HUD Publishes Final FY 2012 FMRs

Summary:  On September 30, 2011, HUD published a notice of its final FY 2012 Fair Market Rents (FMRs) for all areas that reflect the estimated 40th and 50th percentile rent levels which take effect on October 1, 2011.  The FMR values are trended to April 1, 2012. 

The FY 2012 FMRs are re-benchmarked using five-year, 2005–2009 data collected by the American Community Survey (ACS). These data are updated using one-year ACS data in areas where statistically valid one-year ACS data are available. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rent and utility indexes are used to further update data from 2009 to the end of 2010.

The final FY 2012 FMR areas are based on current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) metropolitan area definitions and include HUD modifications that were first used in the determination of FY 2006 FMR areas, with changes incorporated through December 2009. The bedroom ratios developed using 2000 Census data continue to be used and state minimums, calculated each year from the estimated FMRs, continue to be applied.

Date of publication:  September 30,2011

View HUD's final FY 2012 FMRs here.  NAHRO’s analysis and comments on the impacts of HUD’s discretionary adoption of new OMB areas on FY 2012 and prior year FMR values and our county-by-county analysis of FMRs from FY 2006 - FY 2012 is available at:  here and here respectively.

HUD stated in the notice that the Department is unable to respond to all comments received on the proposed FY 2012 FMRs in this notice because of the timing of the comment end date.   HUD stated that initial responses are HUD’s Web site at: HUD’s Preliminary Response To Comments.  HUD’s notice states that the Department will continue to review data provided by the comments and publish any revisions to the FY 2012 FMRs resulting from data submissions in a forthcoming Federal Register notice.

Formalize a Publication Date for Income Limits:  HUD's notice states that the FY 2012 Income Limits will be published on December 1, 2011. While the FY 2012 Income Limits do not benefit from any additional ACS data over what was included in the FY 2011publication, they are updated with the FY 2012 FMRs for the purposes of evaluating areas of relatively high-or low-income to housing cost relationships and further updated with CPI to the end of 2010, trended to the mid-point of FY 2012 in a manner similar to what was done with the FY 2011 Median Family Income estimates and Income Limits. The FY 2013 Median Family Income estimates and Income Limits, published December 1, 2012, would be the first set of median family income estimates and income limits updated with ACS data collected from 2006–2010.