Housing Trust Fund Rent Limits

Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Rent Limits are available from FY 2016 to the present.

Per 24 CFR § 93.302, HUD provides the following maximum HTF rent limits. The maximum HTF rents are:

1. Extremely Low Income Tenants: The HTF rent plus utilities of an extremely low-income tenant shall not exceed the greater of 30 percent of the federal poverty line or 30 percent of the income of a family whose annual income equals 30 percent of the median income for the geographic area, as determined by HUD, with adjustments for the number of bedrooms in the unit.
2. Very Low Income Tenants: The HTF rent plus utilities of a very low income tenant shall not exceed 30 percent of the income of a family whose annual income equals 50 percent of the median income for the area, as determined by HUD, with adjustments for the number of bedrooms in the unit.

The Housing Trust Fund Interim Rule at § 93.250 states that in any fiscal year in which the total amount available for allocation of HTF funds is less than $1 billion, the grantee must use 100 percent of its HTF grant for the benefit of extremely low income families or families with incomes at or below the poverty line (whichever is greater). An extremely low income family is defined as a low income family whose annual income does not exceed 30 percent of the median family income of a geographic area. In any fiscal year in which the total amount available for allocation of HTF funds is greater than $1 billion, the grantee must use at least 75 percent of its grant for the benefit of extremely low income families or families with incomes at or below the poverty line. Any HTF funds not used for the greater of extremely low income families or families with incomes at or below the poverty line must be used for very low income families.

In years in which the amount available for allocation is below $1 billion, the HTF rent limits reports published by HUD will only display the rent limit for extremely low income tenants, as described above, and will not include a rent limit for very low income tenants.

Note: The FY 2020 HTF Rent Limits effective date is July 1, 2020. Please make sure you receive HUD Exchange Mailing List messages for any updates on rent limits and the HTF Program.