Small Area Fair Market Rents in the Housing Choice Voucher Program Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small Area Fair Market Rents, 73352-73354 [2023-23685]

Download as PDF 73352 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 Written comments and suggestions from the public and affected agencies should address one or more of the following four points: (1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. Overview of This Information Collection (1) Type of Information Collection Request: Revision of a Currently Approved Collection. (2) Title of the Form/Collection: EVerify Program. (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the DHS sponsoring the collection: No Agency Form Number; USCIS. (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as well as a brief abstract: Primary: Business or other for-profit. E-Verify is a web-based system which allows employers to electronically confirm the employment eligibility of newly hired employees. (5) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount of time estimated for an average respondent to respond: The estimated total number of respondents for the information collection E-Verify Program for New Users Entry (Employer Enrollment) is 66,330 and the estimated hour burden per response is 2.26 hours; the estimated total number of respondents for the information collection E-Verify Program for New User Training is 66,330 and the estimated hour burden per responses is 1 hour; the estimated total number of respondents for the information collection E-Verify Program for Existing User Annual Training is 358,670 and the estimated hour burden per responses is 0.5 hours; the estimated total number of respondents for the information collection E-Verify Program for Queries and Initial Cases is 235,985 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:01 Oct 24, 2023 Jkt 262001 and the estimated hour burden per responses is 0.121 hours. (6) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated with the collection: The total estimated annual hour burden associated with this collection is 1,966,051 hours. (7) An estimate of the total public burden (in cost) associated with the collection: The estimated total annual cost burden associated with this collection of information is $1,887,000. Dated: October 20, 2023. Jerry L. Rigdon, Deputy Chief, Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security. [FR Doc. 2023–23618 Filed 10–24–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 9111–97–P DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR–6426–N–01] Small Area Fair Market Rents in the Housing Choice Voucher Program Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small Area Fair Market Rents Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: In 2016, HUD completed a final rule requiring the use of Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) in certain metropolitan areas to use in the administration of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. These areas were based on certain selection criteria and values. These criteria are: at least 2,500 HCVs must be under lease in the metropolitan FMR area; at least 20 percent of the standard quality rental stock within the metropolitan FMR area is in small areas (ZIP codes) where the Small Area FMR is more than 110 percent of the metropolitan FMR; the percentage of voucher families living in concentrated low-income areas within the area must be at least 25 percent; the measure of the percentage of voucher holders living in concentrated lowincome areas relative to all renters within these areas over the entire metropolitan area exceeds 155 percent (or 1.55); and the vacancy rate for the metropolitan area is higher than 4 percent. This notice lists the metropolitan areas that will be subject to Small Area FMRs based on the final rule’s requirement that HUD ‘‘make new SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 area designations every 5 years thereafter as new data becomes available.’’ DATES: Implementation date: October 1, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions on this notice may be addressed to Peter Kahn, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Policy Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD Headquarters, 451 7th Street SW, Room 8106, Washington, DC 20410, telephone number (202) 402–2409; or via email at SAFMR_Rule@hud.gov. HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/ telecommunications-relay-service-trs. This Federal Register notice will be available electronically from the HUD User page at https://www.huduser.gov/ portal/datasets/fmr.html. Federal Register notices also are available electronically from https:// www.federalregister.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background On November 16, 2016, HUD published a final rule entitled ‘‘Establishing a More Effective Fair Market Rent (FMR) System; Using Small Area Fair Market Rents (Small Area FMRs) in Housing Choice Voucher Program Instead of the Current 50th Percentile FMRs’’ (81 FR 80567) (‘‘final rule’’ or ‘‘Small Area FMRs final rule’’). As HUD explained in the 2016 Rule, Small Area FMRs complement HUD’s other efforts to support households in making informed choices about units and neighborhoods with the goal of increasing the share of households that choose to use their vouchers in low poverty opportunity areas. In the final rule, HUD announced amendments to HUD’s FMR regulations applicable to the HCV program. Also on November 16, 2016, HUD published a Federal Register notice entitled ‘‘Small Area Fair Market Rents in Housing Choice Voucher Program Values for Selection Criteria and Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small Area Fair Market Rents’’ (81 FR 80678) (‘‘November 2016 notice’’) which established the values for the selection criteria and listed the initial metropolitan areas that are subject to SAFMRs implemented through the Small Area FMRs final rule. The final rule included a requirement that HUD make new area designations every 5 years as new data becomes E:\FR\FM\25OCN1.SGM 25OCN1 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 available. Because the PHAs operating in the areas mandated in the November 2016 notice began using SAFMRs beginning on April 1, 2018, it is now appropriate for HUD to undertake the evaluation of new data and identify additional areas where SAFMRs will be required. II. Policy Development Process and Stakeholder Engagement Staff from the Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) and the Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) engaged in a process of stakeholder outreach and policy development to learn about the implementation of SAFMRs. HUD engaged local PHAs, researchers, and key stakeholders, including fair housing groups, to better understand PHAs’ implementation of SAFMRs and their impact on families. PD&R and PIH held listening sessions with PHAs in several metropolitan areas that were required to adopt SAFMRs under the 2016 rule. Overall, HUD heard from 19 PHAs across these metropolitan areas, as well as from a statewide agency managing the Housing Choice Voucher program. HUD also met with researchers conducting research on the impacts of SAFMRs. PD&R has provided data licenses to four research teams to conduct SAFMR analyses, and two of those teams presented initial findings using HUD’s administrative data. (The other research teams do not yet have research findings to share.) In the policy development process, HUD sought answers to two basic categories of questions: (1) What challenges did PHAs experience in the implementation and administration of SAFMRs? How could HUD improve the policy to make implementation easier? (2) How did the use of SAFMRs impact families with vouchers? Is there evidence that the use of SAFMRs expanded housing choices and opportunity, particularly their ability to access higher-rent, lower-poverty areas? HUD listening sessions with PHAs focused on their experience with implementing SAFMRs, including administrative burdens. PHAs emphasized that implementation required changes to IT systems, staff training, revision of materials and briefings for tenants, and a process of landlord education. While experience varied, many PHAs found the implementation challenging in one or more of these areas, at least initially. Many PHAs also felt that the rollout of the initial SAFMRs happened too quickly, and that PHAs should have at VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:01 Oct 24, 2023 Jkt 262001 least six months—or perhaps a year—to implement the program. Nearly all PHAs also emphasized the importance of additional training and technical assistance to implement SAFMRs. The academic research teams’ preliminary data analysis using HUD’s administrative records identified the following key findings: New voucher recipients were more likely to move to low-poverty neighborhoods after SAFMRs were implemented. The program reduced their overall concentration in low-rent, high-poverty neighborhoods. This finding held across demographic groups, including households of color and those with children. However, the magnitude of these positive effects is modest. These findings for newly admitted families are consistent with those from prior studies, such as HUD’s 2017 interim evaluation of the SAFMR demonstration at five sites. The latter study, however, found much larger increases in the share of existing voucher holders that moved to high-rent areas following SAFMR implementation. SAFMRs did not affect the success of households with vouchers in leasing up (i.e., the number of households leasing up within 180 days), even for highbarrier households or those living in zip codes where SAFMRs were lower than FMRs. These researchers have not yet examined the financial impacts of SAFMRs on PHAs, including the average HAP paid by PHAs. HUD’s 2017 study found, however, that average per unit costs (PUCs) and housing assistance payments (HAPs) declined after SAFMR implementation, as increased costs in higher-rent areas were more than offset by lower costs in lower-rent areas. HUD’s staff undertook an analysis of PHA PUC information between 2015 and 2022. While the average PUC in the mandated metropolitan areas is higher than the average PUC in 2 control groups identified as part of the analysis, there is little discernible difference in the annual change in average PUC in each of these areas. In other words, PUCs did not rise more quickly in mandated metropolitan areas than in other metropolitan areas. The control groups where those areas that met four of the five criteria and three of the five criteria in 2016.1 1 Note: All areas used as control groups met the 2,500 voucher units under lease criteria. PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 73353 III. Selection Parameters for Identifying Small Area FMRs Area Following the outreach process, HUD’s analysis of administrative data and the evaluation of updated selection criteria, HUD deliberated on the appropriate next steps. Following these deliberations, HUD committed to provide: adequate technical assistance, opportunities for peer-to-peer training, additional program materials, and additional training for HUD field office staff. Through this notice, HUD is affirming the same selection values used to determine the first cohort of metropolitan FMR areas subject to SAFMRs for use in the administration of tenant-based assistance under the HCV program in this next round of determinations.2 Metropolitan FMR areas meeting the following requirements will be subject to Small Area FMRs consistent with 24 CFR 888.113(c): (i) There are at least 2,500 HCVs under lease, counted using HUD administrative data as of December 31, 2022; (ii) At least 20 percent of the standard quality rental stock, within the metropolitan FMR area is in small areas (ZIP codes) where the Small Area FMR is more than 110 percent of the metropolitan FMR, measured using HUD’s special tabulations of American Community Survey (ACS) data through the distribution of Adjusted Standard Quality Rental Units, and FY 2023 Fair Market Rents; 3 (iii) The percentage of voucher families living in concentrated lowincome areas within the area must be at least 25 percent calculated using 2023 designations of Qualifies Census Tracts and 2021 ACS 5-year tabulations of renter occupied units; (iv) The measure of the percentage of voucher holders living in concentrated low-income areas relative to all renters within these areas over the entire metropolitan area exceeds 155 percent (or 1.55) using the 2023 designations of Qualified Census Tracts; and (v) The vacancy rate for the metropolitan area is higher than 4 percent calculated as the average of the vacancy rates for each area calculated 2 24 CFR 888.113(c)(4) states, in part, that SAFMR designations are permanent; therefore, the first cohort of areas remain required SAFMR areas and were not reevaluated. 3 For criteria (ii)–(iv) the specifics of how the criteria is calculated is found in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, available at https:// www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2016p/ SAFMR-Notice-Proposed-Rule.pdf. E:\FR\FM\25OCN1.SGM 25OCN1 73354 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices from the 2018, 2019 and 2021 1-year ACS tabulations.4 The additional metropolitan FMR Areas that meet these requirements 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, VANC HUD Metro FMR Area Wichita, KS HUD Metro FMR Area Winston-Salem, NC HUD Metro FMR Area lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 Consistent with the first cohort of Small Area FMR designated areas and as stated in 24 CFR 888.113(c)(4), these designations are permanent. IV. Additional Information Since the first cohort of mandatory Small Area FMR areas were required to begin using Small Area FMRs in the administration of the tenant-based voucher programs in April of 2018, this 4 The calculation of the vacancy rate is defined in the Final Rule, available at https:// www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2016f/ SAFMR-Final-Rule.pdf. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:01 Oct 24, 2023 Jkt 262001 notice fulfills HUD’s 5-year requirement under the Small Area FMR final rule. Setting the implementation date of this notice as October 1, 2024, provides sufficient time for PHAs operating in the newly announced required areas to acquire sufficient training and provides time for further market analysis to prepare to set their payments standards using Small Area FMRs instead of metropolitan area-wide FMRs. Finally, setting an implementation date of October 1, 2024, provides that PHAs operating in this second cohort of mandatory areas, under normal voucher program operations, must have their payment standards aligned with the Small Area FMRs in their operating areas by January 1, 2025. Should a PHA operating in these 41 areas wish to begin using Small Area FMRs in the administration of their voucher programs prior to October 1, 2024, they will need to seek HUD permission pursuant to an opt-in decision by a PHA under 24 CFR 888.113(c)(3): ‘‘A PHA administering an HCV program in a metropolitan area not subject to the application of Small Area FMRs may opt to use Small Area FMRs by seeking approval from HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) through written request to PIH.’’ Until the SAFMRs take effect for PHAs in the 41 metropolitan areas identified in this Notice, any decision by a PHA to use SAFMRs is an opt-in decision, consistent with 24 CFR 88.113(c)(3) and Section 5(b) of PIH Notice 2018–01. If a PHA operating in one these 41 areas is unable to implement Small Area FMRs within the timeframes provided in this notice, they may petition HUD for a temporary exemption as specified in 24 CFR 888.113 (c)(4), which states in part, ‘‘HUD may suspend a Small Area FMR designation from a metropolitan area, or may temporarily exempt a PHA in a Small Area FMR metropolitan area from use of Small Aree FMRs, when HUD by notice make a documented determination that such action is warranted. Actions that may serve as the basis of a suspension of Small Area FMRs are: (i) A Presidentially declared disaster area that results in the loss of a substantial number of housing units; (ii) A sudden influx of displaced households needing permanent housing; or (iii) Other events as determined by the Secretary.’’ For additional guidance, PHAs who want to petition HUD for an exemption should refer to section 9 of PIH Notice 2018– 01, available at https://www.hud.gov/ PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 sites/dfiles/PIH/documents/PIH-201801.pdf. Solomon J. Greene, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. Dominique Blom, General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. [FR Doc. 2023–23685 Filed 10–23–23; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 4210–67–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Geological Survey [GX24NN00TH3L700, OMB Control Number 1028–NEW] Agency Information Collection Activities; Central Flyway Online Goose Harvest Assessment U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment. AGENCY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is proposing a new information collection. DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before December 26, 2023. ADDRESSES: Send your comments on this information collection request (ICR) by mail to USGS, Information Collections Clearance Officer, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 159, Reston, VA 20192; or by email to gs-info_ collections@usgs.gov. Please reference OMB Control Number 1028–NEW Central Flyway Goose Harvest Assessment in the subject line of your comments. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information about this ICR, contact Jay VonBank by email at jvonbank@usgs.gov, or by telephone at (701) 368–0177. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), all information collections require approval. We may not conduct or sponsor, nor are you required to SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\25OCN1.SGM 25OCN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73352-73354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23685]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6426-N-01]


Small Area Fair Market Rents in the Housing Choice Voucher 
Program Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small Area Fair Market Rents

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and 
Indian Housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In 2016, HUD completed a final rule requiring the use of Small 
Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) in certain metropolitan areas to use in 
the administration of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. These 
areas were based on certain selection criteria and values. These 
criteria are: at least 2,500 HCVs must be under lease in the 
metropolitan FMR area; at least 20 percent of the standard quality 
rental stock within the metropolitan FMR area is in small areas (ZIP 
codes) where the Small Area FMR is more than 110 percent of the 
metropolitan FMR; the percentage of voucher families living in 
concentrated low-income areas within the area must be at least 25 
percent; the measure of the percentage of voucher holders living in 
concentrated low-income areas relative to all renters within these 
areas over the entire metropolitan area exceeds 155 percent (or 1.55); 
and the vacancy rate for the metropolitan area is higher than 4 
percent. This notice lists the metropolitan areas that will be subject 
to Small Area FMRs based on the final rule's requirement that HUD 
``make new area designations every 5 years thereafter as new data 
becomes available.''

DATES: Implementation date: October 1, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions on this notice may be 
addressed to Peter Kahn, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office 
of Policy Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, HUD 
Headquarters, 451 7th Street SW, Room 8106, Washington, DC 20410, 
telephone number (202) 402-2409; or via email at [email protected]. 
HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls from individuals who are 
deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or 
communication disabilities. To learn more about how to make an 
accessible telephone call, please visit: https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs.
    This Federal Register notice will be available electronically from 
the HUD User page at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. 
Federal Register notices also are available electronically from https://www.federalregister.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On November 16, 2016, HUD published a final rule entitled 
``Establishing a More Effective Fair Market Rent (FMR) System; Using 
Small Area Fair Market Rents (Small Area FMRs) in Housing Choice 
Voucher Program Instead of the Current 50th Percentile FMRs'' (81 FR 
80567) (``final rule'' or ``Small Area FMRs final rule''). As HUD 
explained in the 2016 Rule, Small Area FMRs complement HUD's other 
efforts to support households in making informed choices about units 
and neighborhoods with the goal of increasing the share of households 
that choose to use their vouchers in low poverty opportunity areas. In 
the final rule, HUD announced amendments to HUD's FMR regulations 
applicable to the HCV program. Also on November 16, 2016, HUD published 
a Federal Register notice entitled ``Small Area Fair Market Rents in 
Housing Choice Voucher Program Values for Selection Criteria and 
Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small Area Fair Market Rents'' (81 FR 
80678) (``November 2016 notice'') which established the values for the 
selection criteria and listed the initial metropolitan areas that are 
subject to SAFMRs implemented through the Small Area FMRs final rule.
    The final rule included a requirement that HUD make new area 
designations every 5 years as new data becomes

[[Page 73353]]

available. Because the PHAs operating in the areas mandated in the 
November 2016 notice began using SAFMRs beginning on April 1, 2018, it 
is now appropriate for HUD to undertake the evaluation of new data and 
identify additional areas where SAFMRs will be required.

II. Policy Development Process and Stakeholder Engagement

    Staff from the Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) and 
the Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) engaged in a process of 
stakeholder outreach and policy development to learn about the 
implementation of SAFMRs. HUD engaged local PHAs, researchers, and key 
stakeholders, including fair housing groups, to better understand PHAs' 
implementation of SAFMRs and their impact on families.
    PD&R and PIH held listening sessions with PHAs in several 
metropolitan areas that were required to adopt SAFMRs under the 2016 
rule. Overall, HUD heard from 19 PHAs across these metropolitan areas, 
as well as from a statewide agency managing the Housing Choice Voucher 
program.
    HUD also met with researchers conducting research on the impacts of 
SAFMRs. PD&R has provided data licenses to four research teams to 
conduct SAFMR analyses, and two of those teams presented initial 
findings using HUD's administrative data. (The other research teams do 
not yet have research findings to share.)
    In the policy development process, HUD sought answers to two basic 
categories of questions:
    (1) What challenges did PHAs experience in the implementation and 
administration of SAFMRs? How could HUD improve the policy to make 
implementation easier?
    (2) How did the use of SAFMRs impact families with vouchers? Is 
there evidence that the use of SAFMRs expanded housing choices and 
opportunity, particularly their ability to access higher-rent, lower-
poverty areas?
    HUD listening sessions with PHAs focused on their experience with 
implementing SAFMRs, including administrative burdens. PHAs emphasized 
that implementation required changes to IT systems, staff training, 
revision of materials and briefings for tenants, and a process of 
landlord education. While experience varied, many PHAs found the 
implementation challenging in one or more of these areas, at least 
initially. Many PHAs also felt that the rollout of the initial SAFMRs 
happened too quickly, and that PHAs should have at least six months--or 
perhaps a year--to implement the program. Nearly all PHAs also 
emphasized the importance of additional training and technical 
assistance to implement SAFMRs.
    The academic research teams' preliminary data analysis using HUD's 
administrative records identified the following key findings:
    New voucher recipients were more likely to move to low-poverty 
neighborhoods after SAFMRs were implemented. The program reduced their 
overall concentration in low-rent, high-poverty neighborhoods. This 
finding held across demographic groups, including households of color 
and those with children. However, the magnitude of these positive 
effects is modest. These findings for newly admitted families are 
consistent with those from prior studies, such as HUD's 2017 interim 
evaluation of the SAFMR demonstration at five sites. The latter study, 
however, found much larger increases in the share of existing voucher 
holders that moved to high-rent areas following SAFMR implementation.
    SAFMRs did not affect the success of households with vouchers in 
leasing up (i.e., the number of households leasing up within 180 days), 
even for high-barrier households or those living in zip codes where 
SAFMRs were lower than FMRs.
    These researchers have not yet examined the financial impacts of 
SAFMRs on PHAs, including the average HAP paid by PHAs. HUD's 2017 
study found, however, that average per unit costs (PUCs) and housing 
assistance payments (HAPs) declined after SAFMR implementation, as 
increased costs in higher-rent areas were more than offset by lower 
costs in lower-rent areas.
    HUD's staff undertook an analysis of PHA PUC information between 
2015 and 2022. While the average PUC in the mandated metropolitan areas 
is higher than the average PUC in 2 control groups identified as part 
of the analysis, there is little discernible difference in the annual 
change in average PUC in each of these areas. In other words, PUCs did 
not rise more quickly in mandated metropolitan areas than in other 
metropolitan areas. The control groups where those areas that met four 
of the five criteria and three of the five criteria in 2016.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Note: All areas used as control groups met the 2,500 voucher 
units under lease criteria.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. Selection Parameters for Identifying Small Area FMRs Area

    Following the outreach process, HUD's analysis of administrative 
data and the evaluation of updated selection criteria, HUD deliberated 
on the appropriate next steps. Following these deliberations, HUD 
committed to provide: adequate technical assistance, opportunities for 
peer-to-peer training, additional program materials, and additional 
training for HUD field office staff.
    Through this notice, HUD is affirming the same selection values 
used to determine the first cohort of metropolitan FMR areas subject to 
SAFMRs for use in the administration of tenant-based assistance under 
the HCV program in this next round of determinations.\2\ Metropolitan 
FMR areas meeting the following requirements will be subject to Small 
Area FMRs consistent with 24 CFR 888.113(c):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ 24 CFR 888.113(c)(4) states, in part, that SAFMR 
designations are permanent; therefore, the first cohort of areas 
remain required SAFMR areas and were not reevaluated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (i) There are at least 2,500 HCVs under lease, counted using HUD 
administrative data as of December 31, 2022;
    (ii) At least 20 percent of the standard quality rental stock, 
within the metropolitan FMR area is in small areas (ZIP codes) where 
the Small Area FMR is more than 110 percent of the metropolitan FMR, 
measured using HUD's special tabulations of American Community Survey 
(ACS) data through the distribution of Adjusted Standard Quality Rental 
Units, and FY 2023 Fair Market Rents; \3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ For criteria (ii)-(iv) the specifics of how the criteria is 
calculated is found in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, available 
at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2016p/SAFMR-Notice-Proposed-Rule.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (iii) The percentage of voucher families living in concentrated 
low-income areas within the area must be at least 25 percent calculated 
using 2023 designations of Qualifies Census Tracts and 2021 ACS 5-year 
tabulations of renter occupied units;
    (iv) The measure of the percentage of voucher holders living in 
concentrated low-income areas relative to all renters within these 
areas over the entire metropolitan area exceeds 155 percent (or 1.55) 
using the 2023 designations of Qualified Census Tracts; and
    (v) The vacancy rate for the metropolitan area is higher than 4 
percent calculated as the average of the vacancy rates for each area 
calculated

[[Page 73354]]

from the 2018, 2019 and 2021 1-year ACS tabulations.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The calculation of the vacancy rate is defined in the Final 
Rule, available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmr2016f/SAFMR-Final-Rule.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The additional metropolitan FMR Areas that meet these requirements 
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

    Consistent with the first cohort of Small Area FMR designated areas 
and as stated in 24 CFR 888.113(c)(4), these designations are 
permanent.

IV. Additional Information

    Since the first cohort of mandatory Small Area FMR areas were 
required to begin using Small Area FMRs in the administration of the 
tenant-based voucher programs in April of 2018, this notice fulfills 
HUD's 5-year requirement under the Small Area FMR final rule. Setting 
the implementation date of this notice as October 1, 2024, provides 
sufficient time for PHAs operating in the newly announced required 
areas to acquire sufficient training and provides time for further 
market analysis to prepare to set their payments standards using Small 
Area FMRs instead of metropolitan area-wide FMRs. Finally, setting an 
implementation date of October 1, 2024, provides that PHAs operating in 
this second cohort of mandatory areas, under normal voucher program 
operations, must have their payment standards aligned with the Small 
Area FMRs in their operating areas by January 1, 2025. Should a PHA 
operating in these 41 areas wish to begin using Small Area FMRs in the 
administration of their voucher programs prior to October 1, 2024, they 
will need to seek HUD permission pursuant to an opt-in decision by a 
PHA under 24 CFR 888.113(c)(3): ``A PHA administering an HCV program in 
a metropolitan area not subject to the application of Small Area FMRs 
may opt to use Small Area FMRs by seeking approval from HUD's Office of 
Public and Indian Housing (PIH) through written request to PIH.'' Until 
the SAFMRs take effect for PHAs in the 41 metropolitan areas identified 
in this Notice, any decision by a PHA to use SAFMRs is an opt-in 
decision, consistent with 24 CFR 88.113(c)(3) and Section 5(b) of PIH 
Notice 2018-01.
    If a PHA operating in one these 41 areas is unable to implement 
Small Area FMRs within the timeframes provided in this notice, they may 
petition HUD for a temporary exemption as specified in 24 CFR 888.113 
(c)(4), which states in part, ``HUD may suspend a Small Area FMR 
designation from a metropolitan area, or may temporarily exempt a PHA 
in a Small Area FMR metropolitan area from use of Small Aree FMRs, when 
HUD by notice make a documented determination that such action is 
warranted. Actions that may serve as the basis of a suspension of Small 
Area FMRs are: (i) A Presidentially declared disaster area that results 
in the loss of a substantial number of housing units; (ii) A sudden 
influx of displaced households needing permanent housing; or (iii) 
Other events as determined by the Secretary.'' For additional guidance, 
PHAs who want to petition HUD for an exemption should refer to section 
9 of PIH Notice 2018-01, available at https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PIH/documents/PIH-2018-01.pdf.

Solomon J. Greene,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and 
Research.
Dominique Blom,
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
[FR Doc. 2023-23685 Filed 10-23-23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.