Item HA 03 - Update to the Housing Choice Voucher Administrative Plan

Home Browse Search

Administrative Plan 7/1/2025 . Page 8-32 8-III.D . PHA RENT REASONABLENESS METHODOLOGY How Market Data Is Collected SAHA Policy SAHA will primarily utilize an outside vendor who specializes in rent reasonable data collection to collect and maintain data on market rents in SAHA's jurisdiction. Information sources include newspapers, realtors, market surveys, inquiries of owners and other available sources. The data will be maintained by bedroom size and market areas. Market areas may be defined by zip codes. The data will be updated on an ongoing basis and rent information that is more than 12 months old will be archived in the vendor’s database. Market data greater than 12 months old will not be used for eligibility but may be used for reference. How Rents Are Determined SAHA Policy The rent for a unit proposed for HCV assistance will be compared to the rent charged for comparable units in the same market area. SAHA will develop a range of prices for comparable units by bedroom size within defined market areas. Units proposed for HCV assistance will be compared to the units within this rent range. Because units may be similar, but not exactly like the unit proposed for HCV assistance, SAHA may make adjustments to the range of prices to account for these differences. The adjustment must reflect the local market. Not all differences in units require adjustments (e.g., the presence or absence of a garbage disposal may not affect the rent in some market areas). SAHA uses a unit-to-unit comparison, by which the rent for a unit proposed for HCV assistance is directly compared to the rents for one or more unassisted units selected as comparables within the same market area. Geocoded maps will be used to identify the non-assisted units in closest proximity to the subject unit, and unit data information will be used to select the most similar units. In comparing rents, SAHA will take into account critical market factors that impact rent, including the location, quality, size, unit type, and age of the contract unit, as well as any amenities, housing services, maintenance and utilities to be provided by the owner in accordance with the lease. Where comparable units differ from the unit proposed for HCV assistance, SAHA will determine whether those differences impact rent. Where they do, SAHA will adjust the rental value of the comparable units, up or down, based on the market value of these factors. The rent for the unit proposed for HCV assistance will be compared to the adjusted rents for the comparable units, enabling a fair, accurate, market-based determination of rent reasonableness. Adjustments may vary by unit type (e.g., a second bathroom may be more valuable in a three-bedroom unit than in a two-bedroom). The adjustment must reflect the rental value of the difference – not its construction costs (e.g., it might cost $20,000 to put on a new roof, but the new roof might not make any difference in what a tenant would be willing to pay because rents units are presumed to have functioning roofs). When a comparable EXHIBIT 1