[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60223-60231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18402]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-6401-N-02]


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

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

ACTION: Notice of fiscal year (FY) 2024 Fair Market Rents (FMRs).

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SUMMARY: Section 8(c)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
(USHA), as amended by the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization 
Act of 2016 (HOTMA), requires the Secretary to publish FMRs not less 
than annually, adjusted to be effective on October 1 of each year. This 
notice describes the methods used to calculate the FY 2024 FMRs and 
enumerates the procedures for Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and other 
interested parties to request reevaluations of their FMRs as required 
by HOTMA.

DATES: 
    Comment Due Date: October 2, 2023.
    Effective Date of Revised FMRs: October 1, 2024, unless HUD 
receives a valid request for reevaluation of specific area FMRs as 
described below.

ADDRESSES: HUD invites interested persons to submit comments regarding 
the FMRs and to request reevaluation of the FY 2024 FMRs. 
Communications must refer to the above docket number and title and 
should contain the information specified in the ``Request for Public 
Comments and FMR

[[Page 60224]]

Reevaluations'' section. There are two methods for submitting public 
comments:
    1. Electronic Submission of Comments. Interested persons may submit 
comments or reevaluation requests electronically through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. HUD strongly 
encourages commenters to submit comments or reevaluation requests 
electronically. Electronic submission of comments or reevaluation 
requests allows the author maximum time to prepare and submit a comment 
or reevaluation request, ensures timely receipt by HUD, and enables HUD 
to make them immediately available to the public. Comments or 
reevaluation requests submitted electronically through the https://www.regulations.gov website can be viewed by other submitters and 
interested members of the public. Commenters or reevaluation requestors 
should follow instructions provided on that site to submit comments or 
reevaluation requests electronically.
    2. Submission of Comments by Mail. Members of the public may submit 
comments or requests for reevaluation by mail to the Regulations 
Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500. 
Due to security measures at all Federal agencies, however, submission 
of comments by standard mail often results in delayed delivery. To 
ensure timely receipt of comments or reevaluation requests, HUD 
recommends that comments or requests submitted by standard mail be 
submitted at least two weeks in advance of the deadline. HUD will make 
comments or reevaluation requests received by mail available to the 
public at https://www.regulations.gov.

    Note:  To receive consideration as public comments or 
reevaluation requests, comments or requests must be submitted 
through one of the two methods specified above. Again, all 
submissions must refer to the docket number and title of the notice.

    No Facsimile Comments or Reevaluation Requests. HUD does not accept 
facsimile (FAX) comments or requests for FMR reevaluation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information on the 
methodology used to develop FMRs or a listing of all FMRs, please call 
the HUD USER information line at 800-245-2691 or access the information 
on the HUD USER website at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html.
    Questions related to the use of FMRs or voucher payment standards 
should be directed to the respective local HUD program staff or the 
Office of Public and Indian Housing Customer Service Center at https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/public_indian_housing/about/css. Questions 
on how to conduct FMR surveys may be addressed to the electronic 
mailbox for the Program Parameters and Research Division at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7c7c7c5d3f7dfc2d399d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="99e9e9ebfdd9f1ecfdb7fef6ef">[email protected]</span></a>.
    Electronic Data Availability. 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/, the 
U.S. Government Printing Office website. Complete documentation of the 
methods and data used to compute each area's FY 2024 FMRs is available 
at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html#2024_query. FY 2024 
FMRs are available in a variety of electronic formats at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html, including in PDF and 
Microsoft Excel. Small Area FMRs for all metropolitan FMR areas are 
available in Microsoft Excel format at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/smallarea/index.html. For informational purposes, HUD also 
publishes 50th percentile rents for all FMR areas at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/50per.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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. 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. 
The FMR is also used to determine the Performance Based Contract 
Administration Fee in Multifamily Housing. HUD's FMR calculations 
represent HUD's best effort to estimate the 40th percentile gross rent 
\1\ 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.
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    \1\ HUD also calculates and posts 50th percentile rent estimates 
for the purposes of Success Rate Payment Standards as defined at 24 
CFR 982.503(e) (estimates available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/50per.html).
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    On June 23, 2023, HUD published a notice of Proposed Changes to the 
Methodology Used for Calculating Fair Market Rents.\2\ For FY 2024 
FMRs, HUD is implementing the proposed changes described in that 
notice. The first affects how HUD determines the ``recent mover 
adjustment factor'' to meet its regulatory objective of setting the FMR 
from the distribution of rental units occupied by recent movers. The 
second change affects how HUD inflates the recent mover rent to the 
most recent full calendar year using a Gross Rent Inflation Adjustment 
Factor. The methodology used in each of these steps is described in 
more detail in the following section.
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    \2\ 88 FR 41118.
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II. Procedures for the Development of FMRs

    Section 8(c)(1) of the USHA,\3\ 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

[[Page 60225]]

become effective. Consistent with the statute, HUD is issuing this 
notice to notify the public that FY 2024 FMRs are available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html and will become effective on 
October 1, 2023. This notice also provides procedures for FMR 
reevaluation requests.
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    \3\ 42 U.S.C. 1437f.
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III. FMR Methodology

    This section provides a brief overview of how HUD computes the FY 
2024 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#2024_query.

A. Geographic Area Definitions

    The FY 2024 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 2024.

B. Base Year Rents

    For FY 2024 FMRs, HUD uses the U.S. Census Bureau's 5-year ACS data 
collected between 2017 and 2021 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 2024 FMRs. HUD pairs a ``margin of 
error'' test \4\ 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.
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    \4\ HUD's margin of error test requires that the margin of error 
of the ACS estimate is less than half the size of the estimate 
itself.
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    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 will use an average of the base rents over 
the three most recent years \5\ (provided that there is data available 
for at least two of these years),\6\ 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.
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    \5\ For FY 2024, the three years of ACS data in question are 
2018, 2019 and 2020. HUD adjusts the 2018 and 2019 data to be 
denominated in 2020 dollars using the growth in Consumer Price Index 
(CPI)-based gross rents measured between 2018 and 2020.
    \6\ To be used in the three-year average calculation, the 5-year 
estimates must be minimally statistically qualified; that is, the 
margin of error of the estimates must be less than half the size of 
the estimate.
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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 
2017-2021 standard quality two-bedroom gross rent and the 1-year 2021 
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.
    Newly for FY 2024, HUD is modifying the definition of ``recent 
mover'' used in determining the 2021 recent mover gross rent as 
described above. To make its recent mover adjustment as reflective of 
current market conditions as possible, HUD first considers the rents of 
households who moved into their unit only in the current ACS year. For 
ACS 2021, 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. This differs from HUD's prior 
practice of considering rents from householders who moved into their 
unit in either the current year or prior year.
    However, restricting the ACS universe to recent movers limits the 
sample size supporting the resulting estimates, potentially harming the 
statistical reliability of those estimates. 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. 
These criteria also apply for the new, single-year definition of recent 
movers. For areas without an ACS estimate meeting these criteria, HUD 
next checks the estimate tabulated from two-year recent movers, 
following its prior methodology.

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.\7\ HUD updates the 2010 base year data to 2021 using the 
growth in national ACS data for the FY 2024 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 2025 FMRs.
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    \7\ The ACS is not conducted in the Pacific Islands (Guam, 
Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa) or the US Virgin 
Islands. As part of the 2010 Decennial Census, the Census Bureau 
conducted ``long-form'' sample surveys for these areas. HUD uses the 
results gathered by this long form survey for the FY 2024 FMRs.
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    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 2021 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 2024 FMRs is from 
2021, larger areas with valid one-year recent mover data may not use 
other survey data collected before June 30, 2021 for the FY 2024 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 2024 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:

[[Page 60226]]

    <bullet> HUD uses survey data from 2019 to calculate the FMRs for 
Kauai County, HI; and Guam.
    <bullet> HUD uses survey data from 2021 to calculate the FMRs for 
Abilene, TX MSA; Asheville, NC HUD Metro FMR Area; Boston-Cambridge-
Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area; Bremerton-Silverdale, WA MSA; Iron 
County, UT; Knox County, ME; Lincoln County, ME; New York, NY HUD Metro 
FMR Area; Portland, ME HUD Metro FMR Area; Portland-Vancouver-
Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA; San Diego-Carlsbad, CA MSA; Santa Maria-Santa 
Barbara, CA MSA; Transylvania County, NC; and Waldo County, ME.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> HUD uses survey data from 2023 to calculate the FMRs for 
San Benito County, CA HUD Metro FMR Area; and Santa Cruz-Watsonville, 
CA MSA.

E. Gross Rent Inflation Adjustment Factors

    The ACS recent mover rent estimates as described above produce a 
rent value that is ``as of'' 2021. In the past, HUD has updated the 
latest ACS-based rent estimates with one year of gross rent inflation 
measured with the 23 local or 4 regional CPI components rent of primary 
residence and household fuels and utilities depending on the location 
of the FMR area. For FY 2023, HUD augmented the CPI methodology by 
including available private data sources along with CPI data in 
calculating a weighted average gross rent inflation factor that was 
used to update the ACS-based ``as of'' 2020 rent through 2021. HUD 
applied a weight of 60 percent to the average of the change in private 
data sources and 40 percent to the annual change in CPI gross rents. In 
places without sufficient private rent data sources, the actual 
inflation adjustment process solely used regional CPI data.
    For FY 2024, HUD is continuing to augment CPI rent inflation data 
with private sources of rent data to create a gross rent inflation 
adjustment factor. Recent research has indicated that there is a 
substantial lag in the overall CPI rent of primary residence index's 
ability to capture changes in recent mover rents, and that private rent 
measure are often better at capturing such changes quickly. The private 
measures of rent used by HUD are the RealPage average effective rent 
per unit, Moody's Analytics REIS average market rent, CoStar Group 
average effective rent, CoreLogic, Inc. single-family combined 3-
bedroom median rent, ApartmentList Rent Estimate, 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 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 55.8 percent and the CPI rent inflation measure is 
weighted at approximately 44.2 percent. HUD has determined 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 2017 through 2021. 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 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.
    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.
    Unlike in FY 2023, 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'' 2022.

F. Trend Factor Forecasts

    Following the application of the appropriate gross rent inflation 
factor, HUD trends the gross rent estimate from 2022 to FY 2024 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 and is keeping it constant for 5 years. HUD will 
reassess the model selections during the calculation of the FY 2025 
FMRs. 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 updates the bedroom ratios used in the calculation of FMRs 
annually. The bedroom ratios HUD uses in the calculation of FY 2024 
FMRs are calculated from three, five-year ACS data series (2015-2019, 
2016-2020, and 2017-2021). 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.
    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. 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.

[[Page 60227]]

    In the calculation of FY 2024 FMR estimates, HUD sets the bedroom 
interval ranges as follows: efficiency FMRs are constrained to fall 
between 0.68 and 0.87 of the two-bedroom FMR; one-bedroom FMRs must be 
between 0.76 and 0.89 of the two-bedroom FMR; three-bedroom FMRs (prior 
to the adjustments described below) must be between 1.12 and 1.30 of 
the two-bedroom FMR; and four-bedroom FMRs (again, prior to adjustment) 
must be between 1.24 and 1.58 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.
    HUD also further adjusts the rents for three-bedroom and larger 
units to reflect HUD's policy to set higher rents for these units.\8\ 
This adjustment is intended to increase the likelihood that the largest 
families, who have the most difficulty in leasing units, will be 
successful in finding eligible program units. The adjustment adds 8.7 
percent to the unadjusted three-bedroom FMR estimates and adds 7.7 
percent to the unadjusted four-bedroom FMR estimates.
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    \8\ As mentioned above, HUD applies the interval ranges for the 
three-bedroom and four-bedroom FMR ratios prior to making these 
adjustments. In other words, the adjusted three- and four-bedroom 
FMRs can exceed the interval ranges but the unadjusted FMRs cannot.
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    HUD derives FMRs for units with more than four bedrooms by adding 
15 percent to the four-bedroom FMR for each extra bedroom. For example, 
the FMR for a five-bedroom unit is 1.15 times the four-bedroom FMR, and 
the FMR for a six-bedroom unit is 1.30 times the four-bedroom FMR. 
Similarly, HUD derives FMRs for single-room occupancy units by 
subtracting 25 percent from the zero-bedroom FMR (i.e., they are set at 
0.75 times the zero-bedroom (efficiency) FMR).\9\
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    \9\ As established in the interim rules implementing the 
provisions of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 
1998 (Title V of the FY 1999 HUD Appropriations Act; Pub. L. 105-
276) in 24 CFR 982.604.
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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 rent. State-minimum rents for each FMR area are available 
in the FY 2024 FMR Documentation System, available at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html#2024_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 2024, the national non-
metropolitan rent is $905. 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

    Within the Small Area FMR final rule published on November 16, 
2016,\10\ HUD amended 24 CFR 888.113 to 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 use of 
Small Area FMRs in the administration of their voucher programs is 
required, the FY 2024 Small Area FMRs may be no less than 90 percent of 
the FY 2023 Small Area FMRs. For all other metropolitan areas, the FY 
2024 Small Area FMRs may be no less than 90 percent of the greater of 
the FY 2023 metropolitan area wide FMRs or the applicable FY 2023 Small 
Area FMR.
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    \10\ 81 FR 80567.
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    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 
2024 FMR Documentation System (available at: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html#2024_query).

J. Methodology Appendix

    To derive the weights used for the private shelter rent inflation 
factors and the CPI rent of primary residence, HUD compared the 
national average private rent inflation rates and CPI rent of primary 
residence inflation rates to the national average increase in ACS 
recent mover rents. While private rent data and ACS recent mover rents 
measure rent inflation for recent movers, the CPI rent of primary 
residence measures rent inflation across all rental units, and while 
ACS recent mover rents and CPI rent of primary residence originate from 
representative samples, private rent data inflation is derived from 
large samples of rents that are not constructed to be fully 
representative of the rental stock. To temper any potential bias 
arising from the non-representativeness of the private data sources, 
HUD constructs a weighted average of private rent data and CPI rent of 
primary residence that minimizes the root mean squared error between 
the weighted average changes in private rent data and CPI rent of 
primary residence compared to the changes in national average ACS 
recent mover rents for the years 2017 through 2021. Since 2020 ACS 
recent mover rent data are not available, HUD interpolates a value for 
2020 by assuming the rate of increase was constant from 2019 to 2021. 
The resulting weights are approximately 55.8 percent private rent data 
and 44.2 percent CPI rent of primary residence.

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                                                   2017-18         2018-19         2019-20         2020-21                      Weights
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Average Private Change.......................           3.34%           3.62%           1.11%           7.59%  Private--0.558388.
ACS National Recent Mover Change.............           5.24%           4.06%           7.34%           7.34%  CPI RPR--0.441612.
CPI RPR......................................           3.62%           3.71%           3.12%           2.25%
Weighted Avg of CPI RPR and Private Change...           3.46%           3.66%           2.00%           5.23%
Squared Error................................           3E-04           2E-05           3E-03           4E-04
Minimum Possible RMSE........................           3.01%
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[[Page 60228]]

    HUD will use these values of the weights for the FY 2024 FMRs and 
will perform the same analysis including new data for purposes of 
setting weights each year, e.g., for FY2025 FMRs, 2022 ACS recent mover 
rents, 2022 private rent data and 2022 CPI rent of primary residence 
would be included in the analysis to set the weights. Thus, the weights 
for private rent data and CPI rent of primary residence in the gross 
rent inflation adjustment factors will vary based on such reanalysis in 
future versions of FMRs.

IV. Small Area FMRs

    HUD lists Small Area FMRs for all metropolitan areas in the Small 
Area FMR Schedule. Metropolitan PHAs operating in areas where the use 
of Small Area FMRs is not mandated should contact their local HUD field 
office to request approval for using Small Area FMRs in the operation 
of their Housing Choice Voucher program.
    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. 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 area. To increase stability to these Small Area FMR 
estimates, HUD averages the latest three years of gross rent 
estimates.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ For example, for FY 2024 Small Area FMRs, HUD averages the 
gross rents from 2019, 2020, and 2021 5-Year ACS estimates. The 2019 
and 2020 gross rent estimates would be adjusted to 2021 dollars 
using the metropolitan area's gross rent CPI adjustment factors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 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 
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 2024 Small Area FMRs, HUD has updated the rent ratios 
to use an average of the rent ratios calculated from the 2015-2019, 
2016-2020, and 2017-2021 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 area where the ZIP 
code is located.

V. Response to Comments on Proposed Changes to FMR Calculation

    On June 23, 2023, HUD published a notice of Proposed Changes to the 
Methodology Used for Calculating Fair Market Rents.\12\ In response to 
this notice HUD received 25 public comments. The following sections 
respond to these comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ 88 FR 41118.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

a. Public Comments Supporting the Proposed Changes to the Methodology 
Used for Calculating FMRs

    The majority of commenters supported both of HUD's proposed changes 
to the FY 2024 FMR calculation methodology, specifically: (1) retaining 
and expanding the use of rent inflation factors calculated by private 
sector data sources and (2) changing the ``recent mover'' definition 
from a maximum of 23 months to 11 months. Commenters stated that these 
changes are likely to produce FMRs that are more accurate because the 
private data sources are updated more recently than the CPI and because 
rents for tenants who have moved within the past year are more 
reflective of current rental prices. Several commenters also mentioned 
the importance of capturing the high rate of inflation.
    There were no commenters opposed to the ``recent mover'' 
redefinition, although one commenter expressed concern that it could 
increase volatility. There were also no commenters expressly opposed to 
the expanded use of private data, although some commenters expressed 
concerns about insufficient transparency into the companies' 
methodologies and into HUD's selection criteria.
    Several commenters applauded HUD for the methodological changes 
implemented in FY 2023, noting that FMRs were significantly more 
reflective of real market conditions last year than in the past.
    HUD Response: Partially in response to the supportive comments, HUD 
is retaining and expanding the use of private rent inflation data in 
its FMR calculation. HUD consistently strives for transparency in its 
FMR calculation by maintaining an online lookup tool that shows the 
component factors of each area's FMR calculation. HUD is committed to 
further research on the various methodologies used by private companies 
and making this research publicly available.

b. Public Comments Recommending Additional Changes or Alterations to 
the Proposed Changes to the Methodology Used for Calculating FMRs

i. Suggestions To Further Expand Usage of Private or Alternative Data 
Sources
    While most commenters expressed support for the expanded use of 
private data as proposed for FY 2024, several commenters recommended 
that HUD expand its use even further in FY 2025. One commenter 
recommended that HUD replace the use of 5-year ACS data with private 
data since this accounts for 80% of FMR areas. Another recommended that 
HUD augment the gross rent CPI data used in the Trend Factor 
calculation with private data, (which they had also recommended in 
their public comment submitted for FY 2023). Another commenter 
recommended additional private or alternative data sources for HUD to 
consider including in FY 2025 calculations. Another commenter expressed 
concern that HUD has

[[Page 60229]]

provided insufficient justification for its three private data sources 
standard. Another requested further clarification from HUD on HUD's 
selection criteria for private data sources.
ii. Request for More Transparency in Private Data
    Multiple commenters expressed concern that there is insufficient 
transparency into the methodologies used by the private companies in 
calculating rental rates.
iii. Request That FMR Calculation Be More Localized
    Two commenters requested that local data sources, specifically the 
University of Southern California Lusk Center for Real Estate, 
University of California Los Angeles Lewis Center for Regional Policy 
Studies, and the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS), be 
added to the private data as alternative sources. Another commenter 
requested that local PHAs be allowed to set their own FMRs in order to 
properly account for hyperlocal conditions, while another suggested 
that FMRs instead be set ``within the state based on local 
conditions.'' A commenter recommended that HUD consider basing its 
inflation adjustment on smaller geographic areas for rental markets 
with many submarkets, such as Los Angeles.
    HUD Response: The private rental data available to HUD do not 
represent the entirety of the rental market. The data sources are in 
some cases based on online rental listings or consist of surveys of 
large multifamily properties. Research has shown that despite these 
limitations, the changes in rent reported by these sources are similar 
to the change in rent from the overall rental market. Therefore, HUD is 
comfortable using these sources as a source of the shelter rent 
inflation rate for markets where such data are available. However, they 
cannot be used to establish the base rent for each area, as they do not 
provide a 40th percentile rent statistic, and if they did, such a 
statistic would not be drawn from a representative sample of the entire 
rental market as is the case with gross rent estimates from the ACS.
    HUD is aware that, given the limitations in the CPI rent of primary 
residence as a measure of recent mover rents, there are concerns in 
continuing to rely on that series in the trend factor. However, given 
the complexities of forecasting, HUD has not arrived an alternative 
methodology. Moreover, until very recently, both the overall CPI rent 
of primary residence and the CPI new tenant repeat rent index showed 
similar rates of inflation, suggesting that convergence in the future 
is a reasonable assumption.
    As previously stated, HUD consistently strives for transparency in 
its FMR calculation by maintaining an online lookup tool that shows the 
component factors of each area's FMR calculation. HUD is committed to 
further research on the various methodologies used by private companies 
and making this research publicly available. In some cases, the 
proprietary nature of the data and methodologies used by various 
companies limit the ability of HUD to provide transparency.
    With respect to alternative data sources, interested parties may 
submit any survey or comprehensive rental market study that provides a 
40th percentile rent estimate for recent movers that is more current 
than the year of the ACS for consideration to HUD. In the case of the 
New York Housing and Vacancy Survey however, the most recent data are 
from 2017.

c. Public Comments That Address Alternative FMR Calculations and the 
Determination of FMR Amounts

i. Comments Concerning the FMR Amounts
    Multiple commenters indicated that FMR values have historically 
been too low, and continue to be too low, causing individuals and 
families to be unable to find housing. On the other hand, some 
commenters indicated that high FMR values have negatively affected 
tenant ability to afford units when flat rents are set to 80% of FMRs.
ii. Comments Suggesting Alternative FMR Calculation Methodologies
    Multiple commenters suggested alternative methodologies for HUD to 
use in calculating FMRs that differ significantly from current methods. 
One commenter encouraged the use of a ``Fair and Reasonable'' approach 
in the setting of FMR amounts, rather than the method currently used to 
set FMR rates. One commenter lamented that Public Housing Authorities 
have had difficulty serving tenants amidst rising rental prices and 
recommended that PHAs be allowed to determine the rental rates for 
their own jurisdiction based on a ``rent reasonableness'' standard, 
their budget, and their total number of assigned vouchers. Another 
commenter recommended that HUD factor vacancy rates into its FMR 
calculations, although they did not expand on how it should be factored 
in. A commenter recommended that HUD fundamentally change the FMR 
calculation from an estimate of current rents in the area to instead be 
based on ``what the near-term rent needs to be to attract the private 
capital necessary to create the type of housing that is desired'' in 
neighborhoods that ``lack affordable housing units but face strong 
demand from local residents.'' One commenter recommended that HUD adopt 
an Island-Wide FMR specifically for Puerto Rico to increase 
administrative efficiency. Another commenter recommended that HUD 
reconsider its use of 40th percentile rent limits; if voucher holders 
are unable to secure rental housing at this rate, the commenter 
suggested that PHAs have the discretion to incorporate the use of 50th 
percentile rent levels instead.
    HUD Response: In setting the overall level of the FMR, HUD must 
balance the interests of ensuring that families have an adequate choice 
of decent and safe housing while seeking to maximize the number of 
families who can receive assistance. HUD's current regulations set the 
FMR at the 40th percentile rent, a statistic which is below the average 
rent in each area, to achieve this balance. With respect to the Voucher 
program, there are numerous ways in which the payment standard can 
exceed the FMR, including exception payment standards and success rate 
payment standards.
    With respect to flat rents, there are numerous options for PHAs in 
circumstances where the FMR is too high for an appropriate flat rent, 
such as the use of Small Area FMRs or conducting a rent comparability 
study.
    HUD periodically conducts research on potential improvements to the 
voucher program. For example, several PHAs who participate in the 
Moving to Work demonstration have conducted their own rental market 
studies and determined their own payment standards rather than rely on 
the FMR. The Department is committed to continuing to evaluate this and 
other research and determine the best approach to determining rental 
subsidy rates.
    It is not clear that setting higher FMRs would increase housing 
supply, as the largest barrier to the creation of new affordable 
housing in many areas is land use restrictions. Instead, setting FMRs 
higher based on a desire to attract new capital would likely lead to 
undue subsidy capture by current landlords.
    HUD is committed to working with stakeholders in Puerto Rico 
regarding what the appropriate level of geography is for determining 
Fair Market Rent areas. To date, HUD has received little feedback on 
this issue.

[[Page 60230]]

d. Public Comments Regarding Suggestions for the Methodology Used for 
Calculating FMRs After FY 2024

    One commenter recommended that for areas that use SAFMRs, HUD 
replace the three private data sources standard with either a minimum 
population or rental unit count, as these areas may have the requisite 
population/unit density.
    One commenter recommended that rather than using a minimum of three 
private data sources, HUD use only data from the two private 
providers--CoreLogic and Zillow--that have an established relationship 
with the CPI according to the BLS/Fed study. Another commenter 
recommended that HUD continue to follow up on the BLS/Fed study with a 
longitudinal study to observe the accuracy of FMR calculation methods 
with private sector data.
    One commenter who supported both of HUD's proposals recommended 
that HUD increase transparency by producing a new annual report 
detailing national FMR statistics in the aggregate (i.e., percent of 
areas where FMRs did not pass statistical reliability checks).
    One commenter tentatively supports the use of private data, but 
requests that the sources be required to release their coverage areas 
and methodology for public comment; this commenter also tentatively 
supports the redefinition of ``recent mover'' but is concerned that it 
may increase volatility and suggests that HUD incorporate additional 
safeguards in general against year-over-year volatility.
    HUD Response: With respect to the use of only CoreLogic and Zillow, 
note that the BLS/Fed study did not examine the other data sources 
available to HUD. HUD has replicated the correlations among the 
additional sources and the CPI NTRR as was done in the study and feels 
that the results justify including the additional sources. 
Additionally, the BLS/Fed study considered only national changes in 
rent. At the local level, rent data are more volatile and including 
additional data sources reduces some of this volatility. HUD does 
intend to continue tracking the relationship among private sources of 
rent data and the CPI NTRR subject to the latter's availability.
    With respect to transparency, HUD would be willing to provide 
aggregate statistics on the various adjustment categories that FMR 
areas are subject to; however, with many such adjustments it is not 
clear which would be most salient for users. Interested parties are 
invited to comment on this in response to this notice.
    On the issue of geographic coverage, HUD only uses private sources 
in cases where the geographic coverage closely matches HUD's FMR area 
definitions.
    HUD agrees that volatility is a concern in setting FMRs and making 
methodology changes. At the same time, rental markets themselves may be 
genuinely volatile and therefore FMRs may exhibit some degree of 
volatility by virtue of being accurately calculated.

VI. Request for Public Comments and FMR Reevaluations

    HUD accepts public comments on the methods HUD uses to calculate FY 
2024 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.

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 2024 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 
2021 ACS data used in the calculation of the FY 2024 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 requestors discretion) provide the best data. The data 
delivered must be sufficient for HUD to calculate a 40th and 50th 
percentile two-bedroom gross rent.\13\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ Although there are no longer 50th percentile FMRs, HUD must 
calculate 50th percentile rents for the Success Rate Payment 
Standard under 24 CFR 982.503(e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Areas where valid reevaluation requests are submitted may 
continue to use FY 2023 FMRs, or may use the FY 2024 FMRs. Commenters 
should indicate whether they wish to maintain the FY 2023 or implement 
the FY 2024 FMR during the revaluation period as part of their 
reevaluation request. 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 2023 FMRs remain in effect.
    4. PHAs or other parties must supply data for reevaluations to HUD 
no later than Friday January 5, 2024. All survey responses of rental 
units gathered as part of the survey efforts should be delivered to 
HUD. 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 5, 2024 to reevaluate 
the FMRs and following the reevaluation, will post revised FMRs in 
April of 2024 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 
12, 2024, 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 FY2023 FMRs but did not deliver data, making 
the FY 2024 FMRs effective in these areas. HUD will incorporate any 
data supporting a change in FMRs supplied after January 5, 2024 into FY 
2025 FMRs. Questions on how to conduct FMR surveys may be addressed to 
the Program Parameters and Research Division at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7606060412361e031258111900"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="88f8f8faecc8e0fdeca6efe7fe">[email protected]</span></a>.

[[Page 60231]]

    For small metropolitan areas without one-year ACS data and non-
metropolitan counties, HUD has developed a method 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 collection 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 of 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. 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. Staff from HUD's Program 
Parameters and Research Division will 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.
    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.

Calculating Small Area FMRs Using Rent Distributions

    Since FY 2016, HUD has provided guidance and data on how to provide 
data-supported comments on Small Area FMRs using HUD's special 
tabulations of the distribution of gross rents by unit bedroom count 
for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas. HUD has not received any such requests 
since 2017 and is therefore discontinuing the publication of these 
data.

VII. 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.

[FR Doc. 2023-18402 Filed 8-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P


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