Payment standards & utility allowance schedules
The payment standard is the maximum allowable monthly assistance toward a voucher family’s gross rent. The gross rent is the total of the contract rent charged by the property owner and the utility allowance (for those essential utilities that are the voucher family’s responsibility). Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) are required to confirm that the requested rent is reasonable in relation to comparable unassisted units. Follow this link to the payment standards [link] by zip code and bedroom size, within our jurisdiction.
All PHAs must determine payment standards based on fair market rents (FMR) or small area fair market rents (SAFMR), published by HUD on an annual basis. The PHA must then use these published rents and conduct an analysis of current rents for comparable units, preferably within the same submarket or within close vicinity of the unit to establish payment standards between 90% and 110% of FMR or SAFMR, per HUD regulations and also 120% exception payment standards when allowable.
