Kansas Economic and Employment Services Manual

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:

1. Households containing one or more elderly or disabled members as defined in the Appendix - NO LIMIT.
    

2. Households containing no elderly or disabled members as defined in the Appendix - Limit is $712.
    

Shelter costs shall include the following:

7226.1 Rent or Mortgage -

1. The following rent/mortgage expenses are allowable:
   
   
   • Continuing charges for the shelter occupied by the household, including rent, mortgage, or other continuing charges leading to the ownership of the shelter, such as loan repayment for the purchase of a mobile home, including interest on such payments.
      
   • Mortgage insurance, generally included as part of the mortgage payment, is considered a continuing charge and as such, is an allowable shelter costs.
      

   • 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.
      

2. The following rent/mortgage expenses are NOT allowable:
   
   • 
     

   • 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.

1. Standard Utility Allowance (SUA) - A standard utility allowance (SUA) of $456 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:
    

2. • 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
      

   • have received LIEAP payments in the current month or previous 12 months, 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 that 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.
 

2. Receipt of LIEAP and the SUA - As previously mentioned, households that 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).
   
   

3. Limited Utility Allowance (LUA) - Households not entitled to the SUA that do not have a heating or cooling expense but have at least two of the following utility expenses must use the Limited Utility Allowance (LUA) of $336.
   
   The household must incur at least two of the following:
    

   1. water/sewer/garbage (If billed separately for these expenses, they count as only one for purposes of this provision.);
       

   2. telephone; or
       

   3. electricity (not used to heat or cool).
       

4. 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:
    

   1. water/sewer/garbage (If billed separately for these expenses, they count as only one for purposes of this provision.); or
       

   2. electricity (not used to heat or cool).
       

5. Telephone Standard (TS) - Households that only incur telephone costs are entitled to the standard telephone expense of $43. 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:

1. Intend to return to the home;
    

2. The current occupants (if any), not be claiming the shelter costs for food assistance purposes; and\or
    

3. 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 in which all members are homeless (See Appendix X-6 for the definition of homeless) may be allowed the Homeless Shelter Expense of $190.30. In order to receive the deduction, the household must incur or reasonably expect to incur any shelter or utility expense during the month.  

NOTE: Homeless households that do not have shelter expenses during the month are not allowed the Homeless Shelter Expense.