A successful USDA program that has supported more than 533,000 affordable rental homes in rural America is being phased out

The USDA is phasing out a rental assistance program that has created more than 533,000 affordable homes in rural America. The program's mortgages will expire by 2050, potentially displacing hundreds of thousands of rural families who currently live in these subsidized properties. The phase-out threatens to eliminate a major source of affordable housing in rural communities where such options are already scarce. Without intervention, families could face displacement as property owners may convert units to market-rate housing or sell properties once federal subsidies end.