An upcoming amendment to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) temporary 504 refinancing program will allow more small businesses to obtain stable, long-term financing on owner-occupied real estate, the SBA announced on Tuesday.

Under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which was enacted in February, small businesses facing maturing commercial real estate loans or balloon payments before Dec. 31, 2012, are given an option to refinance with an SBA 504 loan.

The change slated to take place April 6 will remove the date limitation, opening the program to a greater number of property owners.

“With the collapse of the real estate bubble, many small business owners have found themselves unable to refinance as a result of inflated real estate values at the time they took out their mortgage,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said in a press release.

“SBA’s temporary 504 refinancing program was first made available to those small businesses with the most immediate need,” she said. “Today’s step opens this critical assistance to more small businesses, giving them the opportunity to restructure their debt and free up capital that will be essential to keeping their doors open and also their future ability to grow and create jobs.”

To be eligible for the temporary 504 refinancing program, the debt to be refinanced must have been incurred no less than two years prior to the date of application and the business must have been in operation for at least two years, among other criteria.