Rural Housing Programs - Information Bulletin # 67 5/04

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Rural Housing Programs - Information Bulletin # 67 5/04There are many housing programs available for very low and for moderateincome persons with disabilities who reside in "rural America," includingHome Modifications to make homes accessible and other repairs. The amountof resources available is based on formulas, and each State receives anannual allocation per program.Several different programs can be accessed from your county USDA RuralHousing Service offices. They include single family and multifamilyprograms.Single Family Housing:1. There is the Home Repair Loan and Grant Program (a/k/a Section 504).Funds from this program can be used to make your house accessible, as wellas for other basic repairs, such as replacement of bathrooms or roofs andother housing needs.The USDA allocated $62.4 million for loans (FY 2001 and 2002) and another$64.9 million as grants. More than 21,000 families received these 504loans and grants. In FY 2004, nearly $35 million were allocated for 504loans and another $30 million were allocated for 504 grants.Very low income disabled persons are eligible to receive loans of up to$20,000 at a one percent interest rate over 20 years. If one cannot afforda one percent loan, he/she may receive a $7,500 grant. According to theUSDA webpage, the local Rural Development County Supervisor will make adecision on an application within 30 - 60 days. Seehttp://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rhs/sfh/brief_repairgrant.htm2. The larger programs are the Rural Development Single Family DirectLoan Program and the Guaranteed Loan Program (Section 502)Under the Direct Loan Program, low-income disabled persons can receiveassitance for purchasing a home. In FY 01 and 02, more than $2 billiondollars were allocated to about 29,500 families. Nearly half of theseloans went to families whose incomes were below 50% of the median for therural area.Under the Guaranteed Loan Program families buy homes with loans guaranteedby Rural Development. This program helps families who might not otherwisebe able to make a down payment. In FY 01 and 02, more than $4.7 billionwent to help more than 57,700 families.Multi-Family Housing:3. The largest program is the Rental Assistance Program (Section 521)Like non-rural "project-based" voucher programs, this program enablespersons living primarily in multi-family housing to pay no more than 30%of their income to the multifamily housing owners that received ruralfunds for new construction or rehabilitation (these are known as Section515 and 514). Like "project-based" vouchers, the Rental Assistancevouchers belongs to the units and not the individual. In FY 2001 and2002, nearly $1.4 billion were allocated to the Rental Assistance Programfor nearly 86,500 units.Disability advocates should remember that these units are subject to theRehabilitation Act of 1973, and a reasonable number of the units must befully accessible to persons with disabilities. Locations of these unitscan be obtained from your Rural Development County Supervisor.Ask her/him to identify Section 515 and 514 multifamily buildings. Checkthem out for accessibility, affordability and integration. Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continuesBack issues of other Information Bulletins are available online athttp://www.stevegoldada.comwith a searchable Archive at this site divided into different subjects.TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THE LIST: To Unsubscribe from this mailing list, send amessage to majordomo@... and in the body of the message includeONLY: unsubscribe stevegoldadaTO SUBSCRIBE FROM THE LIST, send a message to majordomo@... andin the body of the message include ONLY: subscribe stevegoldada--Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continuesBack issues of other Information Bulletins are available online athttp://www.stevegoldada.comTO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THE LIST: To Unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to majordomo@... and in the body of the message include ONLY: unsubscribe stevegoldada