DETERMING SEC 8 VOUCHER RENT

[Jake Drappi]

Good morning BP 

I have been online looking for over 2 hours for specific information on house to determine how much properties can be rented for under section 8.  I have found countless articles online, but none of them are directly from the hud's website (from what I found).  The info I'm finding on non govt websites is a bit conflicting and want to make sure I am pulling my info directly from the govt websites.  Is anyone aware of any direct sources to this information for NJ specifically?  Where can I find how much rent I should be expecting on a property through the house choice voucher program?

Thanks in advance!

[Jennifer Donley]

@Jake Drappi, hang on here - there's a lot that goes into determining rent.  

Generally, Section 8 rents strive to be even with market rents.  

There are some rules and guidelines:

1. HUD sets "fair market rents" for an area. You can find these online. They basically set up a range and more importantly, a ceiling for rents in that area. What these mean in reality is that you can usually get market rate rents in B C and D areas. You will get under market rents from Section 8 in A areas.

2. Then, your local PHA looks at "rent reasonableness" meaning they are trying to keep Section 8 rents comparable to market rents (up to the FMRs).  

3. Then, a tenant can't pay more than 40% of their income to housing expenses (the intent for Section 8 recipients is actually 30% but that number can go to 40% if local rents require it).  So sometimes this can limit your rent amounts.

In practice, every PHA works slightly differently though in how they set rents.  They follow the guides above but they will vary in who determines rents (here for instance we have a "market analyst who does this, in other areas, it's the inspectors). 

Also, there will sometimes be pockets of higher and lower rents that require local knowledge.  

The bottom line in my experience is that you need someone who is doing Section 8 successfully in your market who can tell you the ins and outs of rents there.  Anybody else responding, like me, can give you general but not nitty gritty specifics for your area.

You can call the local PHA but they may or may not give you answers that bear out in real life or that give you enough info.

And I have the exact opposite opinion of @Carl Mathis - I think Section 8 is the only way to go right now, especially in C and D areas.  I also follow this model for B areas (I don't own in A areas).