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Section 8 Department Payment Standards

Home Section 8 About Section 8 Department Payment Standards

Voucher Payment Standards (VPS)

The Section 8 Department Voucher Payment Standard is the most the Housing Authority can pay to help a family with rent. The family's voucher will show the number of bedrooms authorized by the Housing Authority, based on the number of persons in the family.

The Housing Authority establishes Voucher Payment Standards (VPS) based on the Fair Market Rents (FMR), which are established at least annually by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The VPS is the maximum subsidy the Housing Authority can provide toward the contract rent (rent plus utility allowance for utilities, stove or refrigerator paid or provided by the tenant). If the contract rent (rent plus utility allowance) is more than the VPS, the family must make up the difference out of its own pocket.

The Housing Authority must use the SMALLER of the number of bedrooms in the rental unit or the number of bedrooms on the voucher to determine the VPS. For example, if a family locates a two-bedroom unit with a three-bedroom voucher, the two-bedroom VPS must be used to calculate your tenant portion of the rent.

The following chart depicts the VPS for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA).

(Effective November 1, 2022)

Bedroom Size Voucher Payment Standard
SRO $1,380
0 $1,840
1 $2,096
2 $2,666
3 $3,465
4 $3,804
5 $4,374
6 $4,945

The VPS above are effective 11/01/2022. The landlord's asking rent for the unit must be supported by comparable rents within the area. Regardless of the location, the rent for the unit can never be higher than the comparable rent determined by the HACLA/third party vendor regardless of the VPS.

There are no area exception rents at this time.

FAMILY SHARE REMINDER: At the starting date of the initial Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract for a unit (lease-in-place or otherwise) if the contract rent is higher than the appropriate VPS, the family share cannot be greater than 40% of the family's adjusted monthly income. This is a statutory and regulatory requirement. There are absolutely no exceptions and HUD headquarters (D.C.) cannot grant a waiver on this matter.

The Family Share is contract rent minus the HAP. [24 CFR 982.515(a)]

 

Small Area Fair Market Rents

Effective 01-01-2023, the Section 8 Department will implement Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) for applicant and participant families in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP). SAFMRs are defined based on the U.S. Postal Service ZIP code areas. They reflect rents at the ZIP code level with the goal to improve tenant outcomes. They have been shown to be a more direct approach to encouraging tenant moves to housing in lower poverty areas by increasing the subsidy available in specific ZIP codes to support such moves.

The following chart depicts the SAFMRs for HACLA.

(Effective January 1, 2023 for New Admissions and Effective March 1, 2023 for Annual Reexaminations)

Tier Zip Code Bedroom Size
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 90005; 90012; 90013; 90020; 90027; 90028; 90038; 90039; 90071; 90240; 90623; 90638; 90701; 90715; 90807; 91001; 91006; 91007; 91008; 91010; 91016; 91020; 91024; 91104; 91107; 91108; 91303; 91304; 91321; 91324; 91325; 91335; 91345; 91351; 91356; 91384; 91387; 91401; 91411; 91506; 91601; 91607; 91711; 91722; 91724; 91740; 91745; 91775; 91780; 91790; 91791; 91792; 93551 $1,884 $2,136 $2,724 $3,540 $3,888 $4,471 $5,054 $5,637 $6,220
2 90010; 90015; 90021; 90034; 90035; 90045; 90046; 90056; 90066; 90068; 90211; 90230; 90232; 90245; 90263; 90278; 90402; 90603; 90712; 90713; 90746; 90808; 91030; 91214; 91311; 91316; 91326; 91344; 91350; 91355; 91362; 91381; 91403; 91423; 91504; 91505; 91602; 91604; 91608; 91741; 91765; 91773 $2,208 $2,520 $3,204 $4,164 $4,572 $5,258 $5,943 $6,630 $7,315
3 90014; 90024; 90025; 90036; 90048; 90049; 90064; 90067; 90069; 90073; 90077; 90094; 90210; 90212; 90254; 90265; 90266; 90272; 90274; 90275; 90290; 90291; 90292; 90293; 90703; 90732; 91011; 91105; 91301; 91302; 91307; 91354; 91361; 91364; 91367; 91390; 91436; 91789 $2,604 $2,964 $3,768 $4,896 $5,376 $6,182 $6,988 $7,795 $8,601

Please note, regardless of its location, or whether the unit is providing a reasonable accommodation, the unit’s rent can never be higher than the comparable rents determined by HACLA.

Additionally, SAFMRs are only for use with HCV related programs, such as Housing Choice Vouchers, Veteran Vouchers (HUD-VASH) and Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV). SAFMRs do not apply to Project Based Assistance Programs, Certificate Programs nor the Moderate Rehabilitation Program. 

Updated: 01-04-2023

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