HUD Programs Are Affected by Energy Costs

Information by State  Print version

Not only does the cost of energy burden the poor, it affects the whole Department and its ability to administer its programs.

Public Housing Utilities Cost More than $1 Billion per Year

Total HUD outlays for energy costs for fuels in 1,276,000 public housing units were
approximately $1,154 billion in 1999. Of that amount, $308 million was spent on water costs.

Total Utility Expenditures for Four Quarters Ended 12/99
Total Expenditures $1,154 Billion (all dollar amounts in millions)

Source: 12/99 SORE Summary as of 4/27/2000

Section 8 Rental Support Includes More Than $2 Billion per Year for Utilities
Section 8 certificate and voucher programs now serve 1.6 million households. The program is administered by more than 2,500 State and local housing agencies. Another 1.4 million households that live in HUD-assisted, privately owned housing also receive Section 8 assistance allocated directly to that housing.

Families are responsible for finding their own housing, where the rent must be comparable to rents of similar, modest, unsubsidized housing units in the area. Families generally pay 30 percent of their adjusted income toward rent. Section 8 assistance makes up the difference between their contribution and the actual cost of the unit. HUD has interpreted “rent” to include costs for reasonable utility consumption. When a household pays a utility company directly, the household receives a reduction in rent, called the utility allowance, to cover the expected cost of reasonable utility consumption.

Based on utility costs in public housing, we can estimate that the total utility cost for Section 8 units is approximately $2.5 billion.