HUD Publishes FY21 Fair Market Rents

HUD recently published a notice in the Federal Register on the fair market rents (FMRs) for the Housing Choice Voucher program, Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program, and other programs for fiscal year 2021. 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 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) not less than annually.

The FMRs will be effective Oct. 1 for all areas except any area that requests re-evaluation of their FMRs. FMRs are used to determine payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program; initial renewal rents for some expiring project-based Section 8 contracts; initial rents in the Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program; and rent ceilings for the HOME Investment Partnerships program and the Emergency Solutions Grants program. They are also used to calculate flat rents in public housing. FMRs are based on the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) data, trended to 2021.