HMIS 101: Housing Inventory Count Bed Guide

HUD Household Types (Applies to Everyone)

ALL year-round BEDS and UNITS must be categorized as one of the official HUD Household Types:

Adults Only (singles or adult only): Everyone in the household is aged 18 or over. This includes households where there is only one single person 18 years of age or older and households with at least one adult and dependents 18 or older.
Children Only (unaccompanied minors): Everyone in the household is under the age of 18. This includes households where there is only one single person under the age of 18 and households where the parent is under 18 and has a dependent under 18.
Adults with Children (families): There is at least one (1) member of the household under the age of 18, and at least one (1) member of the household age 18 or over. All Adults with Children households must have at least two people.

Multiuse Beds (Applies to Everyone)

If beds can be used for multiple household types, they must still be reported in one of the official HUD Household Types (adults only, children only, or adults with children).

To report multiuse beds, the beds can be divided into one of three Household Type categories based on the proportion of clients in each HUD household type occupying the project on the night of the Point in Time (PIT) count. Use this formula for each of the three household types:

Total Beds Available x (Clients in Household Type Total Clients in Project) = Total Beds for that Household Type

Round the beds to the nearest whole number and check to make sure that the beds for each household type add up to the total number of beds available in the project on the night of the PIT count.

Counting Beds (Applies to Everyone)

Count all beds as 1 bed, regardless of the size of the bed.

Single bed = 1 bed
Double bed = 1 bed
Queen bed = 1 bed
King bed = 1 bed

EXCEPTION: If the target population for the program is couples either with or without children, and only one bed is intended for the couple, count that bed as 2.

Do not include in the projects bed count:

Cribs, Rollaways, Mats, Cots

EXCEPTION: If the rollaway, mat, or cot is the standard type of bed available for the project, then count each as 1 bed, up to the projects normal maximum capacity.

Counting Units (Applies to projects Serving Adults with Children households)

For the housing inventory, the term UNIT applies only to accommodations for families. It is not used in relation to beds for adults only or children only households.

UNIT means separate quarters designed to shelter/house separate families.

Examples:

A house with 3 bedrooms that is designed to house only 1 family = 1 UNIT.
A house with 3 bedrooms that is designed for 3 mothers with small children = 3 UNITS.
A house with 2 bedrooms that is intended to house 1 single individual only = UNITS does not apply. This would be counted as 1 single bed.

In General:

Accommodations that are targeted to adults only or children only households but will on rare occasion be used to house a adults with children household should be counted as beds for individuals.

Accommodations that are targeted to adults with children households but will on rare occasions be used to house an adults only or children only household should be counted as units and beds for families.

Counting Beds Within Units (Applies to all projects serving Adults with Children household)

If the project supplies the beds: Refer to the counting beds guidelines above.

If the project does not supply the beds (the tenant supplies their own furniture):

For projects that lease apartments as needed for qualified clients (usually Permanent Supportive Housing voucher-type projects): The total bed count will be the same as the number of people who are being housed in the units.
For projects that own the unfurnished units: Use one of the two options below, or use a self-determined standardized measurement based on the normal capacity of the project.

o Option 1: Standard Bed Counts for Unfurnished Family Units

Efficiency Unit = 1 bed

1-bedroom Unit = 2 beds

2-bedroom Unit = 3 beds

3-bedroom Unit = 5 beds

4-bedroom Unit = 7 beds

o Option 2: Determine the projects average family size for the previous year and multiply that by the projects number of units.

Counting Voucher Beds (Applies to voucher-based ES, TH, or PSH Projects)

If a project provides hotel/motel vouchers or is a voucher-based permanent supportive housing project for clients experiencing homelessness, the bed capacity that the project should report for purposes of the housing inventory count should equal the number of people who are using vouchers on the night of the PIT count.

If the project has 10 people housed with vouchers on the night of the PIT count, then the bed inventory should be reported as 10, even if the project could provide more vouchers if they were needed.
If the project is a voucher-based permanent supportive project or transitional housing project contracted to serve 30 clients, for example, but there are 35 clients enrolled in the project on the night of PIT count, then the project should report 35 beds.

Counting Overflow Beds (Applies to Emergency Shelters that provide overflow beds)

If the project provides overflow mats or cots above normal maximum capacity in extreme circumstances, the overflow bed capacity that the project should report for purposes of the housing inventory count should equal the number of people who are using overflow beds on the night of the PIT count.

If the project has two (2) people sleeping on overflow cots on the night of the point-in-time count because of extreme weather conditions or for another reason, then the projects overflow bed count is two (2), even if more cots are available but not used.

Counting Seasonal Beds (Applies to Emergency Shelters that provide seasonal Beds)

Seasonal beds are beds that are available for only a portion of the year; for example, beds that are set up only during the winter. The number of seasonal beds might be the same every night, or the number available might change periodically; for example, if they rotate from one church to the next, and one church can house more people than another.

If the number of beds is the same every night, then the total number of people who could be housed is the number that should be reported as the seasonal bed inventory.
If the number of beds changes throughout the duration of the project because the location changes periodically, the total number of beds should be based on the location that is in use on the night of the PIT count.

Under Development (U) (Applies to any projects that is not housing clients, but will before the next PIT count)

Beds and units that were fully funded but not available for occupancy as of January 31 of the year of the count. For example, for the 2023 HIC, beds and units that were fully funded but not available for occupancy as of January 30, 2023. For inventory identified as under development, CoCs must also identify whether the bed/unit inventory is expected to be available for occupancy 12 months from January 31 of the previous year. For example, in the 2023 HIC, CoCs must identify whether the bed/unit inventory is expected to be available for occupancy by January 31, 2023.

Youth and Veteran Dedicated Beds (Applies to any project that has Youth or Veteran dedicated bed)

For both Youth Beds and Veteran Beds, the project must indicate if it has beds that are dedicated to that particular population. A Youth dedicated bed is a bed that must be filled by a youth experiencing homelessness (up to age 25) who qualifies for the project unless there are no youth experiencing homelessness within the projects area that qualify. Similarly, a Veteran dedicated bed is a bed that must be filled by a veteran experiencing homelessness (and their family members) who qualify for the project unless there are no veterans experiencing homelessness within the projects area that qualify.

Do not count beds that are dedicated to children who are in foster care or are wards of the state. All RHY-funded projects are required to report youth-dedicated beds.

For RHY-Basic Center Shelters: Only record NON-SYSTEM YOUTH BEDS for the HIC. If there is not a set number of beds reserved for youth experiencing homelessness, please estimate the projects yearly population or record the number of beds occupied on the night of the PIT count.

If the project is VA-funded, the project will be required to report veteran-dedicated beds. Count the number of beds that are dedicated to house veterans experiencing homelessness and their household members.

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) Chronic Homeless Bed Inventory - Applies to PSH Projects only

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) projects must report the subset of the total beds that are dedicated to house clients and their household members who meet the chronic homeless definition. To be counted as a chronic homeless bed, it MUST be filled by a client or their household member who meets the chronic homeless definition who qualifies for the project unless there are no clients who meet the chronic homeless definition in the area who qualify. All dedicated beds should be included in the projects total beds reported.

PH - Rapid Re-Housing with or without services Beds (RRH) - Applies to RRH with or without services projects only

Rapid re-housing with or without services (RRH) beds are based on those clients that the project has in permanent housing on the night of the PIT count, NOT how many the project could have housed. Therefore, the units would equal the number of persons (beds) and households (units) that the project has housed. Therefore, the number of beds and units will equal the number of clients and households housed on the night of the PIT count. RRH utilization is always 100%.

If the RRH project houses clients in the geographic boundaries of more than one CoC, beds should be apportioned between the CoCs, based on their physical locations on the date of the HIC.

VASH Vouchers - Applies to VASH Projects only

Projects should report the total number of VASH vouchers available for use in each CoC on the night of the PIT count, regardless of whether the voucher is being used.

If clients are housed in multiple CoCs, beds and units should be apportioned according to the proportion of vouchers in use within the physical boundaries of each CoC.

Total Vouchers Available x (Total Vouchers in Use in a Given CoC Total Vouchers in Use) =

Total Vouchers Available for that CoC