Every year HUD publishes their FMR (Fair Market Rent) data. HUD (US. Department of Housing & Urban Development) uses this data to figure out what the standard payments are for their Housing Choice Voucher program, including Section 8 tenants. I think this provides a wealth of information for landlord who want to know if their rents are competitive.
Each year they estimate FMRs for 530 metropolitan areas and 2,045 nonmetropolitan county FMR areas. They are required, by law to publish these annually by the start of the fiscal year, which is on October 1st.
Each year they estimate FMRs for 530 metropolitan areas and 2,045 nonmetropolitan county FMR areas. They are required, by law to publish these annually by the start of the fiscal year, which is on October 1st.
The FMRs are estimates of gross rents, which include the rental unit/building plus the cost of all tenant-paid utilities, except telephones, cable or satellite television service, and internet service. So, keep this in mind when you look at the rents you charge. HUD will generally pay less if the tenant has to pay the cost of some or all utilities. like gas, electric and water.
In order to figure out what these rental rates are, they look at data such as the Decennial Census, provided by the American Community Surveys (ACS) and the American Housing Surveys (AHS) provided by the Bureau of Census. HUD updates the base year FMRs to “fair market” each year by also using local and regional CPI data for rents and utilities.
This is the link to the 2010 HUD Fair Market Rents
If you want to see FMR data for previous years, as well as the HUD FMR Overview, you can find it at HUD’s site
here.
That’s just one great tool that smart landlords can use to keep their rents current!
Regards,
Steven Boorstein
Author/Landlord
Landlord Business Insider – The Way SMART Landlords Do It!
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