THE RENTERS HANDBOOK
FOR
WEATHERIZATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
GRANTEES AND SUBGRANTEES

Prepared For:

Weatherization Assistance Program U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue
Washington, DC 20585
Under Contract # DEAC01-79-CS63021 Task Order Number 16

Prepared by:

Margaret Slajchert Jensen
Cynthia G. Ernst
Urban Systems Research & Engineering, Inc. Cambridge, MA
Washington, DC

AUGUST 1984

II.  RENTERS POLICY

Department of Energy
Washington. D.C. 20585

January 27, 1984

MEMORANDUM FOR:  Operations Office Managers

SUBJECT: Renters Policy

Weatherization Management Guide 5

The Department of Energy (DOE) is committed to serving renters under its Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP).  The Final Rule, published in the Federal Register on January 27, 1984, removed past regulatory ambiguities and contains provisions to encourage service to renters by grantees and sub-grantees.  It is DOE's position that:

1.  Renters and homeowners are equally eligible for weatherization assistance;

2.  Renters of all types of dwelling units -- single family homes and single units in duplexes, small multifamily buildings, or high-rise buildings with hundreds of units -- are all eligible for weatherization assistance; and

3.  Landlord and tenant agreements must be used to prevent rent increases due to the weatherization work.  Use of the agreements is optional for rent-controlled units.

The eligibility of a household for weatherization assistance is determined by the income of the occupant or occupants, not by the ownership of the dwelling unit.  Therefore, income-eligible people that rent their homes and those that own their homes are equally eligible for weatherization assistance, and should be treated accordingly by WAP grantees and subgrantees.

DOE wants grantees and subgrantees to increase their service to renters. Renters goals will be set by the grantees as part of the State plan.  Progress against these goals will be monitored by DOE, which anticipates a significant increase in the number of rental dwelling units served by the WAP.  If this does not occur, DOE will revisit the issue and consider the imposition of mandatory requirements to achieve the goal of this policy.

Joseph P. Flynn, Jr
Director, 
Division of Weatherization Assistance Programs
Conservation and Renewable Energy

cc:  Support Offices

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3. PROGRAM PRIORITIES

Sections 440.14 State plan, and 440.16 Minimum program requirements discuss both the optional and the required program priorities for weatherization projects.

Section 440.14(b)

... The State shall prepare a final State plan which shall identify and describe: (9)(iii) the extent to which priority will be given to single-family or other high-energy consuming dwelling units.

Section 440.16

Prior to the expenditure of any grant funds each grantee shall develop, publish, and implement procedures to ensure that: (B) Priority is given to identifying and providing weatherization assistance to elderly and handicapped low-income persons, and such priority as the applicant determines is appropriate is given to single-family or other high-energy-consuming dwelling units.

The amendment of Section 440.14(b)(9)(iii) gives grantees more freedom in the design of their program priorities. The previous rule required grantees to specify the priority level they granted to "single-family dwelling units for the elderly and handicapped." By amending the regulations DOE is expanding the options available to grantees and removing any constraints on the weatherization of rental units, particularly units in multifamily buildings.

The program flexibility stated in Section 440.14 is reaffirmed in Section 440.16(B), which was not amended in the new regulations. Grantees are required to give priority to elderly and handicapped persons in this section. In light of the DOE Renter's Policy, grantees must grant high priority to elderly and handicapped homeowners and renters alike.

4. WEATHERIZATION OF MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS

In response to numerous comments from grantees and subgrantees, DOE amended the 665 Rule to 50% for the weatherization of entire buildings for duplexes and four unit buildings. The amended regulation is presented below.

Section 440.22(b)

A subgrantee may weatherize a building containing rental dwelling units using financial asssistance for dwelling units eligible for weatherization assistance...where:
	
(1) the subgrantee has obtained the written permission of the owner or his agent;

(2) not less than 66 percent (50 percent for duplexes and four unit buildings) of the dwelling units in the building:

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(i) are eligible d welling units, or

(ii) will become eligible dwelling units within 180 days,
under a Federal, State, or local government program for
rehabilitating the building or making similar
improvements in the building.

In the amended regulstions, Section 440.22(b) was moved from Section 440.15 and the 50% eligibility requirement for duplexes and four-unit buildings was added. Otherwise the wording of the section is unchanged from the former regulation. The interpretation of this section is discussed below.

Eligible units in multifamily buildings may be weatherized by WAP subgrantees. The eligibility of a unit is not affected by the eligibility of any other unit in the building. If a single unit in a multifamily building is eligible for weatherization, then that unit may be weatherized.

Entire buildings including common areas and ineligible units may be weatherized if a minimum percentage of the units in the building are eligible. In duplexes and four-unit buildings, 50% of the tenants must be eligible for WAP before the entire building may be weatherized. For all other multifamily buildings, if 665 of the tenants are eligible for WAP, the entire building may be weatherized.

5. PROCEDURES TO PREVENT RENT INCREASES

Section 440.22(b) of the regulation concerning procedures to prevent rent increases was not changed. However, the Renters Policy clarifies the intent of this section.

Section 440.22(b)

A subgrantee may weatherize a building containing rental dwelling units...where:

(3) The grantee has established procedures approved by the field office Manager, to insure that:

(i) Rents shall not be raised because of the increased value
of dwelling units due solely to weatherization assistance
provided under this part; and

Gi) No undue or excessive enhancement shall occur to the value of the dwelling unit.

For rental units that are not rent controlled, grantees and/or subgrantees must develop and use a landlord and tenant agreement that controls rent increases for a specific period of time after the unit is weatherized. DOE encourages grantees and sugrantees to be flexible in their use of the landlord and tenant agreements. This flexibility should be guided by the following three criteria.

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l. The length of the control period and the allowed increases in the
rent, if any, should be relative to the value of the weatherization
work done on the building.

2. The stringency of the agreement should reflect the probability of the landlord violating the agreement.

3. The terms of the agreement should reflect any contributions toward the weatherization of the building made by the landlord.

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2.3 Are group homes eligible for WAP?
	
"Group Home Guidelines" prepared for the 1984 WAP Conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, emphasize that the eligibility of a particular group home is dependent on the "Definitions" section of the regulations. The important definitions in determining group home eligibility are: family unit; dwelling unit; and separate living quarters. The following examples of how to determine the eligibility, the allowable expenses and the number of completed units for group homes are taken from the "Group Home Guidelines."

ABC Group Home is occupied by six (6) residents. The home consists of a kitchen, living room, dining room, bath and three (3) bedrooms.

– The ABC Group home may be weatherized as one unit. The residents
may be considered a "family unit" living in a single-family home. The
cost of weatherization cannot exceed the maximum expenditure per
home for one home (without a waiver) and the aggregate income of
the residents must not exceed the Poverty Guidelines for a family of
6 ($17,100), or one of them must receive AFDC or SSI.

XYZ Group Home is located in a large building consisting of twenty (20) bedrooms with a bath, a large recreation area, dining room, and one set of kitchen facilities. Each bedroom is occupied by either one or two persons. All of the residents eat together in the common dining room. All residents are by definition low-income and the State subsidizes the maintenance of the residents.

– While the XYZ Group Home has the appearace of a multifamily building, it does not meet the definitional tests of "dwelling unit" and "separate living quarters" (the residents eat together). It must be weatherized as a single dwelling unit. In this situation you might want to request a waiver of the maximum expenditure per home based on "category of unit." The weatherized building would count as one unit completed.

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OMEGA Group Home is located in a converted hotel. It consists of six (6) floors with twelve (12) rooms (plus bath), on each floor off a common hall. There are a total of 72 units in the building, 60 of which are occupied by income eligible persons. All residents pay modest rent. There is no common dining room, and the individual rooms do not have kitchen facilities.

In this case the home qualifies as a multifamily building (entrances off a common hall, and residents do not live or eat together). Since more than 66 percent of the residents are income eligible, the entire building can be weatherized, including the heating system. Assuming a $1,000 maximum expenditure per unit, $60,000 may be spent on the building and 72 completions may be reported.

The guidelines state and these examples illustrate that eligibility of group homes and the allowable expenses for each home will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The guidelines also add that a grantee's selected approach toward group homes should be incorporated in the State Plan.

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