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4. A place not designed for, or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping place for human beings. Homeless households may submit verification of shelter expenses to qualify for the homeless standard deduction, but it is not required. There is no minimum acceptable shelter expense for homeless households. If the household has shelter costs exceeding the homeless standard deduction and opts to use the Excess Shelter Expense, they must verify the expense. The homeless standard shelter deduction must be subtracted from net income in determining eligibility and allotments for the household. A household receiving the homeless standard shelter deduction cannot have its shelter expenses considered under normal processing guidelines (SNAP budget will not include the homeless standard deduction and the actual amount of shelter expense.). Again, a homeless household may choose to claim actual costs if they those actual costs are higher than the homeless standard shelter deduction and are verified. Shelter Expense Deduction for Non-Homeless Households Shelter expenses are determined by using the most recent month's expenses unless the household is reasonably certain a change will occur. Shelter expenses, including utilities, must be verified. If the client reports shelter expenses but doesn’t provide verification of the rent/mortgage/other allowable non-utility shelter expenses, the eligibility staff member must request this information in the Request for Verifications notice. If a household reports a change of address but doesn’t include verification of the new shelter expense, the eligibility staff member must send a Request for Verification. If the client doesn’t provide the verification in 10 days, the shelter expenses will be removed from the case with timely notice of adverse action. Benefits are not terminated for not verifying expenses. SHELTER COST CAP: A shelter deduction is allowed for monthly shelter expenses that exceed 50% of the household's income after all other allowable deductions. The shelter deduction amount is capped each fiscal year. This amount will be updated every year by 09/01. EXCEPTION: There is not a capped shelter deduction for a household with an elderly or disabled member. A household with an elderly or disabled member receives a shelter deduction for the full monthly amount that exceeds 50% of the household's monthly income after all other expenses are deducted. NOTE: A household is subject to the shelter cap when the only elderly or disabled member is an ineligible alien or SSN disqualified or ineligible or disqualified for another reason. SHELTER EXPENSE GUIDELINES: The following are guidelines for all allowable shelter expenses: 1. Shelter costs must be payable in cash to someone outside the SNAP household.