Wednesday, December 13th 2016
U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Housing Service Administrator Tony Hernandez today visited North Carolina to tour a USDA-funded rental complex and highlight two decades of USDA investments and partnerships to build and renovate affordable rural rental housing for families across the country. USDA's investments in rural housing developments have provided more than 41,000 affordable rental units nationwide during the past 20 years. Just this year, USDA surpassed the $1 billion milestone for investments through the Multi-Family Housing Loan Guarantee Program to create and preserve affordable rural rental housing. In Fiscal Year 2016 alone, USDA invested $74 million to build and preserve 2,765 affordable rural rental apartments nationwide. USDA-funded rental properties often are the only affordable option for hardworking families and retired individuals living in rural areas. USDA provides loan guarantees to state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations and federally-recognized tribes. Tenants' rent is generally 30 percent of an area's median income.