What the program is

USDA Rural Development runs the Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants program, also called Section 504 Home Repair. It lends money to low and very-low income homeowners to repair, improve or modernize their homes. Homeowners 62 and older with very-low income can also get grants to remove health and safety hazards. A leaking roof over someone’s bedroom is the kind of problem people bring to it.

The terms, as USDA publishes them

• Loans up to $40,000, fixed at 1% interest, paid back over 20 years
• Grants up to $10,000, a lifetime limit, for homeowners 62 and older
• A loan and a grant can be combined, up to $50,000 in total
• Grant money has to go toward removing a health or safety hazard
• A grant has to be paid back if the house is sold within 3 years
• Applications are taken year round. How fast one is approved depends on the funding available in your area.

Source: USDA Rural Development, Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants, read October 28, 2026. USDA can change these terms, so check that page before you plan around a number.

Who can qualify

• You own the house and live in it
• You cannot get affordable credit somewhere else
• Your household income is under the low or very-low limit for your county (USDA income limits by county)
• The house is in an eligible rural area. Many towns in eastern and central Kentucky are; larger cities like Lexington are not. Type your address into the USDA eligibility map to check.
• For a grant, you are 62 or older and under the very-low income limit

How the process works

1. Check the address and income. Use the eligibility map and the county income limits above. If both look right, keep going.
2. Prequalify with the local office (optional, recommended). USDA suggests sending Form RD 3550-35, the Section 504 intake form, and Form RD 3550-1, the authorization to release information, to see whether the program fits before a full application.
3. Get the repair priced. USDA needs to know what the work will cost. We look at the roof, photograph what we find, and give you a written estimate that lists the work and the price.
4. Apply. The full application includes Form RD 410-4, Form RD 3550-1, Form RD 3550-4 and the items on USDA’s Attachment 12-E checklist. All of them are linked from the USDA program page.
5. USDA decides. Approval and timing come from USDA, not from us.
6. We do the repair. Once the funds are approved, we do the work on the schedule the program allows and document it with dated before and after photos.

How we help

We work with the USDA Rural Development office in London, so we know the steps and the paperwork from the contractor’s side. We will sit down with you, explain what the program asks for, write the estimate the application needs, and answer the office’s questions about the repair. If the roof turns out to need less than you feared, we will tell you that too.

USDA Rural Development, London office: 182 Liperote Way, London, KY 40741. Current phone numbers are on the USDA Kentucky contacts page.

Central Roof Repair is a private contractor. We are not part of USDA, USDA does not endorse any contractor, and only USDA decides who qualifies and how much they receive. You are free to use any contractor you choose.

Common questions

Does a roof repair count?

A loan can pay for repairs, improvements and modernizing. A grant has to remove a health or safety hazard. Whether a particular roof problem counts as a hazard is USDA’s decision.

I’m under 62. Can I still get help?

Grants are only for homeowners 62 and older. Younger homeowners who meet the income and area rules can apply for the 1% repair loan.

I live in Lexington or Richmond.

Eligibility is set address by address. Check yours on the USDA map first. If it is not eligible, we can still give you a written estimate and talk through other ways to pay on our financing page.

Last updated: October 28, 2026