If you are holder of a DC housing voucher, or landlord, trying to determine the maximum rent allowed when participating in the DC Housing Choice Voucher Program, click here to look up the allowable rent by neighborhood.
DC Voucher limits are not uniform across the City but vary by “neighborhood”. Of course DC Housing uses its own unique definition of neighborhood, and neighborhood designations don’t always correspond with popular usage or boundaries. The DC voucher limits can create great differences for properties separated by only a couple of blocks, or even houses on opposite sides of a street.
Explanation From DC Housing
This explains how the voucher limits are determined by DC Housing from their website:
“Typically in October to December of each calendar year HCVP conducts a rental market analysis of the unassisted rented units in District of Columbia. Unassisted comparables do not include any units rented that are tax credit, subsidized with local funds, or subsidized with Federal funds (including existing voucher assisted units). HCVP will only review unassisted units rented in that legal submarket (i.e. Anacostia, Capitol Hill..). HCVP utilizes resources from an unbiased legal searchable database (that includes the MRIS database/Realtor MLS), validation of market rents paid from conducting a canvass of the submarket asking market tenants what they are paying, or data that has been validated to determine what is a market rent in each submarket – with/without utilities included. Because the approved HCVP submarket rent without utilities uses the average utility allowance of units that are not all electric; the approved rent to the owner for a unit that is all electric may be slightly less where the family is responsible for utilities than what is advertised. The HCVP will provide to the family and/or owner what the approved submarket rent to the owner for units where the family is responsible for utilities of an all electric dwelling at the time of Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) package is submitted to HCVP. HCVP may adjust each submarket rent annually or if it determines the submarket rents have gone up or down by 10% or more.”
Click here for more information at the DC Housing website.