Where the utility allowance exceeds total tenant payment the owner must pay the difference to the family as a utility reimbursement

pbra.tenant_payment.utility_reimbursement_when_allowance_exceeds_ttp · v1.0.0

In the Section 8 programs other than the voucher program, the responsible entity pays a utility reimbursement when the utility allowance for tenant-paid utilities exceeds the amount of the total tenant payment. The owner must pay the reimbursement either to the family, or with the family's consent to the utility supplier to pay the utility bill on the family's behalf. The owner may elect to make the payments not less than once per calendar-year quarter where the reimbursements total $45 or less per quarter, and an owner exercising that option must have a hardship policy in place for tenants and must reimburse a departing family for a prorated share of the applicable reimbursement if the family leaves the program before its next quarterly payment. HUD Handbook 4350.3 states the arithmetic and the paperwork. The reimbursement is the utility allowance minus total tenant payment, and a family receiving one pays no tenant rent; where the family is at the $25 minimum rent the whole $25 is applied to the allowance and the reimbursement is the allowance less $25. When a gross rent change alters the reimbursement, a copy of the HUD-50059-A showing the change must go in the tenant file, the owner must sign and date it, and the TENANT must sign and date it too, because a change in the utility reimbursement is one of the two triggers for a tenant signature.

Confidence

high

Effective from

2000-03-29

Consequence model

agency finding with cure

Last reviewed

2026-09-02