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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 05122015 - HA D.7RECOMMENDATIONS Consider approving the proposed Housing Choice Voucher payment standards for the Housing Authority of the County of Contra Costa effective August 1, 2015. BACKGROUND Payment standards are used to calculate the HAP, or subsidy, that housing authorities (HAs) pay on behalf of families leasing units under the program. Each HA must establish a schedule of payment standard amounts by bedroom size. The range of possible payment standard amounts is based on HUD’s published fair market rent (FMR) schedule for the FMR area within which the HA has jurisdiction. HACCC’s payment standards are based on the FMRs for the Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro FMR area which includes all of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. FMRs are based on the 40th percentile of rents charged for standard housing in the FMR area. This is the dollar amount below which 40 percent of the standard-quality rental housing units are rented. HAs may set their payment standards amounts from 90% to 110% of the published FMRs without HUD approval. Payment standards can be set higher or lower than this range in response to market conditions with HUD approval. The level at which the payment standards are set directly affects the amount of subsidy a family will receive, and the amount of rent paid by program participants. If the payment standard amount is too low: Action of Board On: 05/12/2015 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF COMMISSIONERS AYE:John Gioia, Commissioner Candace Andersen, Commissioner Mary N. Piepho, Commissioner Karen Mitchoff, Commissioner Fay Nathaniel, Commissioner Jannel George-Oden, Commissioner ABSENT:Federal D. Glover, Commissioner Contact: 925-957-8028 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: May 12, 2015 Joseph Villarreal, Executive Director By: Chris Heck, Deputy cc: D.7 To:Contra Costa County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners From:Joseph Villarreal, Housing Authority Date:May 12, 2015 Contra Costa County Subject:Housing Choice Voucher Payment Standards Effective August 1, 2015 BACKGROUND (CONT'D) Families may need to pay more for rent than they can afford; or Families may have a hard time finding acceptable units or units in more desirable areas; or Housing choices will be narrowed and the HA’s efforts to affirmatively further fair housing will be undermined. If the payment standards amounts are too high, owners may be encouraged to ask for higher than reasonable rents. As approved by the Board on September 9, 2014, HACCC's payment standards are currently set at 95% of FMR. This was an increase from the previous level of 90% in response to improved funding from HUD and because clients were having a harder time finding units they could afford as rents rose throughout the County. HUD publishes fair market rents annually. The proposed federal fiscal year 2015 FMRs (effective October 1, 2014) for HACCC’s jurisdiction are as follows: Bedrooms 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 FMR/Month $1039 $1,260 $1,585 $2,213 $2,716 $3,123 $3,531 $3938 The current payment standards are as follows: Bedrooms 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PMT STD $987 $1,197 $1,506 $2,102 $2,580 $2,967 $3,354 $3,741 Rents have continued to rise in the County and, because neighboring jurisdictions to the West are seeing even more dramatic increases, it is expected that continued upward pressure on rents will occur in Contra Costa. This pressure can be expected first in already strong rental markets, ones with higher than average rent levels and low vacancy rates. In order to minimize future loss of vouchers in these cities and also in an effort to minimize voucher concentration, staff are proposing that payment standards be raised to 110% for the following Cities: Danville, El Cerrito, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, San Ramon and Walnut Creek. If approved, the new unit size payment standards for these areas are shown below: Bedrooms 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PMT STD $ 1142 $ 1,386 $ 1,743 $ 2,434 $ 2,987 $ 3,435 $ 3,883 $ 4,331 All other areas would continue using the payment standards approved by the Board on September 9, 2014. Attached are charts showing current voucher totals by City in HACCC's jurisdiction along with rental unit data. Staff will review these with the Board. FISCAL IMPACT The proposed payment standards will increase housing assistance payments (HAP) made on behalf of clients by approximately $2.7 million annually. Funding for this increase is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD). CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION Should the Board of Commissioners not approve the proposed payment standards, it is likely that families Should the Board of Commissioners not approve the proposed payment standards, it is likely that families participating in the HCV Program will face restricted housing choices due to rapidly rising rents and that some voucher families may be displaced from their existing housing as their rent burdens increase to an unaffordable level. CLERK'S ADDENDUM ATTACHMENTS Voucher Totals By City Average Rental Market Data 1 ANTIOCH 2,108 1 1 15,467 9.8 2 CONCORD 872 2 2 20,844 6.2 3 BAY POINT 419 6 3 3,381 5.9 4 SAN PABLO 725 5 4 5,759 5 5 PINOLE 143 3 5 2,236 15.6 6 EL SOBRANTE 128 8 6 2,508 7 7 BRENTWOOD 304 9 7 5,171 3.2 8 HERCULES 158 20 7 2,036 2.7 9 MARTINEZ 265 6 9 5,421 4 10 WALNUT CREEK 231 3 10 12,488 3.1 11 PLEASANT HILL 102 9 10 6,461 2.4 12 SAN RAMON 125 13 12 8,393 1.9 13 DANVILLE 21 16 13 2,779 2.5 14 EL CERRITO 70 15 14 6,217 2 15 LAFAYETTE 71 20 15 2,635 2.1 16 OAKLEY 296 18 3,332 2.1 17 RODEO 96 12 1,232 9 18 ORINDA 66 23 822 0 19 DISCOVERY BAY 30 13 1,383 6.2 20 CROCKETT 20 16 752 9.2 21 N RICHMOND 17 11 852 15.5 22 BETHEL ISLAND 7 27 407 0 23 PACHECO 5 26 550 0 24 BYRON 5 29 220 0 25 CLAYTON 4 25 651 0 26 MORAGA 3 22 1,138 0 27 ALAMO 3 24 812 0 28 CLYDE 2 19 80 27.5 29 KENSINGTON 1 28 404 0 Voucher Rank City Vouchers # Units Composite Rank Units + Cost Composite Rank Rental and Vacant Units Rental Vacancy Rate Rental and Vacant Unit and Vacancy Rate are from U.S. Census' AmericanFactfinder 2013 Housing Characteristics Average Rent and Average Cost/SqFt are from Realfacts © 2015 1st Quarter data $1,289 $1.58 $1,537 $1.86 $1,206 $1.31 $1,452 $1.93 $1,635 $1.87 $1,545 $1.85 $1,734 $1.53 $1,150 $1.39 $1,651 $2.16 $2,036 $2.57 $1,844 $2.22 $2,117 $2.38 $1,898 $2.58 $2,169 $2.58 $2,400 $2.46 Avg Rent Avg Cost/SqFt Rental and Vacant Unit and Vacancy Rate are from U.S. Census' AmericanFactfinder 2013 Housing Characteristics Average Rent and Average Cost/SqFt are from Realfacts © 2015 1st Quarter data