Get Latest WorkWORLD

Utility Allowance - Section 8

The Utility Allowance is the amount that your Public Housing Agency (PHA) estimates as the cost to you of the utilities that are not included in your rent.

The Utility Allowance is used in figuring your Family Rent to Owner (in the Tenant-Based Voucher program) or your Tenant Rent (in all other Section 8 rental assistance programs).

The guidance HUD gives PHA's for determining the amount of the Utility Allowance is somewhat different for the Tenant-Based Voucher program from the guidance for all other Section 8 rental assistance programs. The guidance is as follows:

Utility Allowance – Tenant-Based Voucher Program

"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."

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

"If the cost of utilities (except telephone) and other housing services for an assisted unit is not included in the tenant rent but is the responsibility of the family occupying the unit, an amount equal to the estimate made or approved by a PHA or HUD of the monthly cost of a reasonable consumption of such utilities and other services for the unit by an energy-conservative household of modest circumstances consistent with the requirements of a safe, sanitary, and healthful living environment."

See Also:

Utility Reimbursement

Source:

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): 24CFR5.632, 24CFR982.517

Back to:

Section 8 Housing Overview

Federal Rent Assistance

WorkWORLD™ Help/Information System

   Share/Save: Click the button or link at left to select your favorite bookmark service and add this page.

This is one topic from the thousands available in the WorkWORLD™ software Help/Information System.
Complete information about the software is available at: http://www.WorkWORLD.org