§ 177.22. Real property.
(a) Resident property owned by an applicant or recipient. The equity value of resident property is not counted toward the resource limit. The owner shall acknowledge liability of the resident property for reimbursement of assistance received on behalf of himself and persons for whom he is an LRR as defined in § 257.24(b) (relating to procedures) by signing an agreement consenting to the placement of a lien against the property.
(1) The Department will not force the sale of, or execute on a lien against, resident property as long as the property is used as a home by the applicant or recipient owner or his spouse or minor or incompetent adult children.
(2) Although a lien is placed against resident property, the lien does not include assistance paid during the period the owner or someone else in the budget group worked in a CWEP assignment. The amount disregarded from the lien will equal the number of hours worked in a CWEP assignment multiplied by the hourly minimum wage at the time of the work assignment.
(b) Nonresident property owned by an applicant or recipient. Nonresident property, including a burial space, is considered in the following manner:
(1) One burial space for each household member is exempt. This exemption also applies to LRRs and sponsors of aliens.
(2) If nonexempt property is legally available, the equity value of the applicant’s/recipient’s interest in the property plus the equity value of other nonexempt resources is totaled and considered against the resource limits in § 177.31 (relating to resource limit).
(3) If the equity value of nonexempt property, either alone or in combination with other nonexempt resources, exceeds the resource limit, each separately deeded parcel of nonexempt property receives an exemption for 9 consecutive budget months beginning with the date assistance is authorized for applicants, and the date the resource becomes legally available for recipients, if the following requirements are met:
(i) The applicant or recipient makes a good faith effort to dispose of the property and shall sign an agreement acknowledging liability for reimbursement of assistance received on behalf of himself and persons in the budget group for whom he is an LRR.
(ii) In cases when the budget group has been unable to sell nonresident property for reasons beyond its control, the 9-month time limit for disposing of the property will be extended for additional 9-month periods as long as the Department determines that the budget group is continuing to make a good-faith effort to sell the property.
(iii) The applicant or recipient repays the amount of assistance received during the exemption period, not to exceed the net proceeds of the sale. The assistance received is treated as an overpayment.
(4) If the nonexempt property has not been sold within each of the 9-month exemption periods, and the budget group cannot substantiate that a good-faith effort to sell the property is still being made, the recipient and members of the budget group for whom he is an LRR are ineligible, and the assistance received is treated as an overpayment. If the assistance stops and restarts during the 9 consecutive month exemption period, the assistance received is treated as an overpayment.
(c) Real property owned by an SSI or SBP recipient. The equity value of real property of an SSI or SBP recipient is not counted in determining eligibility of a budget group, regardless of whether or not he is an LRR to the budget group. The SBP recipient shall acknowledge liability for reimbursement of assistance provided to members of the budget group for whom the SBP recipient is an LRR, and a lien in favor of the Department will be placed against only the resident property. The SBP recipient who is an LRR is subject to the requirements under subsections (a) and (b). The SBP recipient is not required to sell his resident property as a condition of eligibility of the budget group, nor will the Department force the sale of, or execute on, the lien against the property.
(d) Resident property owned by an LRR. The following requirements apply:
(1) The equity value of resident property of an LRR who resides with the budget group, and who does not receive cash assistance, is not counted when determining eligibility of the budget group. Subject to the requirements of subsection (a), the LRR shall acknowledge liability of the property for reimbursement of assistance received by members for whom he is legally responsible if the LRR sells the resident property.
(2) Subject to the requirements under subsection (a), the LRR who owns resident property but is not residing with the budget group shall acknowledge liability for assistance received by members for whom the LRR is responsible. Failure by the LRR to agree to acknowledge liability does not affect the eligibility of the budget group.
(e) Nonresident property owned by an LRR. The following requirements apply to nonresident property owned by an LRR:
(1) For an LRR who resides in the home of the budget group and who is not receiving cash assistance, SSI or SBP and who has an ownership interest in nonresident property, his equity value of the property plus the equity value of other nonexempt resources of those members for whom the LRR is responsible are totaled and counted against the resource limit found in § 177.31. The conversion requirements of subsection (b) apply to the LRR. If the property is not legally available, the value of the property is not counted. The LRR shall acknowledge liability for reimbursement of the assistance received by budget group members for whom the LRR is legally responsible under subsection (b).
(2) For an LRR who is absent from the home, the procedures at § 257.24(a)(4) apply.
(f) Real property owned by a stepparent. Real property or a portion of real property owned by a stepparent is exempt when determining the eligibility of the stepchild. It is not subject to acknowledgement of liability for reimbursement of assistance received by the stepchild.
(g) Real property owned by the sponsor of an alien. Real property owned by a sponsor of an alien is treated under § 177.11(h)(1)(ii) and (iii) (relating to identification and verification of resources).
Authority The provisions of this § 177.22 amended under sections 201(2), 403(b) and 432 of the Public Welfare Code (62 P. S. § § 201(2), 403(b) and 432); the Support Law (62 P. S. § § 1971—1977); Titles I and III of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-193) (PRWORA), creating the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, and amending 42 U.S.C.A. § § 601—619, 651—669(b) and 1396u-1; and the Federal TANF regulations in 45 CFR 260.10—265.10.
Source The provisions of this § 177.22 adopted August 4, 1977, effective August 5, 1977, 7 Pa.B. 2180; explained November 6, 1981, 11 Pa.B. 3954; amended November 6, 1981, effective November 7, 1981, 11 Pa.B. 3969; amended July 9, 1982, effective July 10, 1982, 12 Pa.B. 2175; amended August 26, 1988, effective November 1, 1988, 18 Pa.B. 3893; amended September 13, 2002, effective retroactively to March 3, 1997, 32 Pa.B. 4435. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (247341) to (247343).
Notes of Decisions The discontinuance of AFDC benefits to a recipient because of her failure to apply for state retirement funds is proper, given her agreement in an assistance application form to pay the Department such funds and the provisions of 55 Pa. Code § § 177.21(b) (relating to policy), 177.22, and 177.23(a)(1), (3), and (6) (relating to requirements). Waller v. Department of Public Welfare, 443 A.2d 1222 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1982).
Cross References This section cited in 55 Pa. Code § 177.11 (relating to identification and verification of resources); 55 Pa. Code § 177.23 (relating to ownership); 55 Pa. Code § 177.24 (relating to determining value of resources); and 55 Pa. Code § 177.31 (relating to resource limit).
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