Haw. Code R. § 17-2028-7 - Utility allowances

(a) The monthly rent for a family residing in a federally-assisted public housing project shall include utility allowances established in accordance with HUD's standards for utility allowances as described in 24 C.F.R. § 965.505 as it existed on October 20, 2022.

(b) Utility allowances shall be calculated by determining the utility rate then multiplying it by the applicable quantity allowance. A schedule of applicable quantity allowances for lighting, electric domestic hot water heaters, miscellaneous electrical, gas domestic hot water heaters shall be developed annually and shall take into account relevant factors affecting consumption requirements, including:

(1) The equipment and functions intended to be covered by the allowance for which the utility will be used;

(2) The size of the dwelling units and the number of occupants per dwelling unit;

(3) Type of construction and design of the housing project;

(4) The energy efficiency of authority-supplied appliances and equipment;

(5) The utility consumption requirements of appliances and equipment whose reasonable consumption is intended to be covered by the total tenant payment; and

(6) Temperature of domestic hot water.

(c) The authority shall conduct a review of utility rates in January of each year as required by 24 C.F.R. § 965.507 as it existed on October 20, 2022. Electric and gas rate schedules for all providers shall be collected and reviewed for each month from the preceding January through December of the calendar year prior to the fiscal year beginning July 1. These monthly rates shall be averaged over the year period,

(d) The new utility allowances shall be posted and noticed to tenants at least sixty days prior to the implementation date, during which time tenants shall have the opportunity to present written or oral comments. The applicable schedules shall be publicly posted in a conspicuous manner at the authority's project offices and shall be furnished upon request. The implementation date for new allowances shall be July 1.

(e) Implementation of all new allowances or components of allowances, by utility, shall be required when there is more than a ten per cent change in the resulting allowance due to a rate change since the last change was effective. In cases when a utility is granted a substantial rate increase in between the annual review, a mid-year allowance adjustment may be required.

(f) The authority may update the quantity allowances. To update the quantity allowance, dwelling units of various sizes in a sampling of different types of developments shall be surveyed to determine the types of existing equipment as well as to identify any factors affecting energy efficiency. If there is a variance in energy consumption factors within housing projects, the worst-case scenario shall be identified and utilized for calculating the quantity allowances. The authority may, at its option, develop property specific allowances for its properties.

(1) Allowances for lighting shall be developed by conducting a field survey of a representative sample of dwelling units to determine the number and type of fixtures. The following factors shall be used to determine the kilowatt hour per month allowance for each dwelling unit size:

(A) The number of fixtures;

(B) Watts per fixture; and

(C) Estimated hours of use per day.

(2) Allowances for miscellaneous electric equipment shall be based upon usage of a television, radio, miscellaneous small appliances, and a fan.

(3) The allowance for refrigerators is based on the equipment in place at the time of survey.

(4) Allowances for cooking shall be based on the equipment in place at the time of survey.

(5) Allowances for electric domestic hot water heating shall be based on engineering calculations for each bedroom size assuming a certain number of occupants. The data used in the calculations include estimated consumption per occupant per day, temperature of incoming water, temperature of hot water supply, efficiency of heater, and energy required to heat water to supply temperature.

(6) Allowance for solar domestic hot water shall be based on a cost analysis of a domestic hot water heating system.

(7) Gas consumption allowances shall be developed using the same methodology as the electric consumption allowance.

(g) The authority shall provide medical disability allowances for tenants who have provided proof of medical necessity to the authority. The initial quantity allowances for medical equipment shall be determined by taking the equipment's average energy consumption multiplied by the normal frequency of usage. A family may request a utility allowance in excess of the medical disability allowance which, based on need may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Requests for additional allowances based on medical disability may be made to management verbally or in writing, but shall also be subject to verification from a qualified individual. The authority will evaluate the request and respond to the family within 30 days of the completed request.

(h) A Family may also request individual relief from surcharges for excess consumption of agency-purchased utilities. Requests may be granted on reasonable grounds for utility usage incurred by factors beyond the family's control. Factors to be considered and procedures to be used when evaluating such requests include:

(1) Evidence that the family's consumption is mistakenly portrayed as excessive due to defects in the meter or errors in the meter reading;

(2) Evidence that the family's consumption is caused by a characteristic of the dwelling unit or equipment supplied by the authority that is beyond the control of the tenant;

(3) Evidence that the family's consumption is caused by equipment supplied by the authority that is faulty or otherwise not working properly and causing excessive usage that is beyond the control of the tenant; and

(4) Any other evidence the authority deems relevant in evaluating requests to increase the utility expense based on any factor that is beyond the control of the tenant.

(5) Request for any other type of individual relief, including a justification for the request and evidence to support the request, must be made to management in writing. The authority will evaluate the request and provide the family with a response within 30 days of the completed request.

(i) A family shall pay for utility usage in excess of the applicable utility allowance.

(j) A family shall receive a utility reimbursement when the utility allowance exceeds the total family payment except where:

(1) The family is paying a flat rent;

(2) The utility reimbursement would result in a rent due to the authority below the minimum rent as established in section 17-2028-61; or

(3) The family has received a financial hardship exemption pursuant to section 17-2028-61(b) from the minimum rent payment and reimbursement would result in a balance due from the authority to the household.

(k) If a family resides in a dwelling unit served by authority-furnished utilities and must pay for utility usage in excess of the applicable utility allowance pursuant to subsection (h), where:

(1) A checkmeter has been installed, the family must pay the excess dwelling unit cost of the relevant utility amount based on the authority's average utility rate as described in subsection (b).

(2) A checkmeter has not been installed, the family must pay for excess usage resulting from estimated utility consumption attributable to tenant-owned major appliances or to optional functions of authority-furnished equipment according to the schedule described in subsection (b).

Notes

Haw. Code R. § 17-2028-7

[Eff 7/21/05; am and comp 9/4/07; am and comp MAY 24 2014 ] (Auth: HRS §§ 356D-4, 356D-13) (Imp: 24 C.F.R. §§5.603, 5.632, 960.253, Part 965 Subpart E, §966.4; HRS §§ 356D-4, 356D-13, 356D-31) Comp 1/20/2019 Am and comp 2/17/2022 Am and comp 12/31/2022; comp 11/11/2023