Santa Monica Housing Office - Payment Standard

SANTA MONICA HOUSING AUTHORITY NOTICE  

Payment Standard Increase  

 

 

The SMHA uses zip code-based payment standards for participants in the following Housing Assistance programs leased inside City limits: Housing Choice Voucher (HCV); Continuum of Care (CoC); HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME); Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH); and Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV).  

 

Effective as of October 1, 2024, the SMHA Payment Standards increase to: 

HCV [Section 8], CoC, HOME, VASH, and EHVs leasing within City limits 

Zip Code  

Efficiency 

1-bdrm 

2-bdrm 

3-bdrm 

 SAFMR 90401 (100%) 

$2,760 

$3,100 

$3,910 

$4,970 

SAFMR 90402 (100%) 

$2,340 

$2,620 

$3,310 

$4,210 

SAFMR 90403 (100%) 

$2,530 

$2,840 

$3,580 

$4,550 

SAFMR 90404 (110%) 

$2,057 

$2,321 

$2,948 

$3,784 

SAFMR 90405 (100%) 

$2,120 

$2,380 

$3,000 

$3,810 

 

Zip code-based SAFMRs do not apply to Project-Based Vouchers (PBVs) which align with the payment standard based on the Metropolitan Fair Market Rents (FMRs), nor to participants of other SMHA rental assistance voucher programs leased outside the City of Santa Monica through Portability or an interagency agreement. 

 

Payment standards for households leasing outside City limits and all PBVs  

Bedroom Size 

Efficiency 

1-bdrm 

2-bdrm 

3-bdrm 

Payment Standards for All Santa Monica Zip Codes based on Metropolitan FMRs 

$1,777 

$2,006 

$2,544 

$3,263 

Payment Standards for Households Leasing Outside Santa Monica 

$1,777 

$2,006 

$2,544 

$3,263

 

The Payment Standard is the maximum subsidy the SMHA can provide on behalf of the voucher household towards rent. Your payment standard is determined by the number of bedrooms the SMHA authorizes for subsidy on the household’s voucher. The number of authorized bedrooms eligible for subsidy is based on the number of persons in your family.  

 

The SMHA must use the SMALLER of the number of bedrooms in the rental unit or the number of bedrooms on the voucher to determine the payment standard.   

 

Example: 

  • A family with a three-bedroom voucher finds a two-bedroom unit in zip code 90401. The SMHA would pay up to the two-bedroom payment standard: $3,910.  

If you are in a “mixed household”, where some family members are not eligible for federal voucher rental assistance, please contact your Housing Specialist. Your household receives a “prorated” payment standard lower than the amounts above.   How Will the Increased Voucher Payment Standard Affect You? 

 

  1. 1. For those families who move to a new unit on or after October 1, 2024, the SMHA will use the new, higher payment standard amounts based on zip code to determine your share of rental assistance in the new unit. 

 

  1. 2. If there is no change to your family composition and you remain in your unit, you will have access to the new higher payment standard based on the corresponding zip code at your annual re-examination. 

 

  1. 3. If family composition changes (and the change results in a voucher size change) anytime on or after October 1, 2024, the SMHA will use the new, higher payment standard based on the zip code to determine your share of rental assistance at your next scheduled annual reexamination.