Home Forward Voucher Payment Standards Heading Up by As Much as $311 Per Month for 2 BR Voucher.

Home Forward's Board is meeting in work session on Wednesday to discuss proposed changes in payment standards for the housing voucher program. I anticipate that payment standards will be formally approved for Board adoption at their regular Tuesday March 15th meeting. 

In the Board packet HERE (PDF pages 61 to 68) is the proposal to increase voucher payment standards as a result of the HUD approval of higher Fair Market rents following  a locally paid for market study (see my prior post HERE). 

Some preliminary observations:

HUD's Fair Market rent increased for every bedroom size from 30% for SRO's to 26% for 4 BR's and 28% for 2 BR's. 

Home Forward is proposing that: 

1. Payment standard % increases range from 0% to 39%.
2. The highest percentage increase in payment standards is 39% for SRO's and 0 BR's in SE Portland.
3. The lowest percentage increase in payment standards is 0% for 4+ BR's in multiple locations.
4. The highest 2 BR  payment standard % increase is 29% in SW Portland.
5. The highest 2 BR payment standard $ increase is $311 in downtown Portland and in Inner and Central NE.
6. The highest 2 BR payment standard would be $1,425 (118% of FMR) in Downtown and Inner and Central NE and the lowest $1,050 in Outer SE. (87% of FMR).

More than 1 in 4 (27%) housing vouchers are in Outer SE. (2,377/8,701). 
21.7 % are located in downtown and Inner and Central NE (1,884/8,701).

NOTE: The work session packet ALSO includes detailed information about the proposed budget for Home Forward for the coming year. 


Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.