"Banks have created a false impression that may tempt landlords to set high rents to test the market."

The rent guidelines board meets every year to determine how much the landlord can set future rents on the lease.

He insisted on setting rents that were 40 percent higher than the average for the downtown market.

With a waiver, the authority would be required to set "reasonable" rents, meaning that it could charge some tenants more than 30 percent of their income.

The city also provides the money for the rehabilitation and sets rents.

Councils will set rents at a reasonable level, reflecting income levels in the different regions and localities.

The board sets rents and makes other policy decisions.

A different method of setting rents would "circumvent the statute," he said.

That Federal program sets rents at 30 percent of household income.

Landlords set fixed rents for tenant farmers in these regions, while independent small farming families also owned their own lots.