Which elements influence the total tenant payment in the HCV program?

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In the Housing Choice Voucher program, the total tenant payment is the portion of housing costs the family must pay, and those costs come from two pieces: the rent charged by the owner (the tenant rent portion) and the utility costs addressed by the program through a utility allowance. The gross rent used to determine housing assistance is the sum of the rent to the owner and the utility allowance, and the tenant pays a share of that gross rent (the TTP). So both the tenant rent and the utility allowances influence the TTP. Mortgage payments aren’t part of the HCV housing costs, and focusing on utilities or rent alone misses the other component that also affects the TTP.