This week, HUD published Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for Fiscal Year 2023, effective October 1, 2022. FMRs are used in a variety of HUD programs and are published annually as an estimate of the amount of money that would cover gross rents (rent and utility expenses) on 40 percent of the rental housing units in an area. Nationally, FMRs will increase by an average of approximately 10 percent in FY23, a significant increase over the usual 4 percent increases, enabling more households with housing vouchers to access affordable, stable housing. Nationally, rents have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic and have exacerbated housing instability and housing cost burdens across the country. To address a temporary data availability challenge because of COVID-19, and to align with rapidly changing rental market conditions, HUD is using private sector data to estimate changes in 2023 FMRs. More info here.
