Department of Housing and Urban Development June 12, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Section 8(c)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (USHA) requires the Secretary to publish FMRs periodically, but not less than annually, adjusted to be effective on October 1 of each year. Today's notice proposes FMRs for FY 2009 to be used: To determine payment standard amounts for the Housing Choice Voucher program, to determine initial renewal rents for some expiring project-based Section 8 contracts, and to determine initial rents for housing assistance payment (HAP) contracts in the Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program. Other programs may require use of FMRs for other purposes. The proposed FY 2009 FMR areas are based on current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) metropolitan area definitions and include HUD modifications that were first used in the determination of FY 2006 FMR areas. OMB changes to the metropolitan area definitions through November 2007 are incorporated. This means that there are six Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) name changes that reorder, add, or delete a primary city name.\1\ Proposed FY 2009 FMRs are based on 2000 Census data updated with more current survey data. For FY 2009, FY 2008 FMRs are updated using 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) data, Random Digit Dialing (RDD) telephone rent surveys conducted since the release of the final FY 2008 FMRs, and more recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) rent and utility indexes. HUD continues to use ACS data in different ways according to how many two-bedroom standard-quality and recent-mover sample cases are available in the FMR area or its Core- Based Statistical Area (CBSA). Revised 2006 FMRs based on Census and ACS data have been updated with CPI data through the end of 2007 and then trended to April 2009, the mid-point of FY 2009.