The Federal Housing Administration's new Small Buildings Risk Sharing (SBRS) Initiative could provide a boost to lending for affordable multifamily housing. The program enables lenders to partner with FHA to provide long-term fixed-rate lending products to multifamily property owners with mortgages under $3 million (or $5 million in high-cost areas). The program is intended encourage lending to small buildings by allowing approved lenders to underwrite and service loans in return for FHA assuming 50 percent of the risk. Nearly 60 percent of small rental property owners are individuals, households and estates who face significant constraints accessing financing due to more stringent credit standards than larger property owners and the loss of many local banks after the 2008 recession.