Q. What is the Housing and Community Facilities Programs?

A. The Housing and Community Facilities Programs is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Located within the Department's Rural Development mission area, HCFP operates a broad range of programs to provide:

• homeownership options to individuals;
• housing rehabilitation and preservation funding;
• rental assistance to tenants of HCFP-funded multi-family housing complexes;
• farm labor housing;
• help to developers of multi-family housing projects, like assisted housing for the elderly and disabled, or apartment buildings; and
• community facilities, such as libraries, child care centers, schools, municipal buildings, and firefighting equipment to Indian groups, nonprofit organizations, communities and local governments.

HCFP administers direct loans, loan guarantees and grants. Direct loans are made and serviced by USDA staff; loan guarantees are made to banks or other private lenders, and grants are made directly to a person or organization.

Q. Does HCFP work with other local and state organizations to provide its services to the community?

A. HCFP works with other Federal agencies, and a number of both nonprofit and private organizations nationally, in order to pool resources to help America's rural residents most effectively.

Q. Where are HCFP offices located?

A. The HCFP National Office is located in Washington, D.C., and is responsible for setting policy, developing regulations, and performing oversight.  HCFP operations are carried out through the USDA's state and local Rural Development offices and service centers. (Four multistate offices exist in addition to local offices within the states -- Vermont/New Hampshire; Massachusetts/Connecticut/Rhode Island; Maryland/Delaware; and Florida/Virgin Islands.) Use our Locater Site to find a Rural Development office in your area.

The Centralized Servicing Center, located in St. Louis, Missouri, provides loan origination and servicing directly to HCFP Single-Family Housing borrowers.  The CSC's toll-free phone number is 1-800-414-1226. Press "1" for English, and "2" for Spanish (marque "2" para Espanol). TDD: 1-800-438-1832. The address is:

USDA Rural Development
Centralized Servicing Center
P.O. Box 66889
St. Louis, MO 63166

Q. What is the HCFP service area?

A. HCFP programs are available to eligible applicants in rural areas, typically defined as open country or rural towns with no more 20,000 in population.

An exception to the rural eligibility requirements is the Farm Labor Housing Program (Section 514/516), which is the only Federal program available for development of housing for farm workers. This program is available in both rural and urban areas.

A. Yes. You can call 1-800-414-1226 toll free, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to obtain basic information about the status of your account through our automated voice response system. By using a touch-tone phone and our simple menu selection, you can check your account balance, date of last payment, amount of payment assistance, and year-to-date interest and taxes paid without waiting for a customer service representative to assist you.

Q. How can I receive a copy of HCFP regulations?

A. The regulations that guide HCFP programs are published in Chapter 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Most public libraries have copies of CFRs. Copies of our regulations, instructions, and handbooks can also be viewed in any Rural Development office, or can be downloaded and viewed online.

If the regulation you want is not available online, you can order a copy at any Rural Development office, or contact Rural Development, FC-313, 1520 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63103.