HUD PIH Notice § 2023-32
Small Area Fair Market Rent Implementation Guidance for FY2024 Designated Metropolitan Areas (HUD PIH Notices)
Operative Text
Special Attention of: Notice PIH 2023-32
Office Directors of Public Housing;
Regional Directors; Public Housing Issued: November 15, 2023
Agencies
Cross Reference: Notice PIH 2018-01
Notice PIH 2023-07
(Rev. 1)
88 FR 73352
Expires: This notice remains in effect
until amended, superseded, or rescinded.
Subject: Small Area Fair Market Rent Implementation Guidance for FY2024
Designated Metropolitan Areas
I. Purpose
This notice provides guidance to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Field Offices operating
in metropolitan areas recently designated for mandatory use of Small Area Fair Market Rents
(SAFMRs) in the administration of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. The 41 new
metropolitan areas were designated in the Federal Register notice entitled “Small Area Fair
Market Rents in the Housing Choice Voucher Program Metropolitan Areas Subject to Small
Area Fair Market Rents” (the “SAFMR notice”), published on October 25, 2023 (88 FR 73352).
II. Background
The use of SAFMRs in the HCV program is an important tool to promote housing choice,
expand access to rental units in low-poverty areas and increase utilization in the voucher
program. Under SAFMRs, PHAs use ZIP code-based fair market rents (FMRs) to set payment
standards, rather than relying on a single FMR for the entire metropolitan area. 24 CFR
888.113(c) requires HUD to designate new SAFMR areas every 5 years as new data becomes
available. Once a Metropolitan Area is designated by HUD as an SAFMR area, it will remain
under SAFMRs permanently. New SAFMR areas are designated at the beginning of a federal
fiscal year. The initial designation of SAFMR areas was published in a November 2016 Federal
Register notice1 (the “2016 notice”) but PHAs in those designated metropolitan areas did not
start using SAFMRs until April 1, 2018. HUD has now evaluated new data and has identified
additional metropolitan areas where SAFMRs will be required.
1
“Establishing a More Effective Fair Market Rent System; Using Small Area Fair Market Rents in the
Housing Choice Voucher Program Instead of the Current 50th Percentile FMRs,” 81 Fed. Reg. 221
(November 16, 2016).
On October 25, 2023, HUD published the SAFMR notice designating 41 new metropolitan areas
where PHAs will be required to utilize SAFMRs in the HCV program. The notice included an
implementation date of October 1, 2024, and PHAs operating in the newly designated
metropolitan areas will then have until January 1, 2025, in accordance with 24 CFR
982.503(b)(1)(i) to implement SAFMR-based payment standards. PHAs in designated SAFMR
areas are required to use SAFMRs for their tenant-based HCV vouchers and may choose to apply
SAFMRs to their Project-based Voucher (PBV) program, if applicable.
III. SAFMR Area Selection Criteria and Designated Areas
In determining the new metropolitan areas subject to SAFMRs, HUD used the same selection
values used to determine the first cohort of metropolitan areas in the 2016 notice. That criteria
and a listing of the 41 new metropolitan areas subject to SAFMRs may be found in the SAFMR
notice. A full listing of all metropolitan areas designated to use SAFMRs is included in
Appendix A of this notice.
IV. Special Administrative Fees Available for Implementation Costs
HUD recognizes that PHAs located in a designated SAFMR area may incur additional,
implementation-related administrative costs. On October 26, 2023, HUD published “Notice PIH
2023-07, Revision 1” that added a new category of special administrative fees for PHAs
operating in newly designated SAFMR areas. Under these special fees, PHAs operating in the
new SAFMR areas will receive $10,000 to offset the administrative costs of transitioning to
SAFMRs. PHAs do not need to apply for these funds as HUD will disburse them automatically
based on the PHA’s location in a designated SAFMR area. Please see Notice PIH 2023-07,
Revision 1 for more information, including eligible activities that can be paid for with the special
fees.
V. Additional SAFMR Implementation Guidance
HUD intends to update Notice PIH 2018-01 titled “Guidance on Recent Changes in Fair Market
Rent (FMR), Payment Standard, and Rent Reasonableness Requirements in the Housing Choice
Voucher Program”. Until then, the provisions of that notice remain in effect. Appendix A of
Notice PIH 2018-01 is now supplemented by the list of newly designated metropolitan areas
included in the SAFMR notice and Appendix A of this notice. HUD does not anticipate making
substantive changes to subsequent guidance that would impact a PHA’s SAFMR
implementation. As the SAFMR notice explains, PHAs that wish to voluntarily “opt-in” to
SAFMRs ahead of the October 1, 2024, implementation date, should do so in accordance with
the procedures outlined in Notice PIH 2018-01 unless and until it is superseded by subsequent
guidance.
VI. Guidance for Moving to Work (MTW) Agencies Operating in Designated SAFMR
Areas
The provisions of Section 6 of Notice PIH-2018-01 describe when a MTW agency may be
exempt from the use of SAFMRs and remain applicable to Initial and Expansion MTW agencies
2
under this SAFMR expansion. The HUD MTW office will reach out to MTW agencies
operating in the newly designated SAFMR areas with additional guidance.
VII. Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection requirements contained in this Notice have been approved by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. 3520) and assigned OMB control number 2577–0169.
VIII. Further Information
Questions concerning this notice should be submitted by email to your local HUD field office or
the following Office of Housing Voucher Programs mailbox: SAFMRs@hud.gov.
Richard J. Monocchio
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Public and Indian Housing
3
APPENDIX A — METROPOLITAN AREAS WHERE THE USE
OF SAFMRs IS MANDATORY
Mandatory Areas - 2018
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA HUD Metro FMR Area
Bergen-Passaic, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC HUD Metro FMR Area
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area
Colorado Springs, CO HUD Metro FMR Area
Dallas, TX HUD Metro FMR Area (Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas Metro Division)
Fort Lauderdale, FL HUD Metro FMR Area
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
Gary, IN HUD Metro FMR Area
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT HUD Metro FMR Area
Honolulu, HI MSA
Jackson, MS HUD Metro FMR Area
Jacksonville, FL HUD Metro FMR Area
Monmouth-Ocean, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL MSA
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL MSA
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA
Pittsburgh, PA HUD Metro FMR Area
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX HUD Metro FMR Area
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA MSA
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD HUD Metro FMR Area
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL HUD Metro FMR Area
4
Mandatory Areas – 2024
Akron, OH MSA
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC HUD Metro FMR Area
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX MSA
Birmingham-Hoover, AL HUD Metro FMR Area
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY MSA
Charleston-North Charleston, SC MSA
Chattanooga, TN-GA MSA
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN HUD Metro FMR Area
Cleveland-Elyria, OH MSA
Columbus, OH HUD Metro FMR Area
Dayton-Kettering, OH MSA
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA HUD Metro FMR Area
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI HUD Metro FMR Area
Fort Wayne, IN MSA
Greensboro-High Point, NC HUD Metro FMR Area
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA MSA
Indianapolis-Carmel, IN HUD Metro FMR Area
Jersey City, NJ HUD Metro FMR Area
Kansas City, MO-KS HUD Metro FMR Area
Knoxville, TN HUD Metro FMR Area
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
Louisville, KY-IN HUD Metro FMR Area
Memphis, TN-MS-AR HUD Metro FMR Area
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL HUD Metro FMR Area
Mobile, AL HUD Metro FMR Area
Montgomery, AL MSA
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN HUD Metro FMR Area
Oklahoma City, OK HUD Metro FMR Area
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA HUD Metro FMR Area
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA MSA
5
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ MSA
Raleigh, NC MSA
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA HUD Metro FMR Area
Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area
St. Louis, MO-IL HUD Metro FMR Area
Tucson, AZ MSA
Tulsa, OK HUD Metro FMR Area
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC HUD Metro FMR Area
Wichita, KS HUD Metro FMR Area
Winston-Salem, NC HUD Metro FMR Area
6
PIH Notice § 2023-32 establishes that 41 newly designated metropolitan areas must transition from metro-wide Fair Market Rents to ZIP code-level Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, with an implementation deadline of January 1, 2025. Under this framework, the rent ceilings used to calculate voucher payment standards vary by ZIP code rather than applying a single figure across an entire metro area, which is intended to give voucher holders broader access to lower-poverty neighborhoods. Once a metropolitan area is designated under this rule, the SAFMR requirement is permanent. The notice also makes available a one-time $10,000 administrative fee to each affected Public Housing Agency (PHA) to help cover transition costs.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers operating in any of the 41 metropolitan areas newly designated under PIH Notice § 2023-32 should be aware that local PHAs administering Housing Choice Vouchers are now required to set payment standards using ZIP code-specific SAFMRs rather than a single metro-wide figure. This means the maximum subsidy a voucher holder can apply toward rent may differ meaningfully from one ZIP code to another within the same metro area. Operators who manage units across multiple ZIP codes or who are considering new leases with HCV participants generally review the applicable SAFMR for each unit's ZIP code to understand how payment standards are calculated in their area. PHAs in designated areas must implement SAFMR-based payment standards no later than January 1, 2025, per the timeline established in PIH Notice § 2023-32.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
For renters using Housing Choice Vouchers in any of the 41 metropolitan areas covered by PIH Notice § 2023-32, the payment standard that determines how much of your rent the voucher can cover is now calculated based on your unit's specific ZIP code rather than a single figure for the whole metro area. In some ZIP codes—particularly in lower-poverty neighborhoods—this can mean a higher payment standard, potentially expanding the range of units you can afford with your voucher. If you believe your PHA is not correctly applying SAFMR-based payment standards as required by PIH Notice § 2023-32, you may raise this concern directly with your PHA, contact your local HUD field office, or reach out to a tenant-rights or housing-counseling organization for general information about your options.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 7, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References Out
No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.
References In
No inbound references recorded yet for this provision.