06/01/01

A shelter is defined as a household's principal place of residence. Only the following items will be considered allowable shelter costs.

1. Continuing charges for the shelter occupied by the household.

This includes rent or continuing charged leading to the ownership of the shelter. Such charges may be mortgage payments, payments of liens against the property (e.g. second mortgages made to repair the home or personal loans made using the property as collateral) or payments on loans for the purchase of a mobile home. Interest on all such payments will also be allowable.

When a household moves into a new residence and must pay the "first and last month's rent", both month's rent will be allowed as a shelter cost in the month in which the household is billed for the two months of rent.

2. Property taxes on the household's shelter. This includes State and local assessments as well as voluntary road or other improvement taxes. Identifiable personal property or real estate taxes on mobile homes used as a permanent residence will also be allowed.

NOTE: Personal property taxes other than those on mobile homes used as a permanent residence are not allowable.

Under the Homestead Tax Act, households in some counties may be reimbursed for part or all of their real estate taxes. Since the date of receipt or the amount of reimbursement cannot be anticipated, the full amount of the real estate tax bill incurred will be allowed as a shelter cost.

3. Insurance on the household's shelter. Insurance on the structure itself but not separate costs for insuring furniture or personal belongings are allowable. If homeowner's insurance is sold as a "package" and the company does not identify the portion of the premium paid for coverage on the contents of the home, the entire premium is allowable. The case record must contain documentation to this effect.

Membership charges paid to organizations offering insurance to members are not allowable.

4. Utility costs. Allowable utility costs include:

1. The cost of cooking fuel;
2. The cost of heating fuel;
3. The cost of cooling (a verifiable utility expense relating to the operation of air conditioning systems, room air conditioners, or evaporative [water] coolers);
4. The cost of electricity;
5. Water and sewer costs;
6. Garbage and trash collection fees;
7. The basic service fee for one telephone as shown on the telephone bill including tax on the basic fee; and
8. Fees charged by the utility provider for initial installation of the utility.

One time deposits on any utility are not considered installation costs and will not be included as a shelter cost.

The amount of the basic service fee for one telephone will generally be the fee that appears on the client's telephone bill. If the amount appears high in the judgment of the worker, verification of the services covered in the basic fee may be requested.

 

When a household member receives two telephone bills (e.g., one from Southwestern Bell and one from AT&T), the worker will examine both bills to determine the total allowable basic fees and taxes on such fees. Basic fees will include charges for line access (including mileage charges) and for leasing of equipment for one telephone. Long distance charges are not allowable. Fees to companies specializing in reduced rate long distance call service are not allowable. When a household has "Lifeline Service", charges for local calls in excess of the number permitted will not be allowable. The reduced basic service fees such households incur will be allowable.

1. Shelter costs for a home temporarily unoccupied by its owners. Shelter costs will be allowed for those homes that are temporarily unoccupied by the owners because of employment or training away from home, illness or abandonment caused by a natural disaster or casualty loss.

In order to include the costs of a home temporarily unoccupied by the owners, all four of the following criteria must be met:

- The household must be incurring these shelter costs;

- The household must intend to return to the home;

- The home must not be leased or rented during the absence of the owners; and

- If there are occupants currently in the home, these occupants must not be claiming the shelter costs for food stamp purposes.

Verification. If a household claims expenses for a temporarily unoccupied home, the worker will verify the household's actual utility expenses for the unoccupied home in every case and will not use the standard utility allowance.

2. Charges for Repair of Home. Charges for the repair of the home which was damaged or destroyed due to a natural disaster such as, but not limited to, a fire or a flood are deductible when such charges are billed or otherwise become due. Shelter costs will not include charges for repair of the home that have been or will be reimbursed by private or public relief agencies, insurance companies, or from any other source.

The utility standard is a predetermined amount. Eligible households may elect to use the utility standard in the food stamp budget to calculate total shelter costs. When the utility standard is used in the budget, no actual utility costs are considered regardless of whether the costs are more or less than the standard amount.

Only certain households may elect to use the utility standard. There are restrictions on how often eligible households may switch from using the utility standard to using actual costs even if the actual costs exceed the standard amount.

Generally, a household that incurs a cost for the primary source of heating or an air conditioning cost separate from the rent or mortgage payment may elect to use the utility standard. (See FSC 6621.1 for further explanation). The regularity of the heating and/or air conditioning costs is not a factor in determining whether a household may elect to use the standard as long as the household has costs during the season(s) that correspond to the billed periods. In both examples below the household is entitled to elect the utility standard.

Example 1 - A household does not have an air conditioner but incurs a cost for butane gas used for space heaters throughout the house. The space heaters are the household's primary source of heat.

Example 2 - A household rents an apartment where all utilities are furnished except electricity and that household uses an electric powered air conditioner.

Households billed only for phone, water, sewer, garbage, or any combination of these, are not entitled to elect to use the utility standard. Households not entitled to elect to use the utility standard may claim any actual utility costs incurred separately from rent or mortgage payments.

See FSC 6625 - 6626.2 when determining entitlement to the standard for a household which receives a utility assistance check.