HELENA — The Montana Department of Commerce has released a survey to better understand the need for affordable housing in Montana.

The survey aims to gather information on how inflation, limited supply of rental housing, increased demand, high cost of labor and rising property insurance rates have driven up the cost of housing across the state.

Cheryl Cohen, Montana Housing Division Administrator at the Montana Department of Commerce, says, “The purpose of the survey is to gather more real-time market rent data across the state of Montana to submit a waiver request to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for evaluation in resetting fair market rents in Montana. From our perspective, we believe that their methodology, particularly for rural and frontier areas, does not adequately represent what our rents really are.”

Earlier this year, due to a change in state funding allocations, the waiting list for Section 8 vouchers was closed.

The Montana Department of Commerce will use the survey results to find more appropriate rental subsidies for lower-income households, especially seniors and people with disabilities.

“We look at households that are waiting for a federal assistance voucher and about 57 percent are households where at least one family member has a disability, so we’re talking about families that are on fixed incomes or that may have difficulty walking and to work,” says Cohen.

The results of the survey could adjust the maximum amount of rent that can be paid to landlords on behalf of households served in federal rental assistance programs and better define fair market rent.

Cohen defines that “It is to determine what our voucher payment standards are. Right now we have them maxed out at 120% of fair market rent, but for Lewis and Clark County those rents can vary for the voucher payment standard around $1,000 to $1,200.”

Tenants in Montana will receive a letter in the mail this week with instructions for the survey and a code to get started. Responses are voluntary and confidential.