Voucher Payment Standards
Seattle Housing Authority's voucher payment standards set the maximum amount the agency will pay for tenants' rent and utilities. Voucher payment standards are not the maximum rent you can charge or the subsidy that tenants receive. Listed below are the agency's voucher payment standards as of March 1, 2010:
| Number of bedrooms | Voucher payment standard |
|---|---|
| Studio | $705 |
| 1 | $790 |
| 2 | $1,058 |
| 3 | $1,452 |
| 4 | $1,710 |
| 5 | $1,925 |
| 6 | $2,133 |
Starting March 1, 2010, these voucher payment standards were made effective for all new families receiving vouchers. Starting July 1, 2010, all other participants will be notified at their annual review that they may be eligible to receive additional subsidy.
In general, the amount of subsidy a household receives is equal to the payment standard, minus 30 percent of the tenant’s adjusted gross income. If the tenant’s rent and utilities exceed the voucher payment standards, they may pay the difference, as long as the total amount paid for rent and utilities does not exceed 40 percent of their monthly adjusted income during the first year.
Voucher payment standards are based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fair Market Rent for the Seattle/King County/Everett area, and adjusted for the local Seattle market. The standards are generally set at 105 percent to 110 percent of the Fair Market Rent for most bedroom sizes.
Exceptions to voucher payment standards or program procedures may be made in some cases to accommodate a disability.
Voucher payment standards include an amount for utilities. The more utilities that are paid by the tenant, the less subsidy is available for rent.
Seattle Housing Authority establishes a utility allowance for different types of energy (gas, electric, oil), in different combinations (electric heat, gas hot water heater, etc.), in different kinds of units (apartments, townhouses, single family houses).
Additional utility allowance information is available in PDF format (download Adobe Reader):
- Utility allowance worksheets by bedroom size (PDF, 96 KB)
