HOME Income Limits and Rents Effective June 1, 2026
The recently published HOME Program income and rent limits for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI HUD Metro FMR Area and Counties in the Northeast MN HOME Consortium will be effective on June 1, 2026. These and limits for other local and national jurisdictions are available on HUD Exchange at the links below:
The maximum allowable rent for HOME-assisted units includes the unit rent, an amount for utilities paid by the tenant and all non-optional charges. This total is referred to as the Gross Rent. Projects must carefully review current Gross Rents. If the new rent limits are lower than the current Gross Rent being charged, or if rent increases anticipated in 2026 (for new leases, including month-to-month, executed after June 1st, 2026) would cause the Gross Rent amounts to go over the limit, the rents must be adjusted downward.
UTILITY ALLOWANCE SOURCE DOCUMENTS
On January 6, 2024, HUD published a final rule in the Federal Register titled “HOME Investment Partnerships Program: Program Updates and Streamlining,” which, among other things, reinstated the use of Public Housing Agency (PHA) utility allowances for HOME assisted rental projects, allowing UAs to be based on the HUD Utility Schedule Model, the local PHA schedule, or another HUD approved method. All Minnesota HOME PJs monitored by Affordable Housing Connections approved the use of the local PHA’s utility schedule.
If HUD or MN Housing establishes the rent and utility allowance for HOME-assisted units also receiving Project Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), the rent and UA established by these agencies prevail.
2026 RENT INCREASE APPROVALS
Proposed rents for 2026 must be approved by the PJ before project rents are increased. The project owner may be required to reimburse overpayments if this requirement is violated. The HOME Rent Increase Request Form should be used to request rent increases for your HOME units. Complete and submit to AHC along with the completed utility allowance source document showing the total of tenant-paid utilities for each Unit Type and Bedroom Size. We will review the rents and utility allowance for compliance and forward the information to the PJ for further action. Rent increases may not be put into effect without prior written approval.
For existing tenants, please note that “any increase in rent for HOME-assisted units is subject to the provisions of outstanding leases, and in any event, the owner must provide tenants of those units not less than 30 days prior written notice before implementing any increase (or decrease) in rents.”
Please contact us with any questions and concerns you may have.