By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-15 18:02:10 | Updated at 2026-10-16 07:59:40
13 hours ago
Building financing is set to expand so builders can provide more rental homes across the country, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Federal Housing Administration has announced.
In a statement published on Oct. 14, HUD said that build-to-rent communities will now be eligible for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing.
Build-to-rent communities refer to manufactured homes and multifamily properties that include family homes, duplexes, and triplexes.
This credit expansion is expected to boost the availability of rental homes in the United States.
“America needs more affordable housing,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in the statement. “We’re eliminating barriers to spur development, expand rental options, and improve housing affordability for hardworking American families.”
FHA financing for Build-to-Rent properties will be offered under two of its multifamily mortgage programs, with the initiatives offering long-term loans and borrowers able to secure fixed interest rates.
HUD had earlier refused to extend loans to build-to-rent properties because of underwriting challenges.
The department is removing the restriction given high demand for rental housing and the growing prevalence of professionally managed rental communities.
“Expanding housing supply, including new rental housing, is essential to improving affordability,” Joe Gormley, currently overseeing the FHA and HUD Office of Housing, said in the statement.
Combined with other initiatives, “we are unshackling the market to deliver housing where it’s needed most,” he said.
Rental costs have been rising nationally.
In August, the average asking rent for a typical U.S. home was $1,948 per month, up by 2.5 percent from 2025, according to a Sept. 16 report from real estate marketplace Zillow.
Rents overall have increased by 38.5 percent since the beginning of the pandemic, Zillow said. In addition, “since the beginning of the pandemic, single-family rents have increased by 47 percent,” the report said.
In 46 of the 50 largest metro areas, rents were up from the previous year. The highest annual increases were seen in San Francisco, San Jose, Virginia Beach, Milwaukee, and Chicago.
Many people are struggling to pay their monthly rent, nonprofit research organization Urban Institute said in a Sept. 23 report, based on a survey conducted in December 2025.
Last year, 20 percent of working-age renters between the ages of 18 and 64 did not pay their rent in full, or delayed payment at some point, up from 16.5 percent in 2024.
“Many older adults reported problems paying rent and utility costs. Nearly one in ten (8.9 percent) older adult renters (ages 65 and older) reported problems paying rent in 2025,” the report said.
Meanwhile, construction of build-to-rent properties declined in the second quarter of 2026 amid factors such as high financing costs, said Robert Dietz, chief economist at the National Association of Home Builders.
Roughly 15,000 single-family build-to-rent homes began construction in the second quarter of 2026, down from 18,000 starts last year, Dietz said, citing Census Bureau data.
