223(f) or 221(d)(4) for a renovation? Where the line is
HUD's 2026 substantial rehabilitation line is $20,406 a unit times the high-cost percentage. Below it, 223(f) repairs; above it, 221(d)(4). A worked example.
Independent FHA multifamily sizing tools
Which FHA program fits, and how big can the loan be?
HUD changed the premiums, the loan ratios and the limits between January 2025 and May 2026. The sizer runs your property through the current numbers; the chooser tells you which program to size it under.
Independent: operated by Janover Capital LLC, a commercial mortgage advisory firm. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting for HUD, FHA or any government agency.
The lowest test sets the loan
Every FHA multifamily loan is sized several ways on HUD's Form 92264-A, and the lowest test sets the maximum FHA will insure. An illustration: a 120-unit non-elevator garden property in Texas (48 one-bedrooms, 60 two-bedrooms, 12 three-bedrooms) worth $24 million with $1.5 million of net operating income, refinancing $15.5 million of debt and costs under 223(f) at 5.54%, the median note rate on FHA apartment loans endorsed in the year to September 2026 (HUD's insured mortgage file). Cash-out test controls, at 80% of value.
Estimated maximum FHA-insured loan (illustration, not a quote)
$19,200,000Cash-out test controls
- Statutory limit$28,230,000
120 units at the 2026 207/223(f) per-unit limits, non-elevator, times 270%
- Loan to value$20,880,000
87% of value
- Debt service coverage$19,390,000
net operating income at 1.15x, 5.54% over 35 years plus 0.25% MIP
- Cash-out test$19,200,000
greater of 80% of value or the cost to refinance. This one controls.
- Monthly principal and interest
- $103,611
- Annual MIP (0.25%)
- $48,000
- Upfront MIP
- $48,000
- HUD application fee (0.30%)
- $57,600
- Debt service coverage at that size
- 1.16
- Loan to value or cost
- 80.0%
- Loan per unit
- $160,000
Loan sizer
Statutory limit, loan to value, coverage and cash-out tests side by side. The lowest one controls.
Program chooser
Three questions about the property and the money you need.
2026 limits
Every per-unit statutory limit by bedroom count, elevator and section.
MIP and fees
What each program costs to insure and close since October 2025.
What changed in the last two years
FHA multifamily is cheaper and looser than it was in 2024:
- January 8, 2025. Mortgagee Letter 2025-03 raised market-rate 223(f) and 221(d)(4) loans from 85% to 87% of value or cost, and cut the coverage requirement from 1.176 to 1.15. Affordable deals went from 87% and 1.15 to 90% and 1.11.
- October 1, 2025. The annual mortgage insurance premium dropped to 0.25% on every FHA apartment program, from as much as 0.95%, and HUD eliminated the green and affordable premium categories (90 FR 45789).
- January 1, 2026. Statutory per-unit limits rose 2.3% (FR Doc 2026-08795, published May 6). Mortgagee Letter 2026-05 set the high-cost percentage at 270% for every listed area in the contiguous states and 405% in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- January 22, 2026. Mortgagee Letter 2026-01 created a middle-income tier for 221(d)(4): 90% and 1.11 when at least half the units are restricted to 120% of area income or less under a state or local program.
- 2026. Mortgagee Letter 2026-12 made detached single-family, duplex and triplex build-to-rent communities eligible for 221(d)(4) and 223(f).
Questions people ask
What is the FHA mortgage insurance premium on apartment loans now?
0.25% a year plus 0.25% up front on FHA apartment programs, on applications submitted or amended on or after October 1, 2025 (90 FR 45789). New construction pays the upfront 0.25% for each year of construction, risk-sharing loans pay 0.25% times FHA's share of the risk, and health care and hospital programs have their own premiums. Loans insured earlier keep their old premium.
How much can I borrow on an FHA apartment loan in 2026?
Up to 87% of value or cost for market-rate properties at 1.15 debt service coverage, and up to 90% at 1.11 for affordable, heavily assisted and qualifying middle-income 221(d)(4) projects, subject to per-unit statutory limits. Loans of $130 million or more use tighter ratios.
Who makes FHA multifamily loans?
HUD-approved MAP lenders originate and service them; FHA insures them. HUD reviews each loan before it insures it.
Is this site part of HUD or FHA?
No. It is operated by Janover Capital LLC, a commercial mortgage firm, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by HUD or FHA. Rules and figures cite the HUD notice or letter they come from; the calculations are ours.
Have a question?
Send it to the desk at Janover Capital LLC. A person there will reply.