HUD HCV Guidebook § 4

The following terms are used in this chapter:
Family Rent to Owner, in the voucher program, is the portion of rent to owner paid by the family.
Family Share is the portion of rent and utilities paid by the family.
Family Unit Size means the appropriate number of bedrooms for a family, as determined by the PHA
under the PHA subsidy standards.
Gross Rent is the entire housing cost and is calculated by adding the rent to the owner and the utility
allowance for the unit. Note: If all the utilities are included in the rent, the rent to the owner and the
gross rent will be the same.
Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is the monthly assistance payment by a PHA and is calculated as
the lower of: 1) the payment standard for the family minus the total tenant payment (TTP); or 2) the
gross rent minus the TTP.
Maximum Initial Rent Burden, also known as the Maximum Family Share or “The 40 Percent Rule”,
means the maximum rent burden at initial occupancy (when the family initially moves into the unit or
signs the first assisted lease for a unit). The family may pay the total tenant payment plus the
amount by which the gross rent for the unit selected exceeds the applicable payment standard so
long as the resulting family share does not exceed 40 percent of the family’s monthly adjusted
income.
Maximum Subsidy means the maximum amount of subsidy that the PHA can pay for a participant in
the HCV program and is calculated as the payment standard minus the total tenant payment (TTP).
Minimum Rent is the PHA-determined minimum TTP amount. The minimum rent is the least a family
will contribute toward rent and utilities. The PHA can set the minimum rent anywhere from $0 to
$50.
Monthly Adjusted Income means one twelfth of adjusted income.
Monthly Income means one twelfth of annual income.
Noncitizen means a person who is neither a citizen nor national of the United States.
Payment Standard is the maximum monthly assistance payment for a family assisted in the voucher
program (before deducting the total tenant payment by the family).
Prorated Assistance means, for families that include both members who are citizens or have eligible
immigration status and members who do not have eligible immigration status (or elect not to state
that they have eligibility), the amount of assistance is prorated based on the percentage of
household members who are citizens or have established eligible immigration status.
Rent to Owner is the total monthly rent payable to the owner under the lease for the unit. Rent to
owner covers payment for any housing services, maintenance and utilities that the owner is required
to provide and pay for.
Total Tenant Payment (TTP) is the minimum family contribution to the gross rent and is calculated as
the greater of: 1) 30 percent of monthly adjusted income; 2) 10 percent of monthly income; 3) the
welfare rent (in as-paid states only); or 4) the PHA minimum rent.
Utility Allowance means, if the cost of utilities (except telephone) and other housing services for an
assisted unit is not included in the tenant rent but is the responsibility of the family occupying the
unit, an amount equal to the estimate made or approved by a PHA or HUD of the monthly cost of a
reasonable consumption of such utilities and other services for the unit by an energy-conservative
household of modest circumstances consistent with the requirements of a safe, sanitary, and
healthful living environment.
Utility Reimbursement is the portion of the housing assistance payment which exceeds the amount
of the rent to owner.

Welfare Assistance means welfare or other payments to families or individuals, based on need, that
are made under programs funded, separately or jointly, by Federal, State or local governments
(including assistance provided under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program,
as that term is defined under the implementing regulations issued by the Department of Health and
Human Services at 45 C.F.R. §260.31).
Welfare Rent means the portion of welfare assistance specifically designated to meet the family’s
actual housing costs.