Rents and Payments

Four things that influence how much rent you can charge for a subsidized unit:

  • Market rent

  • Voucher payment standards

  • Utilities

  • Tenant income

Market Rent

For every unit that is leased up with a Housing Choice Voucher family, the Housing Authority wants to make sure that they are not paying more than what is reasonable for the unit and that the market will allow. To help us determine what is rent reasonable, Renton Housing Authority takes into account HUD-prescribed variables—location, size, type, quality, age of unit and amenities, plus any housing services, maintenance, and utilities provided by the owner.

Voucher payment standards

Renton Housing Authority establishes voucher payment standards for units of each bedroom size. This sets the maximum subsidy the agency will pay for a tenant's housing costs, including an estimate for tenant-paid utilities. Voucher payment standards are not the maximum rent you can charge or the subsidy that tenants receive.

 The standards are based on HUD’s annually published Fair Market Rent (FMR) for the King County area.  Listed below are the Voucher Payment Standards as of August 1, 2023:

Voucher Payment Standards

Utilities

Voucher payment standards include an amount for utilities. The more utilities that are paid by the tenant, the less subsidy is available for rent.

 The utility estimates are based on a survey done throughout the local area and show the typical cost of utilities and services paid by energy-conservative households that occupy housing of the same size and utility type in the same locality. Estimates are not based on an individual family's actual energy consumption and do not include non-essential utility costs, such as telephone or cable.

Utility Allowances

Tenant Income

Rent amounts for the same unit may vary between different voucher holders because the amount they can pay varies based on their income.

  • Rent Increases –Once the initial term of the lease has passed, landlords are permitted to increase the tenant’s rent amount or change the utilities that the tenant must pay. However the landlord must make sure the following conditions are met:

    • You must mail or fax a copy of the rent increase notice form (Rent change form) at least 60 days prior to the proposed effective date of the increase

    • The proposed rent must stay comparable to similar units in the area and must not be more than you charge for non-subsidized units, it must be “rent-reasonable”

    • The unit must have passed its last Housing Quality Standards Inspection

    • And you have not raised the rent in the last year

 Submit a copy of your rent change form by fax to 425-271-8319, Attn: Inspectors; or by mail to:

Renton Housing Authority
Attn: Inspectors
PO Box 2316
Renton, WA 98056