The USDA Rural Development has issued guidance instructing approved lenders to continue using the two-tiered income limit pilot for the agency’s Section 502 single-family housing programs. Launched in June last year, the pilot bands together the income limits of households with one to four members and with 5-8 members. The USDA banding process significantly increases the number of rural households that are eligible for Rural Development’s direct home loan program and the Home Repair Loan and Grant Program, the agency said. The pilot is based on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s one-to-eight person income limits, which the department releases every year. Until last year, the USDA had been using the HUD income limits for its single- and multifamily housing programs, with the exception of the USDA’s “hold harmless” clause and the moderate-income banding allowed in the ...