Any experts in SSI? Can a recipient own his house?

[kaylasdad99]

My wife and I have a friend who is totally blind and receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Presently, he is living alone in an apartment subsidized by HUD's Section 8 program. Around the corner lives his aged mother, in a house that she owns free and clear.

Now his mother isn't going to last forever. She's recently had to give up driving, and her own health problems are beginning to catch up with her. When she passes, will she be able to leave the house to her son, and will he be permitted to keep it and live in it without losing his SSI (only source of cash he has, btw)? I know that SSI rules allow a recipient to have a couple of thousand in savings, and some personal belongings (such as a car), but I'm not sure if owner-occupied real estate has to be liquidated and the excess money spent in order to retain eligibility.

Can anyone help me out with factual information?

P.S. SSI, not SSDI. He's never earned wages, so the SSDI program and its rules do not apply to him.