HUD providing more aid for low-income families to keep up with rising rents

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing more aid for 2024 housing voucher programs as it deals with rising rents.

The department is establishing an average increase for fair market rents in fiscal year 2024 of about 12% nationwide. The increase, which goes into effect Oct. 1, sets a higher level for the maximum payments for beneficiaries of housing vouchers, allowing them to keep up with rising rents in more competitive rental markets, HUD said in an announcement obtained first by NBC News.

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HUD also will release $113 million next week in housing choice voucher funds for public housing agencies in 36 states, which aims to help about 9,500 additional households, the department said.

“When rents go up, obviously, the money that has been provided to [public housing authorities] doesn’t go as far, so these funds are going to augment that,” said Richard Monocchio, head of public and Indian housing at HUD.

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The new aid will give tenants "more choice of where they can live, the neighborhoods that they can live in," Monocchio said.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

Landlords are raising rents across the U.S., and prices are up significantly in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Some tenants are staying in one place longer and avoiding upgrades, while others are moving to downsize, according to Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow, who joins LX News.