CARH’S BROADCAST E-MAIL – Regulatory Update
August 31, 2023
1) HUD Updates Fair Market Rents for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a Notice in today’s Federal Register on the Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy Program, and Other Programs; Fiscal Year 2024. According to HUD’s press release, nationally, FMRs will increase by an average of approximately 12 percent.
As explained in HUD’s FAQs for Fair Market Rents (FMRs), FMRs are an estimate of the amount of money that would cover gross rents (rent and utility expenses) on 40 percent of the rental housing units in an area. FMRs are used in several HUD programs, including determining the maximum amount that a Housing Choice Voucher will cover. For FY 2024, HUD continues to supplement public data with private sector data from companies like Zillow and Apartment List. (This practice started for the FY 2023 FMRs due to significant interruptions in public data sources caused by COVID-19. HUD needed to supplement public data with data from private sources to ensure the accuracy of FMRs. Calculating the FMRs in this way ensures that FMRs accurately reflect recent, steep rent increases in many communities and will make it easier for households in those communities to use their vouchers to rent affordable homes.)
Click here to go directly to the FMRs on the HUD User website. The FMRs are effective October 1, 2023, unless HUD receives a request of re-evaluation of a specific area as provided in the Notice.
Section 8(c)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (USHA), as amended by the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA), requires the Secretary to publish FMRs not less than annually, adjusted to be effective on October 1 of each year. This notice describes the methods used to calculate the FY 2024 FMRs and enumerates the procedures for Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and other interested parties to request reevaluations of their FMRs as required by HOTMA.
These FMRs are used for several purposes. Specifically, the FMRs in the Notice are used to determine: (i) the payment standard amounts for the Housing Choice Voucher program; (ii) initial renewal rents for some expiring project-based Section 8 contracts; (iii) initial rents for housing assistance payment contracts in the Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program; and (iv) to serve as a rent ceiling in the HOME program. FMRs are also used in calculating flat rents in Public Housing units.
2) HUD Releases $113 Million in Housing Choice Vouchers
In a press release issued today, HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing announced an additional $113 million in Housing Choice Voucher funding awards for 118 high-performing public housing agencies in 36 states. These funds will enable these agencies to provide rental assistance to 9,500 additional households in the coming year.
According to the HUD, the Housing Choice Voucher program enables families to afford rental units in the private market. Given recent rental cost increases, families who receive vouchers are experiencing greater difficulty successfully using their vouchers to find affordable, safe, and quality housing. The new FMR levels announced today – on top of an approximately 10 percent increase nationally in FY 2023 – will help the voucher program keep up with rent increases in the private market, expand the number of affordable units, and help more families rent homes at an affordable cost.
Today’s voucher allocations are listed here by state:
|
STATE |
AMOUNT |
| AL | $493,221 |
| AR | $81,106 |
| AZ | $2,252,079 |
| CA | $36,998,830 |
| CO | $1,735,957 |
| FL | $766,113 |
| IA | $130,217 |
| IL | $1,142,724 |
| IN | $1,284,985 |
| KS | $291,302 |
| LA | $1,301,054 |
| MA | $1,212,802 |
| MD | $1,070,592 |
| ME | $21,790 |
| MI | $713,453 |
| MN | $541,748 |
| MO | $425,427 |
| NC | $156,213 |
| ND | $1,293,346 |
| NJ | $3,130,719 |
| NM | $481,183 |
| NY | $1,887,884 |
| OH | $29,292 |
| OK | $2,471,861 |
| OR | $2,012,751 |
| PA | $4,647,875 |
| RI | 446,364 |
| PR | $25,962 |
| SC | $96,338 |
| TN | $432,579 |
| TX | $33,794,190 |
| UT | $1,696,376 |
| VA | $4,486,598 |
| WA | $2,619,697 |
| WI | $2,255,077 |
| WV | $145,092 |
| TOTAL | $112,572,797 |
If you have any questions, please contact the CARH national office at carh@carh.org or 703-837-9001.
For other news and information affecting the affordable rural housing industry, please visit the Newsroom on CARH’s website, www.carh.org.