The City of Phoenix now has more Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) to help low-income renters have access to safe, decent, affordable housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded 88 new HCVs to the city’s Housing Department, marking the first non-competitive, general-purpose voucher increase in quite some time. The Housing Department currently has 7,162 vouchers, with the additional 88 becoming effective on October 1.
Additionally, the money tied to HCVs will now go much further in Phoenix with the newly released Fair Market Rents (FMR) from HUD. Annual FMRs refer to the amount of money needed to cover rent and utilities on 40% of rental housing in a given area. While most of the country’s FMRs will increase by about 10% on Oct. 1, Phoenix has seen so much rent growth recently that FMRs will be going up by more than 30%.*
These numbers are important because the Phoenix Housing Department uses them to determine Payment Standards -- how much money a voucher recipient can receive. The increase to FMRs elevates the value of vouchers, giving more opportunities for voucher holders to find rental housing in the private market. Currently, Phoenix’s HCV Payment Standards are set to 120% of FMRs.
*Table 1. Fair Market Rents (FMR) Year-to-Year % Increases for Phoenix, AZ
| 1-Bedroom | 2-Bedroom | 3-Bedroom | 4-Bedroom | |
| 2018 to 2019 | 7% | 6% | 5% | 5% |
| 2019 to 2020 | 10% | 9% | 8% | 8% |
| 2020 to 2021 | 8% | 7% | 5% | 5% |
| 2021 to 2022 | 6% | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| 2022 to 2023 | 34% | 33% | 31% | 31% |
Original source can be found here.
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