Are Section 8 Payment Standards Real?

[Tiana O.]

Hey everyone. Does anyone have experience with rents from Section 8 / Housing Choice Voucher tenants. The payment standards for my area that are posted seem to be high.

People I know, say that a 3 bedroom house in our area goes for around $1500 a month. But the payment standard (below) says a 3 bedroom would be around $2,353. I know that Section 8 does a area rent reasonability study. However, I'm wondering what you all's experience has been with the difference between actual rent approved by Section 8 vs. their posted Payment Standards.
  Bedroom Size - Payment Standard (Taken from the PG County Housing site) Efficiency $1,504 1bedroom $1,561 2 bedroom $1,793 3 bedroom $2,353 4 bedroom $2,902 5 bedroom $3,337 6 bedroom $3,773 7 bedroom $4,208
Follow-up question: Can you ask for a potential tenants actual voucher to see what rents they have been approved for?