Page 194

Page | 193 If heat is included in the rent payment and the household is eligible for Low Income Energy Assistance Payments (LIEAP), LIEAP will pay up to 30% of the rent expense to the household. The household will in turn be able to use this amount to pay their rent or if they have paid their rent by the time they receive the payment, they can use this money for other household items. Allow the full rent payment prior to the LIEAP payment because all LIEAP payments are exempt for SNAP purposes.

If heating or cooling is included in the rent, the SUA is only allowed if over $20 in LIEAP payments were made on behalf of an elderly or disabled household member in the current month or the last 12 month period. If there is not an elderly or disabled household member in the household, and heating or cooling is included in the rent, then the SUA is NOT allowed if receiving a LIEAP. Shelter deductions apply only to continuing charges for shelter currently occupied by the household. The shelter deduction is adjusted periodically as per Consumer Price Index changes.

10310 ALLOWABLE SHELTER DEDUCTIONS

The following is a list of allowable shelter deductions.

1. Rent, mortgage, and other continuing charges leading to ownership of the property, such as loan repayments for the purchase of a home, including interest on such payments. Payments on any liens or loans for which the home property is used as collateral are allowable. Condominium fees are considered an on-going shelter cost and allowed if verified.

2. Property taxes and insurance on the shelter itself but not on the contents of the shelter. If the insurance does not separate coverage on the shelter from the coverage on the contents, the entire premium is allowed as a shelter cost.

3. If the household is billed for heating, cooling, cooking fuel, electricity, water, sewage, garbage, and telephone expenses, including charges for initial installation of the utility, and the household is expected to pay the expense, the household is allowed a utility allowance. If the household receives a utility reimbursement payment, a utility allowance is allowed only if the utility expenses are greater than the reimbursement amount.

a) Households with an elderly or disable household member, whose heating or cooling costs are paid by LIEAP will be allowed to claim the standard utility allowance (SUA) as long as a LIEAP payment over $20 was paid in the current month or the past 12 months for the elderly or disabled household member. The $20 payment can be a single payment or multiple payments.

4. Charges for the repair of the home which was substantially damaged or destroyed because of a natural disaster, such as a fire or flood. Shelter costs will not include charges for the repair of a home that have been or will be reimbursed by private or public relief agencies, insurance companies, or from any other source.

Yearly payments or expenses billed less often than on a monthly basis may be allowed in the month they are billed or may be averaged over the period they are intended to cover.

5. If the household is homeless and has shelter costs equal to or greater than $199.89, but less than $200, the household will receive a homeless shelter deduction of $200. If the household’s shelter costs exceed $200, the household will receive their actual shelter cost amount as their deduction.