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Family Rent to Owner - Section 8

The Family Rent to Owner is a term used only in the Housing Choice Tenant-Based Voucher program. (The comparable term in other Section 8 programs is Tenant Rent.)

The Family Rent to Owner is calculated as shown below. The net result of the calculations is that you may have to pay more than 30% of your income in rent and utilities because the Tenant-Based Voucher program gives you more leeway than other Section 8 programs in the size and cost of the rental unit you are allowed to rent. If you rent an apartment that costs more than the Payment Standard for your family size (either because the apartment has more bedrooms than HUD figures you need or because it is simply more expensive than HUD figures is standard) you have to pay more.

Note, however, that when you initially apply for assistance in renting a particular unit, you will not be eligible if your Family Share is greater than 40% of your Adjusted Income. (See Maximum Family Share for details.)

Calculating Family Rent to Owner

The somewhat convoluted calculations that are detailed in 24CFR982, and that WorkWORLD uses, are as follows:

NOTE: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is available at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cfr/.

The Family Rent to Owner is calculated by subtracting the Housing Assistance Payment from the Rent to Owner.

Rent to Owner:

The amount of rent negotiated by the renter and owner and approved as reasonable by the PHA.

(See Rent to Owner for details.)

Housing Assistance Payment (HAP): The lower of:

The Payment Standard for the Family minus the Total Tenant Payment; or

The Gross Rent minus the Total Tenant Payment.

(See Housing Assistance Payment for more information.)

Payment Standard for the Family: The lower of:

The Payment Standard for size of the family; or

The Payment Standard for the size of the rental unit.

(See Payment Standard for details.)

Total Tenant Payment: The highest of the following amounts, rounded to the nearest dollar:

(1) 30% of your family's Adjusted Monthly Income;

(2) 10% of your family's monthly Gross Non-Excluded Income. (Your Gross Non-Excluded Income is your total income after subtracting income exclusions.);

(3) If the family is receiving payments for welfare assistance from a public agency and a part of those payments, adjusted in accordance with the family's actual housing costs, is specifically designated by such agency to meet the family's housing costs, the portion of those payments which is so designated; or

(4) The minimum rent set by your Public Housing Agency (PHA).

Gross Rent: The sum of Rent to Owner plus any Utility Allowance.

Utility Allowance: The PHA estimates the cost of any utilities that are not included in the Rent-to-Owner (except telephone). The PHA follows these guidelines:

The utility allowance must be determined based on the typical cost of utilities and services paid by energy-conservative households that occupy housing of similar size and type in the same locality. In developing the estimate, the PHA must use normal patterns of consumption for the community as a whole and current utility rates.

The utility allowance for an individual family must include the utilities and services that are necessary in the locality to provide housing that complies with the housing quality standards. However, the PHA may not provide any allowance for non-essential utility costs, such as costs of cable or satellite television.

Higher utility allowance as reasonable accommodation for a person with disabilities: On request from a family that includes a person with disabilities, the PHA must approve a utility allowance which is higher than the applicable amount on the utility allowance schedule if a higher utility allowance is needed as a reasonable accommodation in accordance with 24CFR8 to make the program accessible to and usable by the family member with a disability.

See Also:

Tenant-Based & Project-Based Voucher & Certificate Overview

Source:

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): 24CFR982.506 – 509

Back to:

Section 8 Housing Overview

Federal Rent Assistance

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