loading…
loading…
loading…
Shelter costs over 50% of the household's income after all other deductions are deducted, up to the maximum excess shelter deduction found in Section 999-3 Chart 8.
EXCEPTION: No maximum shelter cap applies to households with one or more members who are elderly or have disabilities (Section 999-1).
NOTE: For households with members who are non-citizens funded by a mix of Federal and State funds see Section 444-11.
A. Allowable shelter costs are—
(1) continuing charges leading to ownership of or required for continued occupancy of the shelter occupied by the household (e.g. rent, mortgage (including second mortgages), condominium fees, and required association fees);
NOTE: Security deposits are not budgeted.
(2) property taxes, state and local assessments, and insurance on the structure;
NOTE: Separate costs for insuring furniture or personal belongings are not budgeted.
(3) electricity, gas, heating/cooling costs, cooking fuel, water, sewer, trash collection, basic fee (and tax on basic fee) for one telephone and initial installation of utilities (These utilities are budgeted per Paragraph B below.); and
(4) charges for repair of the home when damaged by natural disaster, unless reimbursed by private or public relief agencies, insurance, etc.
B. UTILITY EXPENSES
Households eligible for the Full Standard Utility Allowance (FSUA), Non-Heat Utility Allowance (NHUA), or Phone Only Utility Allowance (PhUA) have it used as the utilities portion of their shelter expenses. Households not eligible for any utility allowance have the actual verified expense used as the utilities portion of their shelter expenses.
For households using part or all of their utility expenses as self-employment expenses, see C below.
For treatment of utility expenses for a home temporarily vacated, see D below.
All Utility allowance amounts can be found in Section 999-3 Chart 8.
(1) FSUA
(a) A household who has received more than $20.00 in Low Income Heating Assistance Program (LiHEAP) benefits or similar energy assistance benefits in the period including the current month and the immediately preceding 12 months is eligible for the FSUA if at least one household member is elderly or has a disabling condition.
(b) A household who incurs, in full or in part, heating or air conditioning expenses apart from their rent or mortgage bill even if on an irregular basis is eligible for the FSUA. When someone outside the household is paying the entire cost of heating/cooling, and the payment is excluded as a vendor payment, the household is not eligible for the FSUA.
(c) Households living in a housing unit which has central utility meters and are charged only for excess utility costs are eligible for the FSUA.
(2) NHUA
A household who incurs at least two of the following expenses: cooking, lights, water, sewer, telephone, or trash collection including the costs of trash bags, land fill fees, etc. is eligible for the NHUA.
If a household has only one of the above expenses, they are not eligible for the NHUA. If the one expense is not telephone, actual expense must be used.
If multiple households share utility expenses, each household eligible for the NHUA receives the full NHUA.
(3) PhUA
Households not eligible for the FSUA or the NHUA who incur telephone expenses including basic line charges, cellular phone fees, or telephone cards are eligible for the PhUA.
If multiple households share telephone expenses, each household eligible for the PhUA receives the full PhUA.
C. USE OF RESIDENCE FOR SELF EMPLOYMENT
That portion of the shelter costs budgeted as self-employment expenses (Section 444-2) cannot be used as shelter expenses. Households are still eligible for the appropriate Standard Utility Allowance based on utilities not paid in full by the business.
D. HOME TEMPORARILY VACATED
Shelter costs for a home temporarily vacated by the household because of employment or training, illness, natural disaster or casualty loss are deductible only if:
(1) the household intends to return,
(2) the current occupants are not claiming shelter costs for SNAP purposes, and
(3) the home is not leased or rented while household members are absent.
NOTE: Households are only eligible for one utility allowance based on all shelter utilities.