August 15, 2016
Helen R. Kanovsky, General Counsel
Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel
Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, SW, Room 10276
Washington, DC 20410-0500
Re: “Establishing a More Effective Fair Market Rent System; Using Small Area Fair Market Rents in Housing Choice Voucher Program instead of the Current 50th Percentile FMRs,” 81 Fed. Reg. 39218 (June 16, 2016)
Dear colleagues,
We are writing on behalf of the undersigned housing and civil rights organizations to express our strong support for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’ (HUD’s) proposal to implement Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) in metropolitan areas where Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) families are most severely clustered in high-poverty neighborhoods. This is a long overdue policy initiative that will better align HUD’s largest low-income housing program with its ongoing duty to affirmatively further fair housing.
