Fair Market Rents for the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments ProgramFiscal Year 1996

Section 8(c)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 requires the Secretary to publish Fair Market Rents (FMRs) annually to be effective on October 1 of each year. FMRs are used for the Section 8 Rental Certificate Program (including space rentals by owners of manufactured homes under that program); the Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy program; housing assisted under the Loan Management and Property Disposition programs; payment standards for the Rental Voucher program; and any other programs whose regulations specify their use. Today's notice provides final FY 1996 FMRs for all areas. It includes revised FMRs for 6 areas for which the FMRs have been increased as a result of HUD-contracted RDD surveys received in late October. The 6 areas are: Gallatin County, MT; the Johnson City- Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA; Lexington, KY; Lincoln, NE; Macon, GA; and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC FMR areas. Today's notice also makes effective the FMR reductions for 26 areas that were proposed in the August 15 notice based on the results of the most recent Random Digit Dialing and American Housing Surveys.