Fair market rent in Lynn by bedroom size (FY2027)
HUD's fiscal-year 2027 Fair Market Rents are the baseline housing-voucher programs use in Lynn — and the only official bedroom-by-bedroom market-rent schedule published for this area. (How these figures compare with what current renters actually pay, size by size: rent by bedroom in Lynn.)
FY2027 fair market rent, studio to 4 bedrooms
HUD publishes one figure for the whole Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area — there is no official ZIP-level breakdown for Lynn in this dataset, so the numbers below describe the metro area, not Lynn alone.
| Unit size | FY2027 fair market rent | FY2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio / efficiency | $2,440/mo | $2,359 | +3.4% |
| 1 bedroom | $2,518/mo | $2,476 | +1.7% |
| 2 bedrooms | $3,008/mo | $2,941 | +2.3% |
| 3 bedrooms | $3,584/mo | $3,526 | +1.6% |
| 4 bedrooms | $3,953/mo | $3,894 | +1.5% |
All amounts are monthly gross rent — rent plus tenant-paid utilities — for the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area.
When the FY2027 figures apply
Federal fair market rents take effect on October 1 each year — HUD publishes them a few weeks ahead (the FY2027 schedule was published in the Federal Register on September 1, 2026, effective October 1, 2026). Housing authorities have up to three months after that date to revise their payment standards where the change is needed to stay within 90–110% of the new FMR (24 CFR 982.503(c)(3)), so the prior-year figures listed above can still be the ones a voucher holder is working from early in the fiscal year. The 2-bedroom figure moved from $2,941 (FY2026) to $3,008 (FY2027), +2.3%.
How the FMR compares to Lynn's market rate
Today's Lynn market average is $2,342/month (all unit sizes blended), while the 2-bedroom FMR is $3,008. The voucher standard here is pegged to rents across the whole Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area — which run higher than Lynn's own market. The practical upshot: a voucher set against the metro standard tends to stretch further in Lynn than in the metro's pricier towns. That's a comparison of two different measures (the FMR includes utilities and is fixed for the fiscal year; the market average blends all unit sizes and moves monthly), so treat it as direction, not a precise dollar gap.
What a fair market rent actually is
- It's a standard, not a price. HUD estimates the 40th-percentile gross rent (rent + utilities) for recent movers, once per federal fiscal year. Nothing here is a listing or a promise of what you'll find.
- It's not exactly what Section 8 pays. Your local housing authority sets its payment standard between roughly 90% and 110% of these figures, and what a voucher covers also depends on household income — the range in dollars, and the arithmetic, below. Always confirm the current payment standard with the housing authority.
- It's not a rent cap. Landlords can ask more; the FMR only governs what assistance programs use as a baseline.
- It can't lawfully be refused. "No Section 8" is illegal in Lynn — the law on refusing vouchers, the real exemptions, and what it costs →
Do you qualify? FY2026 Section 8 income limits
Eligibility for a Housing Choice Voucher is about income, not luck: HUD sets annual limits for the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area as fractions of its median family income — $164,600/year for FY2026. Vouchers generally go to households under the very low income (50%) limit, and by federal law three-quarters of each year's new vouchers must go to households under the extremely low income (30%) limit. The 80% "low income" column governs admission to some other HUD programs, such as public housing.
| Household size | Extremely low (30% of median) | Very low — Section 8 (50% of median) | Low (80% of median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $36,000 | $60,000 | $96,000 |
| 2 people | $41,150 | $68,600 | $109,700 |
| 3 people | $46,300 | $77,150 | $123,400 |
| 4 people | $51,400 | $85,700 | $137,100 |
| 5 people | $55,550 | $92,600 | $148,100 |
| 6 people | $59,650 | $99,450 | $159,050 |
| 7 people | $63,750 | $106,300 | $170,050 |
| 8 people | $67,850 | $113,150 | $181,000 |
Annual gross household income, FY2026, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area. HUD floors the "extremely low" figures at the federal poverty guideline, so some run slightly above a straight 30%. The housing authority applies these (plus deductions, asset rules, and local preferences) when it screens an application — this table tells you whether applying is worth your time, not whether you're approved.
For scale: the median Lynn household income is $74,715 (2019–2023 ACS 5-year) — under the very-low-income limit for a household of 3. In other words, a large share of Lynn sits inside the income band the voucher program exists for; the constraint here is voucher supply and waiting lists, not eligibility. (That compares household income against size-adjusted family limits — direction, not an eligibility ruling.)
How the two halves of this page fit together: a voucher household generally pays about 30% of its adjusted monthly income toward rent, and the voucher covers the difference up to the local payment standard — which is set from the fair market rents above. Income limits decide who gets in; FMRs decide how far the voucher reaches.
What a voucher actually covers in Lynn
The fair market rent is HUD's number. The number that decides your rent share is the housing authority's payment standard — "the maximum monthly subsidy payment" (24 CFR 982.505(a)). A housing authority may set it anywhere from 90% to 110% of the published FMR for each bedroom size without asking HUD (24 CFR 982.503(c)). For FY2027 that range works out to:
| Voucher size | Lowest (90%) | FY2027 FMR | Highest (110%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio / efficiency | $2,196 | $2,440 | $2,684 |
| 1 bedroom | $2,267 | $2,518 | $2,769 |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,708 | $3,008 | $3,308 |
| 3 bedrooms | $3,226 | $3,584 | $3,942 |
| 4 bedrooms | $3,558 | $3,953 | $4,348 |
Our arithmetic from HUD's FY2027 figures, rounded inward to whole dollars — the legal range, not Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND)'s actual schedule (that follows below). A housing authority can go above 110% only through HUD's exception rules (982.503(d)) and below 90% only with HUD's approval (982.503(e)).
The payment standards in force in Lynn today
Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) publishes its schedule — it is linked from LHAND's Section 8 program page. The one in force was set effective January 1, 2026, one figure per voucher size for the whole city, under the heading "100% of Published FMR":
| Voucher size | Lynn payment standard since January 1, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Studio / efficiency | $2,359 |
| 1 bedroom | $2,476 |
| 2 bedrooms | $2,941 |
| 3 bedrooms | $3,526 |
| 4 bedrooms | $3,894 |
Source: LHAND — Payment Standards, effective January 1, 2026 (PDF), which also lists 5- and 6-bedroom figures and every earlier schedule back to 2019. Monthly amounts, rent plus utilities. Each figure equals HUD's FY2026 fair market rent for that size, dollar for dollar — which is what the heading says. We typed the figures in by hand, so check the PDF itself before relying on one.
The schedule that replaces it on January 1, 2027
Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) has already posted its next schedule (posted October 9, 2026), effective January 1, 2027, under the same heading "100% of Published FMR". The table above stays in force until then; from January 1, 2027 these figures replace it:
| Voucher size | Lynn payment standard from January 1, 2027 | HUD FY2027 FMR |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / efficiency | $2,440 | $2,440 |
| 1 bedroom | $2,518 | $2,518 |
| 2 bedrooms | $3,008 | $3,008 |
| 3 bedrooms | $3,584 | $3,584 |
| 4 bedrooms | $3,958 | $3,953 |
Source: LHAND — Payment Standards, effective January 1, 2027 (PDF), the same one-page table with the earlier schedules below it. Monthly amounts, rent plus utilities. 4 of the 5 figures equal HUD's FY2027 fair market rent for that size, dollar for dollar. The figure for 4 bedrooms is $3,958 where HUD's published FY2027 FMR is $3,953 — $5 above it, under a heading that says 100%. We re-checked HUD's figure against its own FMR API before writing this; we do not know which document carries the slip, and we show the housing authority's figure as it posted it. We typed the figures in by hand, so check the PDF itself before relying on one.
What the FY2027 numbers change before January 1, 2027: nothing. Today's 2-bedroom standard of $2,941 is still above $2,708, the lowest figure the FY2027 range allows, and the same holds for every size in the first table — so the rule that forces a revision within three months of new FMRs (982.503(c)(3)) does not apply here. The January 1, 2027 schedule is Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND)'s own decision, not something the rule compelled; we will move it into the first table when it takes effect.
Correction, September 21, 2026: from September 17 to September 21, 2026 this page said Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) does not post its payment standards online. That was wrong — we had looked at a different page of its website. The schedule above is the posted one.
The arithmetic, with one worked example
Your baseline share is the total tenant payment: the highest of 30% of your household's adjusted monthly income, 10% of its gross monthly income, or the housing authority's minimum rent (24 CFR 5.628(a)). The housing authority then pays the landlord the lower of (payment standard − your total tenant payment) or (gross rent − your total tenant payment), where gross rent is the rent plus the authority's allowance for any utilities you pay yourself (982.505(b)). Rent above the payment standard is yours on top.
The utility allowance is not a guess: Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND) publishes a schedule by unit type, fuel and bedroom count, in force since November 1, 2025. The whole schedule, and the same arithmetic run with the allowance in it, is on the utility-allowance page.
Example — illustrative income, the real Lynn 2-bedroom standard of $2,941, and a household whose adjusted income is $2,000 a month, so its total tenant payment is $600:
- Gross rent $2,841 (under the standard): the household pays $600; the voucher pays $2,241.
- Gross rent $3,091 ($150 over): the voucher stops at $2,341; the household pays $750 — 37.5% of its adjusted income.
- Gross rent $3,191 ($250 over): the household's share would be $850, or 42.5% — and the housing authority cannot approve the lease. At initial occupancy, when the gross rent is above the payment standard, "the family share must not exceed 40 percent of the family's adjusted monthly income" (24 CFR 982.508). For this household the ceiling is a gross rent of $3,141.
The 40% ceiling applies when a tenancy is first approved, not to later rent increases. When a payment standard rises during a lease, the housing authority must apply the higher figure no later than your next reexamination, a rent increase that would raise your share, or one year after the increase — whichever comes first (982.505(c)(4)); when one falls, a household that stays in its unit cannot have the lower figure applied for at least two years, and only after 12 months' written notice (982.505(c)(3)). Adjusted income is the housing authority's calculation after HUD's deductions — this example is arithmetic, not a determination of anyone's rent.
How to apply for Section 8 in Lynn
LHAND, at 10 Church Street, administers Lynn's federal Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program locally — it runs the vouchers, inspections, and payment standards for the city.
Massachusetts pools most of its Section 8 waiting lists into one statewide Centralized Waiting List: a single free application covers about a hundred participating housing authorities at once (including agencies serving the Lynn area), and the list stays open year-round, so you can apply any time. Individual agencies' own separate lists — LHAND's included — open and close on their own schedules, so always check the authority's site for what is open right now.
- MA Section 8 Centralized Waiting List (apply online)
- Mass.gov — how to apply for Section 8 (HCVP)
- LHAND — Section 8 program
Applying is always free. No waiting list in Massachusetts charges an application fee — anyone asking you to pay to "get on the list" is not the housing authority. Waiting-list status changes — always confirm what's open on Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development (LHAND)'s own site. Income-eligible and waiting? Our tenant rights page lists the free legal-aid and emergency rental-assistance resources for Lynn renters.
Source & caveats
All FMR and income-limit figures come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Policy Development and Research — the public Fair Market Rents and Income Limits datasets, fiscal year 2027, for the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area. This site is not affiliated with HUD or any housing authority. Market-rate figures elsewhere on the page come from Zillow's ZORI index and measure something different — see the methodology for how the sources fit together, and the Lynn rent overview for the current market picture.
First published · Page last updated · rent index data through September 2026.
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