What does this program do?
It provides affordable financing to develop or rehabilitate affordable rental housing for very-low to moderate income(1) domestic, migrant, and seasonal farm laborers (2). It also provides funding used to increase the supply of affordable housing for farm labor; and the ability of the farmer to provide affordable, decent, sage and sanitary housing for farm workers.
Who may apply for this program?
This program provides low interest loans to eligible borrowers to develop or rehabilitate affordable rental housing for very-low to moderate income domestic, migrant, and seasonal farm laborers. Borrowers must not otherwise be able to get commercial credit. Eligible applicants include:
- Individual farm owner
- Family farm partnership
- Family farm corporation
- Association of farmers
Who are eligible tenants?
- Employees of the owner that are domestic farm laborers, individuals who earn a substantial portion of their income from farm labor, retired domestic farm laborers, or disabled farm laborers. The families of eligible tenants also are eligible if they are not related to the owner.
- Occupants must be U.S. citizens or reside in the United States, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands after being legally admitted for permanent residence, or a person legally admitted to the United States and authorized to work in agriculture.
What are the loan terms?
- There is no loan minimum
- The loan maximum is 100 percent of the allowable total development cost.
- The loan interest rate is 1.0% annually
- The loan term will not exceed 33 years
- Grants are not available for on-farm labor housing
What is the funding availability?
Funding availability is on a first-come, first-served; or until funds are depleted basis.
How do we get started?
Contact the appropriate Processing and Report Review Branch at MFHprocessing1@usda.gov (Northeast and Midwest inquiries) or MFHprocessing2@usda.gov (South and West inquiries) for a consultation call regarding your future project. All applications must be submitted electronically utilizing the “On Farm Labor Housing Package” (under the “To Apply” tab).
Who can answer questions?
Locate your regional contact on the Contact tab.
What governs this program?
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.
(2) Domestic farm laborer: A person who receives a portion of his/her income from farm labor employment. This definition may include the immediate family members residing with such a person.
Funding for New Construction/Repair/Rehabilitation - Funding is open
New Construction, Repair, & Rehabilitation:
- On-FLH Loan (514): $5,000,000
On-Farm Labor Housing Loans Applicant Package | PDF
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.
Please contact our Multifamily Housing office toll-free at 800-292-8293.
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)