federalUnited StatesHOME Investment Partnerships Programutility_allowance

The participating jurisdiction must establish and annually update the utility allowance, choosing from the HUSM, the local PHA schedule, or a HUD-approved method

home.ua.participating_jurisdiction_establishes_and_updates_allowances · v1.0.0

The participating jurisdiction -- not the owner -- must establish maximum monthly allowances for utilities and services for HOME-assisted rental units and must update those allowances annually. Telephone, cable and broadband are excluded. The PJ may determine the allowance for the project based on the type of utilities and services the tenant pays, including any energy efficiency measures, and may use for its maximum monthly allowances the HUD Utility Schedule Model, the utility allowance established by the applicable local public housing authority, or another method approved by HUD. A PJ may require the owner to prepare the calculation and submit it for the PJ's review and approval, but the obligation to establish the allowance remains the PJ's.

This is the rule an operator most often gets wrong on a layered LIHTC/HOME property, because 1.42-10 makes the allowance the OWNER's determination while 92.252(b) makes it the PJ's, and the two menus are not the same: HOME permits 'another method approved by HUD' and does not carry the RHS or HUD-regulated branches, while section 42 has no HUD-approval route.

Confidence: high
Effective from: 2025-02-05
Last reviewed: 2026-08-31

Evidence required

Utility allowance documentation(one_per_year)

Citations

All sources verified within 1 day

HOME Investment Partnerships Program
24 CFR 92.252(b)
regulationSource ↗verified 1d ago
HOMEfires Vol. 13 No. 2 - Guidance on How to Establish Utility Allowances for HOME-Assisted Rental Units
HOMEfires Vol. 13 No. 2, 'Responsibility for UA Determination'
persuasive_agency_guidanceSource ↗verified 1d ago