AgdaPkt 2016-12-12 Closed and Joint SA PFA

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6.3.A. - Page 76 Housing will continue to be unaffordable, and as rents and values rise, fewer people will be able to find a place to live. How do HOME rents / Fair Market Rent compare to Area Median Rent? How might this impact your strategy to produce or preserve affordable housing? Fair Market Rents (FMRs) are estimates, prepared by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, of the rent plus utilities that would be required to rent privately owned, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of a modest nature with suitable amenities. The calculation of FMRs is based on information from the 2010 Census, housing surveys, and the CPI for housing. The rent figures do not necessarily reflect current asking rents, but rather the upper limits of rents that can be used in the negotiations for Section 8 contracts and other similar rent subsidy programs. The difference between FMRs and market rents illustrates the ongoing problem of the need for increased housing subsidies. In addition, FMRs tend to lag behind actual market trends by a year or sometimes more. As the gap between HUD FMRs and rents in the County widen, there are fewer and fewer landlords who will accept Section 8 vouchers and certificates. Actual market rents are often significantly higher than HUD's Fair Market Rents. RealFacts tracks the rental prices in various communities based on surveys of apartment buildings with 50 or more units. The following table illustrates the gap between actual rents, "Fair Market Rents" and with rents defined as "affordable." Affordability, for the purposes of this report, is generally defined as housing where an occupant pays no more than 30% of gross income for rent, including utility costs. The following table shows that the only one category of lower-income households can afford actual market rate rents (shaded green in the table). All other household types would require some assistance to afford market -rate housing in San Mateo. Discussion Consolidated Plan REDWOOD CITY 73 OMB Control No: 2506-0117 (exp. 07/31/2015)