Affordable Housing Facts
Currently, there is an increased need for affordable housing in Massachusetts. This is partly because of inflation and higher rents, partly because of the end of benefits offered during COVID.
"AFFORDABLE HOUSING: In general, housing for which the occupant(s) is/are paying no more than 30 percent of his or her income for gross housing costs, including utilities.” In Massachusetts, to be eligible for state-aided public housing, your household income must be at or under 80 percent of the area median income. The income limits change periodically.
According to Mass Legal Help, “There are three basic types of government-funded housing in Massachusetts that help make rents more affordable for low- and moderate-income people:
Public housing
Public housing is owned and run by a local housing authority. If you live in public housing, the housing authority is your landlord.
Vouchers
A voucher is rental assistance to help people find an apartment in the private market. This is also called a tenant-based subsidy because the subsidy stays with the tenant, not a particular development. Sometimes the rental assistance may be issued for, or temporarily stay with, the housing development, but the tenant may be free to move with the subsidy in the future. See the discussion of project-based vouchers and enhanced vouchers, below.
Multifamily Subsidized Housing
Multifamily subsidized housing is owned by a private landlord or corporation that has received government subsidies to provide affordable housing. This is also called a project-based subsidy because the subsidy stays with the housing development (project), not a particular tenant. Often, affordable apartments are in the same development as market-rate apartments.
Within each of these three types of housing, there are many different affordable housing programs—each with its own rules. Programs at a Glance lists the major rental housing programs in Massachusetts.
Learn more about the often confusing subject of affordable housing at Harborlight Homes, Essex County Habitat for Humanity, and City of Beverly Office of Planning & Development or by watching the Community Conversation discussion with Meegan O’Neill, Darlene Wynne, and Shawn Farrell.