Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy Program, and Other Programs; Fiscal Year 2025 (2024)

I. Background

Section 8 of the USHA (42 U.S.C. 1437f) authorizes housing assistance to aid lower-income families in renting safe and decent housing. Housing assistance payments are limited by FMRs established by HUD for different geographic areas. In the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, the FMR is the basis for determining the “payment standard amount” used to calculate the maximum monthly subsidy for an assisted family. See 24 CFR 982.503. HUD also uses the FMRs to determine initial renewal rents for some expiring project-based Section 8 contracts, initial rents for housing assistance payment contracts in the Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program, rent ceilings for rental units in both the HOME Investment Partnerships program and the Emergency Solution Grants program, calculation of maximum award amounts for Continuum of Care recipients and the maximum amount of rent a recipient may pay for property leased with Continuum of Care funds, and calculation of flat rents in Public Housing units. The FMR is also used to determine the Performance Based Contract Administration Fee in Multifamily Housing. In general, the FMR for an area is the amount that a tenant would need to pay the gross rent (shelter rent plus utilities) of privately owned, decent, and safe rental housing of a modest (non-luxury) nature with suitable amenities. HUD's FMR calculations represent HUD's best effort to estimate the 40th percentile gross rent paid by recent movers into standard quality units in each FMR area. In addition, all rents subsidized under the HCV program must meet reasonable rent standards.

HUD's methodology for calculation FMRs is described in Section III. HUD first adopted this methodology for the calculation of FY 2024 FMRs, and it is unchanged for FY 2025.

II. Publication of FMRs

Section 8(c)(1) of the USHA,^[1] as amended by HOTMA (Pub. L. 114-201, enacted July 29, 2016), requires the Secretary of HUD to publish FMRs not less than annually. Section 8(c)(1)(A) states that each FMR “shall be adjusted to be effective on October 1 of each year to reflect changes, based on the most recent available data trended so the rentals will be current for the year to which they apply. . . .” Section 8(c)(1)(B) requires that HUD publish, not less than annually, new FMRs on the World Wide Web or in any other manner specified by the Secretary, and that HUD must also notify the public of when it publishes FMRs by Federal Register notice. After notification, the FMRs “shall become effective no earlier than 30 days after the date of such publication,” and HUD must provide a procedure for the public to comment and request a reevaluation of the FMRs in a jurisdiction before the FMRs become effective. Consistent with the statute, HUD is issuing this notice to notify the public that FY 2025 FMRs are available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html and will become effective on October 1, 2024. This notice also provides procedures for FMR reevaluation requests.

III. FMR Methodology

This section provides a brief overview of how HUD computes the FY 2025 FMRs. For complete information on how HUD derives each area's FMRs, see the online documentation at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html#2025_query.

A. Geographic Area Definitions

The FY 2025 FMRs are based on the updated metropolitan area definitions published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on September 14, 2018 and first incorporated by the Census Bureau into the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) data, and the corresponding FY 2022 FMRs. On July 21, 2023, OMB published Bulletin No. 23-01 which contains revisions to metropolitan area definitions. However, the Census Bureau has not yet incorporated these revisions into the data available to HUD, and therefore HUD is not using these new definitions for FY 2025.

Pursuant to section 107(a) of HOTMA (Pub. L. 114-201) for FY 2025, HUD is adding Westchester County, NY to the New York, NY HUD Metropolitan Fair Market Rent Area. Westchester County, NY will remain a separate median family income and income limit area pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1437(b)(2)(D).

B. Base Year Rents

For FY 2025 FMRs, HUD uses the U.S. Census Bureau's 5-year ACS data ( print page 66129) collected between 2018 and 2022 as the “base rents” for the FMR calculations. These data are the most current ACS data available at the time that HUD calculates the FY 2025 FMRs. HUD pairs a “margin of error” test ^[2] with an additional requirement based on the number of survey observations supporting the estimate to improve the statistical reliability of the ACS data used in the FMR calculations. The Census Bureau does not provide HUD with an exact count of the number of observations supporting the ACS estimate; rather, the Bureau provides HUD with categories of the number of survey responses underlying the estimate, including whether the estimate is based on more than 100 observations. Using these categories, HUD requires that, in addition to meeting the “margin of error” test, ACS rent estimates must be based on at least 100 observations to be used as base rents.

For areas in which the 5-year ACS data for two-bedroom, standard quality gross rents do not pass the statistical reliability tests ( i.e., have a margin of error ratio greater than 50 percent or fewer than 100 observations), HUD uses an average of the base rents over the three most recent years ^[3] (provided that there is data available for at least two of these years),^[4] or if such data are not available, using the two-bedroom rent data within the next largest geographic area. For a metropolitan subarea, the next largest area is its containing metropolitan area. For a non-metropolitan area, the next largest area is the state non-metropolitan portion.

C. Recent-Mover Factors

Following the assignment of the standard quality two-bedroom rent described above, HUD applies a recent-mover factor to these rents. HUD calculates the recent-mover factor as the change between the 5-year 2018-2022 standard quality two-bedroom gross rent and the 1-year 2022 recent mover gross rent for the recent mover factor area. HUD does not allow recent-mover factors to lower the standard quality base rent; therefore, if the 5-year standard quality rent is larger than the comparable 1-year recent mover rent, HUD sets the recent-mover factor to 1. When the recent-mover factor is greater than one and calculated for the same geographic area as the base rent, HUD is, in effect, replacing the base rent with the recent-mover rent for that area.

In determining the recent mover factor, HUD first considers the rents of households who moved into their unit only in the current ACS year. For ACS 2022, this means that the maximum length of time for a household to have lived in its current unit and still be considered a recent mover under this definition would be 11 months. HUD applies the same two statistical reliability checks to each ACS recent mover estimate as it does for the base rent estimate. First, the estimate must be supported by at least 100 sample cases from the ACS. Second, the estimate must have a margin of error that is smaller than half the estimate itself. HUD first considers the estimate for two-bedroom units, then for units of all bedroom sizes. For areas without an ACS estimate meeting these criteria, HUD next checks the estimate tabulated from two-year recent movers. If the local two-year recent mover estimates are not reliable, HUD considers the estimates for increasingly larger areas of geography.

D. Other Rent Survey Data

HUD calculates base rents for the insular areas using data collected during the 2010 decennial census of American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands beginning with the FY 2016 FMRs.^[5] HUD updates the 2010 base year data to 2022 using the growth in national ACS data for the FY 2025 FMRs. Note that while the 2010 decennial census also included Guam, HUD uses the result of a more recent rent survey in calculating the FMRs for Guam, as discussed in the following paragraph. HUD is working with the Census Bureau to provide special tabulations of the 2020 Island Area Census and hopes to include these data in FY 2026 FMRs.

HUD does not use ACS data to establish the base rent or recent-mover factor in cases where it has locally collected survey data which are more recent than the 2022 ACS. For larger metropolitan areas that have valid ACS one-year recent-mover data, survey data may not be any older than the mid-point of the calendar year for the ACS one-year data. Since the ACS one-year data used for the FY 2025 FMRs is from 2022, larger areas with valid one-year recent mover data may not use other survey data collected before June 30, 2022 for the FY 2025 FMRs. Areas without statistically reliable 1-year ACS data may continue to use local survey data until the mid-point of the 5-year ACS data is more recent than the local survey. For FY 2025 FMRs, the following are Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), HUD Metro FMR Areas, or non-metropolitan counties that have FMRs based on local ad hoc surveys:

(1) HUD uses survey data from 2019 to calculate the FMRs for Guam.

(2) HUD uses survey data from 2021 to calculate the FMRs for Iron County, UT; Knox County, ME; Lincoln County, ME; Transylvania County, NC; and Waldo County, ME.

(3) HUD uses survey data from 2022 to calculate the FMRs for Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI HUD Metro FMR Area; Hawaii County, HI; Hood River County, OR; Salinas, CA MSA; Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area; and Wasco County, OR.

(4) HUD uses survey data from 2023 to calculate the FMRs for San Benito County, CA HUD Metro FMR Area; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA MSA; and Urban Honolulu, HI MSA.

E. Gross Rent Inflation Adjustment Factors

The ACS recent mover rent estimates as described above produce a rent value that is “as of” 2022. To account for inflation, HUD adjusts this value using an inflation factor that captures rent growth from 2022 to 2023. HUD uses a local measure of private rent inflation for markets that are covered by at least three of the six available sources of private rent data. HUD combines this local measure of rent inflation with either the local metropolitan area CPI rent of primary residence for the 23 areas where such data exist, or the regional CPI rent in areas without a local index.

HUD uses both private data and the CPI in an attempt to fully and accurately measure recent mover rent inflation. Research has shown that private data often provide a timelier measure of recent mover rent inflation than the CPI, which is constructed by measuring the rents of both in-place and new tenants. However, the CPI provides other advantages as a measure of rent inflation, such as consisting of a representative sample of all housing units, measuring rent in the same units ( print page 66130) over time (a “repeat rent” sample), and adjusting for the aging of units.

The private measures of rent used by HUD are the ApartmentList Rent Estimate, CoStar Group average effective rent, CoreLogic, Inc., single-family combined 3-bedroom median rent, Moody's Analytics REIS average market rent, RealPage average effective rent per unit, and Zillow Observed Rent Index. In calculating a measure of inflation from these data, HUD first takes the annual average of each statistic, then its year-to-year change. HUD then takes the mean of the changes from all available sources for each area.

Next, HUD takes an average of this private-sector measure of rent inflation with rent inflation as captured by the CPI for the area, where the private-sector measure is weighted at approximately 75 percent and the CPI rent inflation measure is weighted at approximately 25 percent. HUD has determined and updated these weights by comparing the national average of the private rent changes and changes in CPI rent of primary residence to changes in the national average of recent mover rents from the ACS from 2018 through 2022. HUD weights the private data averages and overall CPI rent of primary residence in such a way as to minimize the root mean squared error between the resulting average and the ACS recent mover rents. For future FMRs, HUD will continue update the weights by adding the most recent years of ACS recent mover rents, private rent data, and CPI rent of primary residence to the analysis.

For areas without at least three of the six private rent data sources available, HUD uses a regional average of private rent inflation factors alongside the regional CPI rent of primary residence using the nationally derived weights described above. HUD constructs the regional average by taking the rental unit weighted average of the change in rents of each area in a region that does have private rent data coverage. This ensures that smaller areas which are not covered by the private sources directly still have current rental market conditions taken into account in the calculation of the rent inflation factor for such areas.

Finally, HUD averages the result of this step with the year-to-year change in the CPI housing fuels and utilities index for the area in order to make the resulting inflation measure reflective of gross rents. The results of this step are gross rent estimates that are “as of” 2023.

F. Trend Factor Forecasts

Following the application of the appropriate gross rent inflation factor, HUD trends the gross rent estimate from 2023 to FY 2025 using a trend factor which is based on local or regional forecasts of CPI gross rent data. HUD derived a trend factor for each Class A CPI area and Class B/C CPI region using time series models based on national inputs (National Input Model or NIM), local inputs (Local Input Model or LIM), and historical values of the predicted series (Pure Time Series—PTS). HUD chose the actual model used for each CPI area's trend factor based on which model generates the lowest Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) statistic and applied the trend factors to the corresponding FMR areas. HUD established the type of model for each forecast (NIM, LIM, or PTS) for the FY 2020 FMRs. HUD had previously stated it would reassess the model selections during the calculation of the FY 2025 FMRs. However, due to the high degree of volatility that occurred in rental markets from 2020-2023, HUD believes that evaluating model performance during this period will not result in the best long term model selection. More details on the trend factor forecasts are available in the June 5, 2019 Federal Register notice (84 FR 26141) and are available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/06/05/2019-11763/proposed-changes-to-the-methodology-used-for-estimating-fair-market-rents.

G. Bedroom Rent Adjustments

HUD uses two-bedroom units for its primary calculation of FMR estimates. This is generally the most common size of rental unit and, therefore, the most reliable to survey and analyze. After estimating two-bedroom FMRs, HUD calculates bedroom ratios for each FMR area, which relate the prices of smaller and larger units to the cost of two-bedroom units. The bedroom ratios HUD uses in the calculation of FY 2025 FMRs are calculated from three five-year ACS data series (2016-2020, 2017-2021, and 2018-2022). HUD only uses estimates with a margin of error ratio of less than 50 percent. If an area does not have reliable estimates in at least two of the previous three ACS releases, HUD uses the bedroom ratios for the area's larger parent geography.

To ensure an adequate distributional fit in these bedroom ratio calculations for individual FMR areas, HUD establishes bedroom interval ranges which set upper and lower limits for bedroom ratios nationwide, based on an analysis of the range of such intervals for all areas with large enough samples to permit accurate bedroom ratio determinations. In the calculation of FY 2025 FMR estimates, HUD sets the bedroom interval ranges as follows: efficiency FMRs are constrained to fall between 0.69 and 0.87 of the two-bedroom FMR; one-bedroom FMRs must be between 0.76 and 0.90 of the two-bedroom FMR; three-bedroom FMRs (prior to the adjustments described below) must be between 1.11 and 1.29 of the two-bedroom FMR; and four-bedroom FMRs (again, prior to adjustment) must be between 1.23 and 1.56 of the two-bedroom FMR. Given that these interval ranges partially overlap across unit bedroom counts, HUD further adjusts bedroom ratios for a given FMR area, if necessary, to ensure that higher bedroom-count units have higher rents than lower bedroom-count units within that area.

H. Minimum FMRs

All FMRs are subject to a minimum rent based on state or national non-metropolitan area median rent. HUD calculates a population-weighted median two-bedroom FMR across all non-metropolitan counties or county-equivalents of each state, which, for the purposes of FMRs, is the state minimum ( print page 66131) rent. State-minimum rents for each FMR area are available in the FY 2025 FMR Documentation System, available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html#2025_query. HUD also calculates the population weighted median FMR rent across all non-metropolitan areas of the country, which, for the purposes of FMRs, is the national non-metropolitan rent. For FY 2025, the national non-metropolitan rent is $933. The applicable minimum rent for a particular area is the lower of the state or national non-metropolitan median. Each area's two-bedroom FMR must be no less than the applicable minimum rent.

I. Limit on FMR Decreases

HUD's regulations at 24 CFR 888.113 include a limit on the amount that FMRs may annually decrease. The current year's FMRs resulting from the application of the bedroom ratios, as discussed in section (E) above, may be no less than 90 percent of the prior year's FMRs for units with the same number of bedrooms. Accordingly, if the current year's FMRs are less than 90 percent of the prior year's FMRs as calculated by the above methodology, HUD sets the current year's FMRs equal to 90 percent of the prior year's FMRs. For areas where HUD has required the use of Small Area FMRs in the administration of their voucher programs since 2018, the FY 2025 Small Area FMRs may be no less than 90 percent of the FY 2024 Small Area FMRs. For newly designated mandatory Small Area FMR areas under the October 23, 2023 notice “Small Area Fair Market Rents in the Housing Choice Voucher Program—Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small Area Fair Market Rents”, the FY 2025 Small Area FMRs may be no less than 90 percent of the greater of the FY 2024 metropolitan area wide FMRs or the applicable FY 2024 Small Area FMR, as Small Area FMRs were not yet in effect for these areas in FY 2024. For all other metropolitan areas, the FY 2025 Small Area FMRs may be no less than 90 percent of the greater of the FY 2024 metropolitan area wide FMRs or the applicable FY 2024 Small Area FMR. The following table demonstrates these scenarios:

Type of area	FY 2025 “floor” for small area FMRs	FY 2026 “floor” for small area FMRs
Areas where the use of Small Area FMRs was mandatory prior to FY 2025, or have optionally used Small Area FMRs before FY 2025	90 percent of FY 2024 Small Area FMRs	90 percent of FY 2025 Small Area FMRs.
Areas where the use of Small Area FMRs is mandatory as of FY 2025 or optionally begin to use Small Area FMRs in FY 2025	Higher of 90 percent of FY 2024 Small Area FMRs and 90 percent of FY 2024 Metropolitan FMRs	90 percent of FY 2025 Small Area FMRs.
All other areas	Higher of 90 percent of FY 2024 Small Area FMRs and 90 percent of FY 2024 Metropolitan FMRs	Higher of 90 percent of FY 2025 Small Area FMRs and 90 percent of FY 2025 Metropolitan FMRs.

PHAs operating in areas where the calculated FMR is lower than the published FMR ( i.e., those areas where HUD has limited the decrease in the annual change in the FMR to 10 percent) may request payment standards below the basic range (24 CFR 982.503(d)) and reference the “unfloored” rents ( i.e., the unfinalized FMRs calculated by HUD prior to application of the 10-percent-decrease limit) depicted in the FY 2025 FMR Documentation System (available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html#2025_query).

IV. Small Area FMRs

A. SAFMR Mandatory Use

HUD lists Small Area FMRs for all areas in the Small Area FMR Schedule. PHAs operating in areas where the use of Small Area FMRs is not mandated should notify HUD of their use of Small Area FMRs in the operation of their Housing Choice Voucher program.

On October 25, 2023, HUD published the notice “Small Area Fair Market Rents in the Housing Choice Voucher Program—Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small Area Fair Market Rents”, which requires 41 additional metropolitan areas to use Small Area Fair Market Rents in the administration of the Housing Choice Voucher program beginning in FY 2025.^[8] These areas are as follows:

Akron, OH MSA

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC HUD Metro FMR Area

Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX MSA

Birmingham-Hoover, AL HUD Metro FMR Area

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY MSA

Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA

Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN HUD Metro FMR Area

Cleveland-Elyria, OH MSA

Columbus, OH HUD Metro FMR Area

Dayton-Kettering, OH MSA

Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA HUD Metro FMR Area

Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI HUD Metro FMR Area

Fort Wayne, IN MSA

Greensboro-High Point, NC HUD Metro FMR Area

Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA MSA

Indianapolis-Carmel, IN HUD Metro FMR Area

Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area

Kansas City, MO-KS HUD Metro FMR Area

Knoxville, TN HUD Metro FMR Area

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA HUD Metro FMR Area

Louisville, KY-IN HUD Metro FMR Area

Memphis, TN-MS-AR HUD Metro FMR Area

Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL HUD Metro FMR Area

Mobile, AL HUD Metro FMR Area

Montgomery, AL MSA

Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN HUD Metro FMR Area

Oklahoma City, OK HUD Metro FMR Area

Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA HUD Metro FMR Area

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ MSA

Raleigh, NC MSA

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA HUD Metro FMR Area

Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area

St. Louis, MO-IL HUD Metro FMR Area

Tucson, AZ MSA

Tulsa, OK HUD Metro FMR Area

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC HUD Metro FMR Area

Wichita, KS HUD Metro FMR Area

Winston-Salem, NC HUD Metro FMR Area

B. SAFMR Methodology

Newly for FY 2025, HUD has calculated SAFMRs for both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. The methodology for calculating SAFMRs is as follows:

First, HUD calculates Small Area FMRs directly from the standard quality gross rents provided to HUD by the Census Bureau for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) when such data are statistically reliable. The ZCTA two-bedroom equivalent 40th percentile gross rent is analogous to the standard quality base rents set for metropolitan areas and non-metropolitan counties. ( print page 66132) For each ZCTA with statistically reliable gross rent estimates, using the expanded test of statistical reliability first used in FY 2018 ( i.e., estimates with margins of error ratios below 50 percent and based on at least 100 observations), HUD calculates a two-bedroom equivalent 40th percentile gross rent using the first statistically reliable gross rent distribution data from the following data sets (in this order): two-bedroom gross rents, one-bedroom gross rents, and three-bedroom gross rents. If either the one-bedroom or three-bedroom gross rent data are used because the two-bedroom gross rent data are not statistically reliable, HUD converts the one-bedroom or three-bedroom 40th percentile gross rent to a two-bedroom equivalent rent using the bedroom ratios for the ZCTA's parent metropolitan or non-metropolitan area. To increase stability to these Small Area FMR estimates, HUD averages the latest three years of gross rent estimates.^[9]

For ZCTAs without usable gross rent data by bedroom count, HUD calculates Small Area FMRs using the rent ratio method. To calculate Small Area FMRs using a rent ratio, HUD divides the median gross rent across all bedrooms for the ZCTA by the similar median gross rent for the metropolitan or non-metropolitan area of the ZCTA. If a ZCTA does not have reliable rent data at the all-bedroom level, HUD will then check to see if the ZCTA borders other ZCTAs that themselves have reliable rent data. If at least half of a ZCTA's “neighbors” have such data, HUD will use the weighted average of those estimates as the basis for the Small Area FMR rather than a county proxy, where the weight is the length of the shared boundary between the ZCTA and its neighbor. In small areas where the neighboring ZCTA median gross rents are not statistically reliable, HUD substitutes the median gross rent for the county containing the ZIP code in the numerator of the rent ratio calculation. HUD multiplies this rent ratio by the current two-bedroom FMR for the metropolitan or non-metropolitan area containing the small area to generate the current year two-bedroom FMR for the small area.

HUD continues to use a rolling average of ACS data in calculating the Small Area FMR rent ratios. HUD believes coupling the most current data with previous year's data minimizes excessive year-to-year variability in Small Area FMR rent ratios due to sampling variance. Therefore, for FY 2025 Small Area FMRs, HUD has updated the rent ratios to use an average of the rent ratios calculated from the 2016-2020, 2017-2021, and 2018-2022 5-year ACS estimates.

HUD limits each two-bedroom Small Area FMR to be no more than 150 percent of the two-bedroom FMR for the metropolitan or non-metropolitan area where the ZIP code is located.

V. Request for Public Comments and FMR Reevaluations

HUD accepts public comments on the methods HUD uses to calculate FY 2025 FMRs and requests for reevaluation of FMRs for specific areas for 30 days after the publication of this notice. HUD lacks the resources to conduct local surveys of rents to address comments filed regarding the FMR levels for specific areas. PHAs may continue to fund such surveys independently, as specified below, using ongoing administrative fees or their administrative fee reserve if they so choose. HUD continually strives to calculate FMRs that meet the statutory requirement of using “the most recent available data” while also serving as an effective program parameter.

A. FMR Reevaluations

42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(1)(B) includes the following: “The Secretary shall establish a procedure for public housing agencies and other interested parties to comment on such fair market rentals and to request, within a time specified by the Secretary, reevaluation of the fair market rentals in a jurisdiction before such rentals become effective.”

PHAs or other parties interested in requesting HUD's reevaluation of their area's FY 2025 FMRs, as provided for under section 8(c)(1)(B) of USHA, must follow the following procedures:

(1) By the end of the 30-day comment period, PHAs or other parties must submit reevaluation requests through https://www.regulations.gov/ or directly to HUD as described in the Addresses section above. The area's PHA or, in multi-jurisdictional areas, PHA(s) representing at least half of the voucher tenants in the FMR area, must agree that the reevaluation is necessary.

(2) The requestor(s) must supply HUD with data more recent than the 2022 ACS data used in the calculation of the FY 2025 FMRs. HUD requires data on gross rents paid in the FMR area for occupied standard quality rental housing units. Occupied recent mover units (defined as those who moved in the past 24 months, although a shorter definition may also be used at the requestor's discretion) provide the best data. The data delivered must be sufficient for HUD to calculate a 40th percentile two-bedroom gross rent. Should this type of data not be available, requestors may gather this information using the survey guidance available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/NoteRevisedAreaSurveyProcedures.pdf and https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/PrinciplesforPHA-ConductedAreaRentSurveys.pdf.

(3) Areas where valid reevaluation requests are submitted may continue to use FY 2024 FMRs, or may use the FY 2025 FMRs. Commenters should indicate whether they wish to maintain the FY 2024 or implement the FY 2025 FMR during the revaluation period as part of their reevaluation request. PHAs requesting reevaluation in areas newly designated as SAFMR areas must adopt SAFMRs, but they may be the FY 2024 SAFMRs or FY 2025 SAFMRs during the reevaluation period. Following the comment period, HUD will post a list, at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html, of the areas requesting reevaluations where FY 2024 FMRs remain in effect.

(4) PHAs or other parties must supply data for reevaluations to HUD no later than Friday, January 10, 2025. All survey responses of rental units gathered as part of the survey efforts should be delivered to HUD via email. New for FY 2025, HUD requests that survey responses include the ZIP Code or comparable small-area identifier (such as Census tract) of the housing unit. In addition to the survey data, HUD requires a current utility schedule to evaluate the survey responses. Finally, HUD encourages PHAs to evaluate their survey data to ensure the survey supports their request. Should PHAs or their contractors undertake this evaluation, HUD requests that this analysis also be submitted.

HUD will use the data delivered by January 10, 2025 to reevaluate the FMRs and following the reevaluation, HUD will post revised FMRs in April of 2025 with an accompanying Federal Register notice stating the revised FMRs are available, which will include HUD's responses to comments filed during the comment period for this notice. By January 17, 2025, HUD will post at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html a listing of the areas that requested FMR reevaluations and continued effect of the FY2024 FMRs, but did not deliver data, making the FY 2025 FMRs effective in these areas. HUD will incorporate any data supporting a change in FMRs supplied after January 10, 2025 into the FY 2026 FMRs. ( print page 66133) Questions on how to conduct FMR surveys may be addressed to the Program Parameters and Research Division at pprd@hud.gov.

For small metropolitan areas without one-year ACS data and non-metropolitan counties, HUD has developed a method of using mail surveys that is discussed on the FMR web page: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html#survey_info. This method allows for the a PHA to submit a valid survey consisting of as few as 100 one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units.

Other survey methods are acceptable in providing data to support reevaluation requests if the survey method can provide statistically reliable, unbiased estimates of gross rents paid throughout the entire FMR area. In general, recommendations for FMR changes and supporting data must reflect the rent levels that exist within the entire FMR area and should be statistically reliable.

PHAs in non-metropolitan areas are required to get 100 eligible survey responses which means they should have at least 5,000 rental units, taking in to account survey non-response rates and the fact that some units will fail to qualify. PHAs may conduct surveys of groups of non-metropolitan counties to increase the number of rental units that are surveyed, but HUD must approve all county-grouped surveys in advance. HUD cautions that the resulting FMRs may not be identical for the counties surveyed; each individual FMR area will have a separate FMR based on the relationship of rents in that area to the combined rents in the cluster of FMR areas. In addition, HUD advises that in counties where FMRs are based on the combined rents in the cluster of FMR areas, HUD will not revise their FMRs unless the grouped survey results show a revised FMR statistically different from the combined rent level.

Survey samples should preferably be randomly drawn from a complete list of rental units for the FMR area. If this is not feasible, the selected sample must be drawn to be statistically representative of the entire rental housing stock of the FMR area. Surveys must include units at all rent levels and be representative by structure type (including single-family, duplex, and other small rental properties), age of housing unit, and geographic location. The current 5-year ACS data should be used as a means of verifying if a sample is representative of the FMR area's rental housing stock. HUD staff are available to work with PHAs in areas requesting re-evaluations to provide the minimum number of survey cases required to ensure that data submitted for re-evaluation represent a statistically valid sample. In cases where a submitted sample is not representative, HUD may attempt to weight the sample cases prior to calculating 40th percentile rent estimates.

A PHA or contractor that cannot obtain the recommended number of sample responses after reasonable efforts should consult with HUD before abandoning its survey; in such situations, HUD may find it appropriate to relax normal sample size requirements, but in no case will fewer than 100 eligible cases be considered.

VI. Environmental Impact

This notice involves the establishment of FMR schedules, which do not constitute a development decision affecting the physical condition of specific project areas or building sites. Accordingly, under 24 CFR 50.19(c)(6), this notice is categorically excluded from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321).

Accordingly, the Fair Market Rent Schedules, which will not be codified in 24 CFR part 888, are available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html.

Solomon Greene,

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research.

Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program

Schedule B—General Explanatory Notes

Arrangement of FMR Areas and Identification of Constituent Parts

a. The Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan FMR Area Schedule lists FMRs alphabetically by state, by metropolitan area and by non-metropolitan county within each state and are available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html.

b. The schedule lists the constituent counties (and New England towns and cities) included in each metropolitan FMR area immediately following the listings of the FMR dollar amounts. All constituent parts of a metropolitan FMR area that are in more than one state can be identified by consulting the listings for each applicable state.

c. The schedule lists two non-metropolitan counties alphabetically on each line of the non-metropolitan county listings.

d. Similarly, the schedule lists the New England towns and cities included in a non-metropolitan county immediately following the county name.