The applicant is the main source of information when the CAO decides whether he or she is eligible for LIHEAP benefits. The applicant must give needed proof for the CAO to decide whether he or she is eligible. The applicant must provide true and complete information on everything that may have an effect on the eligibility decision. 55 Pa. Code § 601.101; LIHEAP State Plan § 601.101
Applicant households must permanently live in Pennsylvania. 55 Pa. Code § 601.31(3); LIHEAP State Plan § 601.31(3)
To qualify for LIHEAP cash or crisis benefits, an applicant household at the time of application must meet the requirements outlined below in this chapter's subsections.
Federal law requires states to set annual income limits for LIHEAP eligibility based on household size. Federal law says the LIHEAP income limit must be at least 110 percent of the poverty level set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The income limit also must be no more than either 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines or 60 percent of the state median income, whichever is higher. The limits can be changed each year and are published in the current LIHEAP State Plan. Current income limits are also published in Chapter 650, Appendix A. 55 Pa. Code § 601.31(1); LIHEAP State Plan § 601.31(1)
NOTE: For complete information about income requirements for LIHEAP, see Chapter 650, Income.
To receive a cash benefit, the applicant household must be responsible for paying for its main source of heat, either directly to an energy provider or indirectly as an undesignated part of rent. 55 Pa. Code § 601.31(2); LIHEAP State Plan § 601.31(2)
NOTE: Households renting with heat included that have a specific, or designated, portion of their rent used for their heating costs are considered to have a heating responsibility and are therefore eligible for cash benefits.
To receive a crisis benefit, the household must be responsible for paying for either its main or secondary source of heat, either directly to an energy provider or indirectly as an undesignated part of rent.
NOTE: Households renting with heat included that have a specific, or designated, portion of their rent used for their heating costs are considered to have a heating responsibility and are therefore eligible for crisis benefits.
A household is ineligible for a LIHEAP cash or crisis grant if the heating appliance isn't installed and operating according to the manufacturer's specifications or current code requirements, whichever is more stringent, and isn't following all applicable building and fire codes.
NOTE: For more information on responsibility for home-heating costs, see Chapter 605.2, Responsibility for Home Heating Costs.
Applicant households must permanently live in Pennsylvania. 55 Pa. Code § 601.31(3); LIHEAP State Plan § 601.31(3)
All qualified noncitizens (as defined in Chapter 622, Citizen/Alien) are eligible to get LIHEAP if they are otherwise eligible, no matter when they entered the United States. LIHEAP State Plan § 601.31(4)
A person or a group of people, including related roomers, who are living together as one economic unit that pays for its home-heating energy, either directly to an energy provider or indirectly as an undesignated part of rent, can qualify for LIHEAP if they are otherwise eligible. 55 Pa. Code § 601.41(a)(1); LIHEAP State Plan § 601.41(a)(1)
A person who already got LIHEAP benefits as part of another LIHEAP household during the same LIHEAP season is considered an ineligible household member. The CAO must not count ineligible household members in the household size, but the income of ineligible household members must be counted when deciding whether the household is eligible. LIHEAP State Plan § 601.41(a)(1)(i)
NOTE: For more information on household composition, see Chapter 610, Households.
A LIHEAP household may only receive one cash grant per season, and that cash grant amount is determined by the household composition at the time of application. If an individual who has not received LIHEAP moves into a household and that household already has received a cash grant, the individual is not eligible for another cash grant. 55 Pa. Code § 601.43
Reissued November 4, 2013 , replacing February 8, 2013