A voucher doesn't have a set value. The voucher is an agreement that the Housing Authority will pay a PART of the rent, and that the tenant will be required to pay a share of the rent. The amount that the Housing Authority will pay varies by region and even by neighborhood, because the cost of living varies from region to region.

Each October, HUD publishes a booklet listing the limits on how much rent the Section 8 Voucher provider will help cover in each area, and calls these limits Fair Market Rents (FMRs).

"FMRs are gross rent estimates that include both shelter rent paid by the tenant to the landlord and the cost of tenant-paid utilities, except telephone. HUD sets FMRs to assure that a sufficient supply of rental housing is available to program participants. To accomplish this objective, FMRs must be both high enough to permit a selection of units in neighborhoods and low enough to serve as many families as possible." - 24 CFR Part 888 Fair Market Rents for the Housing Choice Voucher Program and Moderate Rehabilitation Single Room Occupancy Program—Fiscal Year 2002; Final Rule.

The current standards are in a 60 page booklet online at the HUD website, (starting on page 7).

However, an "exception rent" level may also be available. Read about Exception Rents in this public housing authority circular from Washington State. When you get a voucher, be sure to ask the Voucher Provider about "exception rent" levels. For instance, any voucher holder may request that the housing provider increase the value of their voucher by an additional 10% if needed to lease a particular unit; people with disabilities may request that the housing authority seek approval from HUD for a 10% increase on top of that (120% of the FMR) if this is necessary for them to use the voucher. And the value of a voucher may increase still more for extenuating circumstances, on a case by case basis.

To determine whether or not a unit is considered "affordable" many factors are looked at. Tenants with more money may be able to rent a more expensive apartment. The Housing Voucher Provider "scores" each apartment individually to determine whether the rent is reasonable for that area, type of unit, and applicant.

NOTE: The unit must be inspected by the Housing Provider that gives you the voucher, and the landlord must keep the apartment up to standards or the applicant will not be allowed to take the apartment.

It depends on where the applicant has applied. At some housing authorities, local residents get preferential ranking and are moved toward the top of the list. Also there may be some priority ranking for veterans, or for applicants with urgent housing needs, lower annual income, those escaping from domestic violence or those displaced because of a fire or flood.

Every Housing Authority is required to make public what its preferences are. You may want to print out the HousingWorks list of places you have sent through HousingWorks: add these Housing Authorities to that list, and write down their preference categories..

OUR RECOMMENDED STRATEGY is to apply everywhere you can, even if the applicant doesn't have a preference ranking! You never know but that you may gain a preference at some future date, or find yourself with a new job in that town! Also, even long waiting lists can move quickly, and an applicant may gain a priority ranking at a later date.