Please answer the following questions about the house, apartment, or mobile home at the address on the mailing label.
14b) Last month, what was the cost of gas for this house, apartment or mobile home?
If you live in a condominium, enter the costs for utilities and fuels only if you pay for them in addition to your condominium fee.
If your fuel and utility costs are included in your rent or condominium fee, mark the "Included in rent or condominium fee" box. Do not enter any dollar amounts.
For items 14a and 14b, report last month's costs. For items 14c and 14d, report total costs for the "past 12 months".
Estimate as closely as possible if you do not know exact costs. If you have lived in this house, apartment, or mobile home less than one year, estimate the costs for the "past 12 months"in 14c and 14d.
Report amounts even if your bills are unpaid or paid by someone else. If the bills include utilities or fuel used also by another apartment or a business establishment, estimate the amounts for your house or apartment only. If gas and electricity are billed together, enter the combined amount in a and mark the "Included in electricity payment entered above" box in 14b.
What about people who live in a co-op?
I live in a cooperative. How do I answer the utilities questions on the ACS?
A cooperative is a type of ownership whereby a group of housing units is owned by a corporation of member-owners. Each individual member is entitled to occupy or rent out an individual housing unit and is a shareholder in the corporation that owns the property, but does not own the unit directly. The corporation may have a mortgage on the whole group of units. The member may have a loan or mortgage to buy his or her shares in the corporation. In many cases, residents living in housing units classified as "cooperatives" often do not pay separate utility bills. They pay a "co-op fee" that includes payment for various utilities.
In the American Community Survey (ACS), if you live in this type of situation, estimate the amount for each utility included in the "co-op fee," and enter those amounts in question 11 of the housing section.