Two kinds of rent
Contract or asking rent is what the lease says. Gross rent adds the utilities the tenant pays separately, such as electricity, gas, water and sewer, and trash, but not phone, cable or internet.
Government figures use gross rent
HUD Fair Market Rents and the Census Bureau's median gross rent both include tenant-paid utilities. If you compare a utilities-excluded asking rent with them, the asking rent will look lower than it really is.
How to compare
- Start with the monthly rent.
- Add a realistic monthly estimate for the utilities the tenant pays. Your housing authority's utility allowance schedule is a good reference.
- Compare that total with the Fair Market Rent and the Census median.
Census figures trail the market
Census five-year estimates average several years of survey responses, so in fast-rising markets they can sit well below today's asking rents. Use them to see where a rent falls locally, not as a current price.