HUD publishes final 2016 FMRs
Today at the HUD User website, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published the final fair market rents (FMRs) for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2016. The final 2016 FMRs will also be published tomorrow in the Federal Register. Below are direct links to the HUD User files containing the components of the 2016 final FMR data set:
- A prepublication copy of the preamble to the Federal Register notice announcing the final 2016 FMRs
- Schedule B—FMR Tables (PDF and DOC)
- Schedule B Addendum—Small Area FMRs (SAFMRs) for the demonstration areas
- Schedule D—FMRs for Manufactured Home Spaces in the HCV Program
- County-Level Data File
- FY 2016 Unadjusted Rents (for use in setting public housing flat rents)
An additional link labeled “Small Area FMRs” leads to a spreadsheet showing SAFMRs for the five metropolitan areas included in HUD’s SAFMR demonstration program. Hypothetical SAFMRs for other metropolitan areas are available here. According to the preamble, final SAFMRs “will be” posted to the site.
You’ll find links to all components of the final 2016 FMR data set on this web page. For complete documentation of the development of the final 2016 FMRs for your area, click here.
The preamble to tomorrow’s Federal Register notice addresses several issues involving the development and use of 2016 FMRs.
Methodology: Based on the comments received and as a way to estimate FMRs more accurately, HUD has replaced the historical-based annualized change in gross rent trend factor with a forward-looking forecast for these final FY 2016 FMRs. The national trend factor for the final FY 2016 FMRs uses a model that forecasts national rent and utility consumer price index indices based on economic assumptions used in the formulation of the president’s budget.
SAFMRs: The SAFMRs are for reference only, except for PHAs participating in the demonstration program and PHAs investigating an alternative basis for public housing flat rents. However, other PHAs may use the SAFMRs as a guide for setting payment standards within an FMR area, and may use them in requesting exception payment standards.
Rent surveys: HUD rejected surveys submitted by some PHAs as justification for higher FMRs. The data submitted did not meet the threshold for representativeness and/or statistical reliability. HUD may not use data from newspaper ads, Craigslist, or rent reasonableness studies. Guidance on acceptable surveys is available at the bottom of this page.
Effective dates: For the HCV program, the new FMRs are effective “when published.” They are not retroactive to October 1.
For the public housing program, Notice PIH 2015-13 states that PHAs must review flat rents for required adjustments “no later than 90 days after issuance of new FMRs or SAFMRs by HUD.”
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