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DEO LIHEAP Policies and Procedures Manual Page 39

Part 900 -- Eligible/Ineligible Applicants .01 Eligible Applicants To be eligible, Applicants must: A. Have either an obligation to pay a utility bill directly to a utility company or non- subsidized rent that includes utilities. B. Be a U.S. Citizen or have Legal Permanent Resident status. C. Show an energy burden. D. Be income eligible. Gross countable income of all household members may not exceed 60% of the current Florida State Median Income guideline for households of 1-to-8 members, nor exceed 150% of the current Federal Poverty Level guideline for households of 9 members or more. E. Be, or was, residing in the LIHEAP service area at the time that the home energy costs were incurred. .02 Definition of Household Household is the term used to represent any individual or group of individuals living together as one economic unit for whose residential energy is customarily purchased in common or who make undesignated payments for energy in the form of rent. A. A single dwelling unit may contain two LIHEAP households only when the applicant can verify the following: 1. The applicant's LIHEAP household is an economic unit separate from the other household 2. The applicant's LIHEAP household occupies living space separate from the other household 3. The applicant has an obligation to pay for residential energy for his or her LIHEAP household 4. The applicant is not the spouse of the landlord or, if the landlord is applying, the landlord is not the spouse of the roomer B. The subrecipient does not count persons whose cost of residence is partially or fully paid through a foster care or a residential program administered by the state as household members. .03 Residency A. Applicants must be a resident of Florida and must apply for services in the county/area in which they live. Services cannot be authorized or provided to an applicant who is traveling through the state or living in Florida for a temporary reason (‘temporary’ is defined as less than 6 months at a time). Assistance may be provided to homeless households if they are requesting assistance with