7226 Shelter Costs - Households shall be allowed a deduction for excessive shelter expenses. Excessive is defined as that amount in excess of 50% of the household's monthly income after all other allowable exclusions and deductions have been granted. The maximum allowable excess shelter deductions are as follows:
Households containing one or more
elderly or disabled members as defined in the Appendix
- NO LIMIT.
Households containing no elderly
or disabled members as defined in the Appendix
- Limit is $569.
Shelter costs shall include the following:
7226.1 Rent or Mortgage -
Second mortgages on the home
occupied by the household.
Condominium fees including,
but not limited to trash removal, maintenance of the structure
and maintenance of the grounds.
Monthly amounts paid toward
a cooperative membership. (For example, a townhouse residence
that requires residents to be a member of the cooperative to reside
in the homes).
Mandatory cable TV fees included
in basic rent.
Late fees on rent, mortgage
payment, property taxes, and the like.
The cost of repairs and/or improvements
for homeowner's or renters who make repairs in exchange for rent.
Separate and identifiable mandatory
cable TV fees.
Down payments toward the purchase
of a house or a cooperative membership.
Additional charges billed by
HUD to make up for past underpayment of rent.
Additional charges for pets/pet
deposits.
7226.2 Taxes and Insurance - Property taxes, state and local assessments, and insurance on the structure and contents, but not separate costs for insuring belongings or furniture (i.e., renter's insurance). Installment charges for insurance (example: extra charge for making monthly or quarterly payments) are part of the insurance expense and allowable as shelter costs.
NOTE: Personal property taxes of an RV or other motor vehicle used as a home (but not the portion that is for the license tags) can be allowed. The portion of insurance that is for the vehicle itself are also allowable, but not the portion for liability, medical, etc. A copy of the insurance policy with these details will be needed to allow insurance on an RV or other motor vehicle, as a shelter expense.
7226.3 Utilities - Households cannot claim actual utility expenses (with one exception as noted below) and are entitled to only one of the mandatory standard utility allowances as described below.
There are three utility standards, the Standard Utility Allowance (SUA), the Limited Utility Allowance (LUA), and the Telephone Standard Allowance (TS). The SUA covers all utilities and includes the cost of heating and cooling. The LUA covers all utilities but does not include cost of heating or cooling. Households qualify to use either the SUA or LUA, but not both. In addition, since a telephone cost is built into the SUA and LUA, the standard telephone allowance is not to be allowed when the SUA or LUA is used. The telephone standard allowance is for clients whose only utility expense is a telephone.
Standard
Utility Allowance (SUA) - A standard utility allowance
(SUA) of $364 is mandatory for use in calculating shelter costs when
the household has a heating or cooling expense. The SUA includes the
basic cost of one telephone, water, sewage, garbage and trash collection,
heating or cooling, cooking fuel, and electricity used for other than
heating and cooling. The State has an annual SUA and it is intended
to cover the time period from January - December.
The SUA is mandatory for households who:
incur heating or cooling costs
separately and apart from their rent or mortgage (this includes
bills that are not in the household's name as long as they are
expected to pay the bill), or
live in private rental housing
and are billed for utilities (which includes a heating or cooling
component) by their landlord on the basis of individual usage,
or a flat rate separately from their rent , or
live in public housing units
which have central utility meters and which are charged only for
excess heating or cooling costs.
Heating costs include the purchase of wood if wood is used as the household's primary heating source. A cooling cost is the verifiable utility expense relating to the operation of central air conditioning, room air conditioners, evaporative coolers or swamp boxes.
To be qualified for the mandatory SUA, the household must
be billed on a regular basis for heating or cooling costs (including a
flat rate separate from rent), or have received a LIEAP payment in the
current month or previous 12 months.
A household which incurs cooling or heating fuel costs
on an irregular basis (such as propane or wood costs in the winter) may
continue to use the SUA between billing periods. Likewise, if a household
incurs only one of the two qualifying components for the SUA (cooling
or heating), that household shall be eligible to use the SUA during the
entire year.
Households which have heating and cooling costs included
in their normal rent are NOT eligible to use the SUA unless they receive
a LIEAP payment in the current month or previous 12 months.
If the household is not entitled to the SUA it may be entitled
to the LUA. See item 2 that follows.
Receipt
of LIEAP and the SUA - As previously mentioned, households
who receive a LIEAP payment in the current month or previous 12 months,
during the period the SUA is intended to cover qualify to use the
SUA. This includes households that receive LIEAP, but their heating
or cooling costs are included in their normal rent.
If the household did not receive LIEAP payments during the previous
12 months (either did not apply or was not eligible) receipt of LIEAP
cannot be anticipated for the upcoming benefit period and the household
is not entitled to the SUA (unless otherwise eligible to use it).
Limited
Utility Allowance (LUA) - Households not entitled to the
SUA that do not have a heating or cooling expense but who have at
least two of the following utility expenses must use the Limited Utility
Allowance (LUA) of $247.
The household must incur at least two of the following:
water/sewer/garbage (If billed
separately for these expenses, they count as only one for purposes
of this provision.);
telephone; or
electricity (not used to heat
or cool).
Households
not entitled to the SUA or LUA - If the household is not
entitled to the SUA or LUA as described above, but incurs only one
of the following expenses, the household is entitled only to the cost
of the actual expense:
water/sewer/garbage (If billed
separately for these expenses, they count as only one for purposes
of this provision.); or
electricity (not used to heat
or cool).
Telephone Standard (TS) - Households who only incur telephone costs are entitled to the standard telephone expense of $35. Cell phones entitle the household to the standard telephone allowance if the cell phone is the household's only phone.
7226.4 Non-occupancy - Shelter costs for the home, if temporarily not occupied by the household because of employment or training away from home, illness, or abandonment caused by a natural disaster or casualty loss. For costs of a home vacated by the household to be included in the household's shelter costs, the household must:
Intend to return to the home;
The current occupants (if any),
not be claiming the shelter costs for food assistance purposes; and\or
Not be renting or leasing the home
during the household's absence
If the household is entitled to a utility standard for the occupied home, they may not also claim a utility standard for the unoccupied home thus no utility expenses are allowed. Those households are also responsible for providing verification of any other shelter costs of the unoccupied home if the cost is questionable and it would result in a deduction. The worker is not required to assist households in obtaining verification of this expense if the verification would have to be obtained from a source outside of the project area.
7226.5 Disaster Costs - Charges for the repair of the home which was substantially damaged or destroyed due to a natural disaster, such as a fire or flood. Shelter costs shall not include charges for repair of the home that has been or will be reimbursed by private or public relief agencies, insurance companies, or from any other source.
7226.6 Homeless Shelter Expense - Households may be allowed a homeless shelter expense of $152 if the household meets the definition of homeless (Appendix X-6).