Rising rental costs in Montana driving need for assistance

HELENA — In response to rising housing prices throughout the nation, the federal authorities has introduced it’s elevating “truthful market rents,” which decide how a lot applications just like the Part 8 Housing Alternative Voucher can cowl.

Honest market rents are an estimate, up to date yearly, of how a lot cash can be wanted to cowl hire and utility prices on 40 % of rental items in an space. Nationwide, the U.S. Division of Housing and City Improvement says it elevated them by about 10% for the 2023 fiscal yr, which went into impact Oct. 1.

The particular truthful market rents are completely different in each county and fluctuate based mostly on the dimensions of house. For a two-bedroom residence in Lewis and Clark County, the quantity went up from $923 a month final yr to $1,003 this yr. In Cascade County, it went from $849 a month to $914.

The Housing Alternative Voucher program covers a part of the associated fee for eligible households and people to hire housing from personal landlords. The contributors sometimes pay 30% of their month-to-month revenue, and the voucher cash covers the remaining – however solely as much as a “fee commonplace,” based mostly on the truthful market hire. Which means dearer housing may be out of attain.

Michael O’Neil is government director of the Helena Housing Authority, which administers voucher applications for Lewis and Clark, Broadwater and Jefferson Counties. He says, if the quantity accessible by way of these vouchers doesn’t sustain with the market, households can get out-competed by others wanting on the similar housing.

“The truthful market rents and fee requirements are type of the tail behind rises in rents,” he stated. “So after we’ve seen speedy hire will increase, we’ve been in type of a tricky state of affairs.”

O’Neil stated truthful market rents have typically remained flat in recent times, and so they truly declined final yr. This improve is the most important he’s seen in a very long time.

“That’s going to make a distinction for folk,” he stated. “An additional hundred {dollars} will go a great distance.”

This yr’s will increase got here after HUD up to date its course of – utilizing further knowledge to get a greater image of market circumstances.

“Housing affordability is a matter that impacts numerous folks in our area and throughout the nation,” stated Dominique Jackson, HUD’s Rocky Mountain Area administrator, in a press release to MTN. “To handle this situation, HUD — for the primary time — used personal knowledge sources to complement public knowledge in calculating this yr’s Honest Market Hire charges. This resulted in historic FMR charge will increase that sustain with the rising rents we see throughout the nation. Which means extra housing voucher holders in Lewis and Clark County could have the chance to make the dream of a secure and reasonably priced house a actuality.”

O’Neil says the division has additionally agreed to proceed a waiver for Lewis and Clark County, permitting them to set their fee commonplace at 120% of the truthful market hire, as an alternative of the usual 110%. That waiver relies on the truth that some present voucher holders haven’t been ready to make use of theirs due to restricted housing provide and rising costs.

If the waiver hadn’t been prolonged, the ten% lower within the fee commonplace would have basically worn out the rise in truthful market rents.

“If a voucher can’t be used, that’s an actual tragic state of affairs,” O’Neil stated. “Households are on ready lists usually for 18 months, two years, and so they’re very excited – ‘We lastly got here to the highest of the listing and possibly we are able to get an opportunity to afford a house.’ In case you can’t discover a place to hire, that’s not successful. I believe with these will increase, we’ll be capable of have extra profitable placement of vouchers.”

O’Neil says the Helena Housing Authority has up to date their methods to make it simpler for folks to get on their wait lists, and to verify the place they’re on these lists. You will discover extra info on how one can apply for his or her applications on their web site.

“I all the time say to people, ‘Ready lists don’t get shorter for those who’re not on them,” O’Neil stated.

For these in different components of the state, you’ll find info on the Housing Alternative Voucher program on the Montana Division of Commerce web site.

O’Neil stated the success of the Housing Alternative Voucher program can also be due to landlords who work with this system. He stated they’re grateful for individuals who take part, and so they hope the rise in truthful market rents will assist cowl their rising prices as properly.

“The opposite a part of having aggressive fee requirements, aggressive truthful market rents, is that I believe it encourages traders and builders to come back in and construct further rental properties, and I believe that’s what we’re seeing,” he stated.