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Presentation, Discussion, and Possible Action on the 2026 Section 8 Payment Standards
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RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
WHEREAS, the Department is designated as a Public Housing Authority (PHA) and administers both tenant-based and project-based vouchers under the Section 8 Program; and
WHEREAS, 24 CFR ?982.503 requires PHAs to establish payment standards annually for areas served by its tenant-based vouchers, including its Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), Non-Elderly Disabled Vouchers (NED), Mainstream Vouchers, Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Tenant-Based Vouchers, and Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Vouchers;
NOW, therefore, it is hereby,
RESOLVED, that the 2026 tenant-based voucher payment standards for the Department in its role as a PHA, and in accordance with 24 CFR ?982.505, are hereby approved in the form presented to this meeting.
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BACKGROUND
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires PHAs to adopt a payment standard schedule annually that establishes voucher payment standard amounts for each FMR area in the PHA jurisdiction. The PHA must establish payment standard amounts for each unit size, defined as the number of bedrooms in each housing unit. HUD publishes Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) and FMRs for zero-to-four-bedroom units; the payment standard for unit sizes larger than four bedrooms are calculated by adding 15% of the four-bedroom payment standard for each extra bedroom.
The Department, operating as a PHA, may establish the payment standard amount at any level between 90% and 110% of the published SAFMR or FMR without prior authorization from HUD for most voucher types, but this can go up to 120% for VASH and EHV. The establishment of the standard is important because the standard should ensure that tenants are able to rent high-quality units while minimizing the tenant rent burden, but should also allow the PHA to utilize as many vouchers as possible within its funding al...
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