDA Rural Development
Attn: Matthew Gibson, 314-457-4559 (MFH)
211 North Broadway
Suite 1701; Mail Stop: 2331
St. Louis, MO 63102
Quick Links
- Multifamily Housing Appraisal Assignment Guidance
- Access the Multifamily Housing Construction Monitoring Checklists
- Search for an affordable rural rental apartment near you.
- Find the loan specialist assigned to a MFH property.
- External Management Interactive Network Connection (MINC, requires login credentials).
- Determine if a specific location is eligible for MFH programs.
- Publicly available datasets on MFH’s portfolio.
- Need assistance regarding your USDA Voucher, email RDVoucher@usda.gov.
- Questions about your current home mortgage, buying or building a home, or assistance with a home repair, please see USDA’s Single-Family Housing programs
- Doing Business With RD Contacts and Resource Guide
Multifamily Housing Organizational Structure