Instructions: This worksheet will help you determine whether Housing Support can be considered rental assistance. For more specific information, refer to the General Information section beginning on p. 6. Also included with this worksheet are two examples (pp. 2 and 3) as well as a sample MAXIS Housing Support approval letter (p. 4). 

Applicant/Tenant Name	Unit #	# of BR	TIC Effective Date	
     	     	     	     	
I.	Calculate the Non-Rent, Housing Related Costs Funded by HSRB	
a.	Housing Support Room and Board Rate	$      	
b.	Lease rent for the unit (include all non-optional charges) 	$      	
Non-rent, housing related costs (a minus b)	$      	
II.	Calculate Tenant-Paid Rent	
a.	Housing Support client obligation 	$      	
b.	Non-rent, housing-related costs (from Section I, above)	$      	
Tenant-paid rent (a minus b) (enter $0 if a minus b results in a negative number)	$      	
III.	Calculate State Rental Assistance Amount	
a.	Lease rent for the unit (include all non-optional charges)	$      	
b.	Tenant-paid rent (from Section II above)	$      	
Rental assistance from Housing Support (a minus b)	$      	
NOTE: If the rental assistance is zero or a negative number, no state funds are assisting with rent, and the lease rent plus utility allowance plus any charges that are not optional must be below the applicable rent limit(s) for the unit. 	
IV.	Additional Requirements for Home or National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF)	
a.	Housing Support is project-based	Yes   No   	NA  (unit not assisted with 	HOME or NHTF)	
b.	HOME-assisted unit household income is at or below 50% HOME income limits	Yes   No  	NA  (unit not assisted with 	HOME)	
NOTE: If the answer to either a. or b. is no, Housing Support cannot be treated as state or local rental assistance. 
NOTE: Households occupying HOME or NHTF units cannot be required to participate in or receive services as a condition of occupancy. The required Form 22 HOME/NHTF Lease Addendum must be retained in the tenant file and is subject to Minnesota Housing compliance review. 	
V.	Calculate Annual Income from Public Assistance	
a.	Housing Support Room and Board Rate	$      	
b.	Client obligation	$      	
c.	*Lease rent	$      	
d.	Utility allowance	$      	
e.	Monthly income from public assistance (a minus b, c, and d)	$      	
Amount to be included in annual income (e times 12 – cannot be less than $0)	$      	
*If the rental assistance amount in Section III is $0, the lease rent cannot be higher than the applicable rent limit minus the utility allowance.	

Calculation Example #1:
The HSRB is $954 per month. The HSRB verification indicates the client obligation is $800. The lease rent for the unit is $754 per month. Under the lease, tenants must pay separately for electric. The utility allowance for the unit size is $54. The unit is restricted to the 30% MTSP rent limit for Housing Tax Credits. The 30% MTSP rent limit for the unit size in Hennepin County if $590. The unit is not HOME or NHTF assisted. 

*Lease rent cannot be higher than the applicable rent limit minus the utility allowance if the rental assistance amount in Section III is $0. 
Is HSRB treated as rental assistance? 
Yes. Section III indicates that at least $1 of state funds are assisting the household in paying rent. Section IV indicates the unit is not assisted with HOME or NHTF. In this scenario, the owner may collect the full $754 in lease rent even though it exceeds the 30% MTSP rent limit. Section V indicates none of the state funds are counted as income. 

Calculation Example #2:
The HSRB is $954 per month. The client obligation is $954. The lease rent for the unit is $800 per month. Under this lease, the owner pays all utilities. The unit is restricted to the 50% MTSP rent limit for Housing Tax Credits and 30% National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF) rent limits. The 50% MTSP rent limit for the unit size in Hennepin County is $984. The NHTF rent limit is $590. 

*Lease rent cannot be higher than the applicable rent limit minus the utility allowance if the rental assistance amount in Section III is $0. 
Is HSRB treated as rental assistance? 
In this scenario, no. None of the state funds are assisting the tenant in paying rent; however, the lease rent of $800 is below the 50% MTSP rent limit of $984 so the owner is not in violation of the Housing Tax Credit rent restriction if HSRB is not treated as rental assistance. Unfortunately, the lease rent of $800 does exceed the NHTF rent limit of $590. The owner may only charge $590 lease rent to comply with the NHTF rent restriction. When calculating the income from state HSRB in Section V, you must use $590 (or the actual lease rent, if lower), because the owner cannot charge more than the NHTF rent limit. 

Client Obligation

Housing Support Room and Board Rate (HSRB)

Housing Support is a state income supplement program funded by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and administered by counties and tribes to help pay for housing and housing-related expenses. Housing Support may be used in apartments in the community or in project-based settings. 

The county or tribe pays Housing Support Room and Board (HSRB) funds to a vendor on behalf of a Housing Support client. The vendor uses HSRB funds to pay the client’s rent, utilities, food, household supplies, and other housing-related expenses. These funds may not be used for services, clothing, or medical costs. A vendor may be a service provider, a tribe, a county, the property owner, or a management agent.

Some Housing Support clients may also receive Housing Support Supplemental Service Rate funds to cover health-related and supportive services. These funds are administered by the county or tribe to the vendor.

Is Housing Support treated as rental assistance?

Minnesota Housing will treat Housing Support as state or local government rental assistance if $1 or more of state funds (not the client obligation) is assisting the household with rent. The client obligation is the portion of the client’s monthly income that is part of the HSRB, as determined by the county or tribe. 

When Housing Support is treated as state or local rental assistance on a unit assisted with Minnesota Housing’s amortizing and/or deferred loans, Housing Tax Credits, Section 1602, HOME or National Housing Trust Fund funds, the gross rent may exceed the rent limit. For units assisted with HOME or NHTF, these additional conditions must be met: 
•	For HOME, the Housing Support must be project-based, the unit must be designated as Low HOME, and the household’s gross annual household income must be at or below the HOME 50% income limit. If a household’s gross annual household income exceeds the HOME 50% income limit, the gross rent MAY NOT exceed the applicable HOME rent limit. 
•	For NHTF, the Housing Support must be project-based (unlike HOME, there is no income requirement relative to allowing rent to exceed the allowable NHTF rent limit). 
•	For both HOME and NHTF, households cannot be required to participate in or receive services as a condition of occupancy. The required Form 22 HOME/NHTF Lease Addendum must be retained in the tenant’s file and is subject to compliance review by Minnesota Housing. 

Any state HSRB funds exceeding the amount required to assist a tenant with rent and utilities must be included as public assistance in the calculation of gross annual household income for programs that use the Section 8 definition of income.

The Supplemental Service Rate is never treated as rental assistance. Inclusion or exclusion from annual income will depend on what the Supplemental Service Rate is paying for. Consult the HUD Handbook 4350.3. 

Use the calculation worksheet on page 1 to determine whether Housing Support can be treated as state or local government rental assistance and the amount, if any, of state HSRB funds that would be considered income to the tenant. Retain completed worksheets in the tenant file; it will be helpful to the compliance officer during a compliance review. Two calculation examples are provided (refer to Calculation Examples 1 and 2, above).

NOTE: Some clients receiving HSRB may choose to transition to the Minnesota Supplemental Aid Housing Assistance program (MSA Housing Assistance), also funded by DHS. Once a client transitions onto MSA Housing Assistance, they are responsible for paying their own housing and housing-related costs. Because MSA Housing Assistance is paid directly to the client and all of it may be used for non-rent housing-related costs, it cannot be considered state or local government rental assistance. The full amount of MSA Housing Assistance must be included as public assistance in the calculation of gross annual household income.

For information on DHS programs, visit https://mn.gov/dhs/.

For the current HSRB rate or information on Housing Support, visit https://mn.gov/dhs/people-we-serve/adults/economic-assistance/housing/programs-and-services/housing-support.jsp or email dhs.dhs.grh@state.mn.us. The HSRB rate is updated annually on July 1.

Visit https://mn.gov/dhs/people-we-serve/adults/economic-assistance/housing/programs-and-services/msa-housing.jsp for information on MSA Housing Assistance.