Housing Assistance › Guide
USDA Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants
USDA Section 504 may help a very-low-income homeowner fix a home in an eligible rural area. It offers low-cost repair loans. It also offers grants to some homeowners age 62 or older who cannot repay a loan.
The program is real, but funds and local wait times vary. You apply through USDA Rural Development for free.
What repairs can Section 504 cover?
A loan may pay to repair, improve, or update a home. A grant is more narrow. It must remove a health or safety danger.
Work may include:
- Fixing a bad roof or unsafe floor
- Repairing heat, power, water, or waste systems
- Removing a fire or health risk
- Adding a ramp or another needed access change
- Making a home safer after storm damage
USDA must approve the work. Do not hire a worker or start the job before your USDA contact says it is allowed.
Who may get a loan?
You must own and live in the home. The home must be in an eligible rural area. Your household must meet USDA's very-low-income rule for that county.
You must also be unable to get safe, fair credit from another source. USDA will look at your ability to make the loan payment.
Use USDA's official program page to check your address and local income rule. Our housing help hub also links to other home and rent programs.
Who may get a grant?
The grant path has more rules. You must be age 62 or older. You must also be unable to repay a repair loan.
Grant money must remove a health or safety danger. USDA may ask for proof of age, pay, assets, ownership, and the needed repair.
A grant may need to be paid back if you sell the home within three years. Ask your USDA contact how that rule applies before you agree.
How much help is offered?
The loan can be up to $40,000. The rate is fixed at 1%, and the term can be up to 20 years.
The standard grant can be up to $10,000. A loan and standard grant can total up to $50,000.
A grant for a home damaged in a named federal disaster area can be up to $15,000. Combined help in that case can reach $55,000.
These are top limits, not promises. USDA decides the amount based on the home, repair, rules, and funds.
What should you gather?
- Photo ID and Social Security details requested on the form
- Proof that you own and live in the home
- Recent pay and benefit records for the household
- Bank and asset records
- Home tax and insurance records
- Photos or notes that show the repair
- Any repair quote USDA asks you to get
Do not email private records to a random address. Get the office and upload path from USDA's official site.
How do you apply?
- Open the official Section 504 page.
- Check the home address and county income rule.
- Contact the USDA Rural Development office for your state.
- Ask for the intake form and current paper list.
- Send the full form and keep a copy.
- Wait for written approval before work starts.
How do you avoid delays and scams?
Use the state office number on USDA.gov. A private firm cannot promise approval or move your form to the front.
Tell USDA if the repair is an urgent safety risk. Reply fast if the office asks for one missing item. Keep all bids, letters, and receipts in one folder.
Never pay a fee just to apply. Do not sign a repair deal that says USDA approved the job unless USDA told you that in writing.
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