[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 4]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR965.505]

[Page 476-477]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
CHAPTER IX--OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, 
               DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 965--PHA-OWNED OR LEASED PROJECTS--GENERAL PROVISIONS--Table of Contents
 
              Subpart E--Resident Allowances for Utilities
 
Sec. 965.505  Standards for allowances for utilities.

    (a) The objective of a PHA in designing methods of establishing 
utility allowances for each dwelling unit category and unit size shall 
be to approximate a reasonable consumption of utilities by an energy-
conservative household of modest circumstances consistent with the 
requirements of a safe, sanitary, and healthful living environment.
    (b) Allowances for both PHA-furnished and resident-purchased 
utilities shall be designed to include such reasonable consumption for 
major equipment or for utility functions furnished by the PHA for all 
residents (e.g., heating furnace, hot water heater), for essential 
equipment whether or not furnished by the PHA (e.g., range and 
refrigerator), and for minor items of equipment (such as toasters and 
radios) furnished by residents.
    (c) The complexity and elaborateness of the methods chosen by the 
PHA, in its discretion, to achieve the foregoing objective will depend 
upon the nature of the housing stock, data available to the PHA and the 
extent of the administrative resources reasonably available to the PHA 
to be devoted to the collection of such data, the formulation of methods 
of calculation, and actual calculation and monitoring of the allowances.
    (d) In establishing allowances, the PHA 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. For instance, natural gas 
may be used for cooking, heating domestic water, or

[[Page 477]]

space heating, or any combination of the three;
    (2) The climatic location of the housing projects;
    (3) The size of the dwelling units and the number of occupants per 
dwelling unit;
    (4) Type of construction and design of the housing project;
    (5) The energy efficiency of PHA-supplied appliances and equipment;
    (6) The utility consumption requirements of appliances and equipment 
whose reasonable consumption is intended to be covered by the total 
resident payment;
    (7) The physical condition, including insulation and weatherization, 
of the housing project;
    (8) Temperature levels intended to be maintained in the unit during 
the day and at night, and in cold and warm weather; and
    (9) Temperature of domestic hot water.
    (e) If a PHA installs air conditioning, it shall provide, to the 
maximum extent economically feasible, systems that give residents the 
option of choosing to use air conditioning in their units. The design of 
systems that offer each resident the option to choose air conditioning 
shall include retail meters or checkmeters, and residents shall pay for 
the energy used in its operation. For systems that offer residents the 
option to choose air conditioning, the PHA shall not include air 
conditioning in the utility allowances. For systems that offer residents 
the option to choose air conditioning but cannot be checkmetered, 
residents are to be surcharged in accordance with Sec. 965.506. If an 
air conditioning system does not provide for resident option, residents 
are not to be charged, and these systems should be avoided whenever 
possible.