Small Area Fair Market Rents Take Effect
Small Area Fair Market Rents to Take Effect Tuesday, Jan. 1 Due to Injunction
A Federal judge has ordered HUD to implement the Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) in jurisdictions that had previously been suspended for two years on Tuesday, January 1. The injunction was issued as a result of a lawsuit by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and two voucher holders (Open Communities Alliance, et al. v. Ben S. Carson, Sr.). The judge in the case argued that HUD did not show specific reasons as to why the rule’s implementation was delayed, and thus violated the rules within the final SAFMR regulation as to why a SAFMR could be suspended in a given jurisdiction.
HUD published a request for public comments on the two-year suspension in mid-December; comments are due January 11. SAFMRs for the 23 jurisdictions can be found here. As a reminder, SAFMRs are set at the zip code level, so members who operate in some zip codes will see increases in the voucher amount, while others will see decreases. NMHC and NAA have long held that a zip code does not constitute a real estate market, and HUD should explore alternative geographies.
The geographies affected include:
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
- Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC HUD Metro FMR Area
- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area
- Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
- Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metro Division
- Fort Worth-Arlington, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
- Gary, IN HUD Metro FMR Area
- Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT HUD Metro FMR Area
- Jackson, MS HUD Metro FMR Area
- Jacksonville, FL HUD Metro FMR Area
- Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
- North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL MSA
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL MSA
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA
- Pittsburgh, PA HUD Metro FMR Area
- Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
- San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA
- Urban Honolulu, HI MSA
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD HUD Metro FMR Area
- West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, FL Metro Division
For more information, please contact Lisa Blackwell (VP, Government Affairs) or Caitlin Walter (Senior Director, Research).