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Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants.

USDA offers low-interest repair loans to qualifying very-low-income rural homeowners and hazard-removal grants to qualifying homeowners age 62 or older.

Offered byUSDA Rural Housing Serviceverified 2026-07-10

Overview

What it does.

This household program can preserve Chester's housing stock but is not commercial-property funding. The applicant must own and occupy the home, meet county income limits, lack affordable credit elsewhere, and pass address-level rural eligibility review.

Best for: Very-low-income owner-occupants needing essential repairs, modernization, accessibility work, or health and safety corrections.

Eligibility

Who and what may qualify.

Eligible applicants

  • Very-low-income homeowners who occupy an eligible rural home and cannot obtain affordable credit elsewhere
  • Homeowners age 62 or older meeting all requirements for hazard-removal grants

Applicants excluded by the source

  • Landlords and nonoccupant owners
  • Households above applicable very-low-income limits
  • Grant applicants under age 62

Eligible uses

  • Repairing, improving, or modernizing an owner-occupied home
  • Removing health and safety hazards
  • Accessibility-related repairs

Uses excluded by the source

  • Investment or rental property improvements
  • Nonessential work outside program rules

Application

How to start.

  1. Check the property address and household income with USDA Rural Development
  2. Complete informal prequalification with an Illinois home-loan specialist
  3. Submit the required loan or grant forms and supporting household and property documents

Timing: Illinois applications are accepted year-round, subject to funding availability.

Planning notes

Limits to account for.

  • Only owner-occupied homes are eligible
  • Income, credit-availability, property, and rural-address rules apply
  • Grants are limited to qualifying owners age 62 or older and may require repayment if the home is sold within three years

Other repair assistance must be disclosed and coordinated so the same cost is not paid twice.

Evidence

Official sources.