FY2026 Fair Market Rents for Bertie County, NC
Every year, HUD publishes Fair Market Rent (FMR) figures for every county in the country — the basis for Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher payment standards, and one of the only sourced, government-published rent benchmarks that exists for a market this thin. Bertie County is designated non-metropolitan. Here are the current, final figures, straight from HUD's own FMR Documentation System:
| Unit Size | FY2026 FMR | FY2025 FMR |
|---|---|---|
| Efficiency (0BR) | $790 | $797 |
| One-Bedroom | $796 | $802 |
| Two-Bedroom | $1,044 | $1,052 |
| Three-Bedroom | $1,252 | $1,267 |
| Four-Bedroom | $1,449 | $1,464 |
For a typical single-family rental — three or four bedrooms — that's a FY2026 FMR of $1,252 or $1,449 a month, both down slightly from FY2025. HUD's own documentation shows Bertie County's preliminary 2-bedroom calculation ($1,044) came in above North Carolina's statewide minimum FMR of $925, so every figure in this table reflects Bertie County's own rent data directly — no statutory floor was needed here, unlike several of this brokerage's other thin rural counties.
This is a policy figure, not a market-rent survey
FMR exists to set voucher payment standards, not to tell an investor what a house will actually rent for. It's a real, sourced number — useful as one reference point, especially for a voucher-tenant scenario — but it is not a substitute for current local rent comps or a licensed appraiser's market-rent survey before you underwrite a purchase. Comps themselves are thin here, given how low Bertie County's overall inventory runs.
What this means for a single-family rental investor
- Use it as a floor reference for a Housing Choice Voucher tenant. If a public housing agency places a voucher holder in your property, its payment standard — typically set somewhere between 90% and 110% of FMR, at the agency's discretion — is the ceiling on the subsidized portion. This page can't name the specific agency serving Bertie County (see the FAQ below) — verify that through HUD's own PHA directory.
- Use it as a sanity check, not a forecast. If a listing or a seller's pro forma claims market rent well above the FY2026 FMR for the same bedroom count, that's a reasonable moment to ask for real comps and real lease history.
- Weigh the local economy honestly. Bertie's tenant pool draws on a peanut and timber economy and a state prison among the county's top employers — real, if modest, sources of steady employment. Factor that into vacancy assumptions rather than assuming metro-level absorption.
- Don't treat FMR as a purchase-price justification. A rent figure alone doesn't tell you what to pay for a property — that math also needs your actual financing terms, insurance costs, property taxes, and maintenance reserve.
If lease income comes with the property
A meaningful share of Bertie County land carries hunting, timber, or agricultural lease income — the subject of Chapter 2 of the Land, Acreage & Hunting brief, Hunting & Recreational Economics. If a property you're considering comes with an existing lease attached, treat that revenue the way you'd treat any small-business income you're inheriting: get the actual lease documents and multi-season payment history, not a seller's verbal description, before you count on it as part of your return.
Financing an investment property here
The USDA, FHA, and NCHFA programs covered on this site's other financing pages are primary-residence programs and generally don't apply to a straight rental purchase. Investment-property purchases typically run through conventional non-owner-occupant financing or investor-focused products such as debt-service-coverage-ratio loans, usually with larger down payments and different underwriting than an owner-occupant mortgage.
Frequently asked questions
What is HUD Fair Market Rent, exactly?
Fair Market Rent (FMR) is a figure HUD publishes annually for every county and metro area in the country, primarily to set payment standards for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. HUD calculates it from Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) rent data, adjusted for inflation and trended forward to the fiscal year. It is a federal policy benchmark, not an appraisal, a rent-roll survey, or a promise of what any specific unit will actually rent for.
Does a landlord have to accept Section 8 vouchers in Bertie County?
Whether a landlord must accept vouchers depends on state and local source-of-income discrimination law, which changes over time and by jurisdiction — this page does not state a current legal requirement for Bertie County specifically. Confirm the current rule with a NC real estate attorney before assuming either way.
Which public housing agency administers vouchers in Bertie County?
This page does not name a specific local public housing agency for Bertie County — confirm the current administering agency using HUD's own Public Housing Agency contact directory at hud.gov before relying on voucher-tenant assumptions for a specific property.
Is the FMR the rent I should expect to charge?
Not automatically. FMR is a floor-setting policy figure, not a live market survey of what Bertie County renters are actually paying. Treat it as one documented, sourced reference point and verify actual achievable market rent with current local comps before underwriting a purchase — inventory and comps are both thin here.
Why did every bedroom size decrease this year?
HUD recalculates FMR annually from updated ACS rent data, a recent-mover adjustment, and inflation trending, then compares the result to the prior year (with a rule that the new figure can't fall below 90% of last year's). For Bertie County, that calculation produced figures modestly below FY2025 across every bedroom size — a real, documented change based on Bertie's own data, not an error.
What about hunt-lease or timber income on a property I'm considering?
Treat it like inherited small-business income: get the actual lease documents and payment history, not a seller's verbal description. Chapter 2 of the Land, Acreage & Hunting brief, Hunting & Recreational Economics, covers how that revenue actually works in Bertie County before you count on it as part of your return.
Evaluating a Specific Rental Property?
Travis can walk an actual address against this data — FMR by bedroom count, lease-income verification, and what financing is realistically available for an investment purchase in Bertie County.
Data note: FMR figures are sourced directly from HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rent Documentation System for Bertie County, NC (huduser.gov), current as of this page's publication date. FMR is a federal policy benchmark for the Housing Choice Voucher program, not a market-rent appraisal, and does not guarantee achievable rent for any specific property. This page is not financial, tax, or investment advice — verify current figures at huduser.gov, and confirm market rent, financing terms, and lease income for any specific property with the relevant licensed professionals before making an investment decision.