Massachusetts Section 8 Requirements: Income Limits, Waiting List, and Rent

To meet Massachusetts Section 8 requirements, your household income generally cannot exceed 50 percent of the area median income for where you live, every household member must verify citizenship or eligible immigration status, and no one in the household can be barred by a disqualifying criminal history. The Housing Choice Voucher Program is federally funded through HUD, administered statewide by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), and run day-to-day by local Public Housing Agencies across the Commonwealth.¹

Income Limits and Who Counts as a Family

Income is the main gateway. To qualify, your household must fall at or below 50 percent of the area median income, which puts you in HUD’s “very low income” category.² Federal targeting rules push further: at least 75 percent of the families a housing authority admits from its waiting list each year must be “extremely low income,” meaning they earn no more than the federal poverty level or 30 percent of the area median income, whichever is higher.³ In practice, most families who actually receive a voucher earn well below the maximum threshold.

In dollars, for a family of four in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metro area, the FY2025 very low income limit is $82,700 and the extremely low income limit is $49,600.⁴ A family in Springfield or Worcester will see different numbers, and HUD updates these limits each year.

There is no minimum income. A household with zero earnings can apply. The program defines “family” broadly to include single individuals, couples, groups of related or unrelated people living together, and households with children. Every member, regardless of age, must have citizenship or eligible immigration status verified before admission. U.S. citizens sign a declaration under penalty of perjury, and housing authorities are encouraged to require supporting documents such as a birth certificate or passport. Eligible noncitizens under 62 must provide immigration documentation and sign a verification consent form.⁵

Criminal History That Disqualifies You

Every adult in the household goes through a background review. A housing authority must deny admission if any household member is subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement, has been convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine on federally assisted housing premises, or is currently using illegal drugs. A family evicted from federally assisted housing for drug-related activity faces a three-year ban from the date of eviction. The housing authority can waive that ban if the person completed a supervised rehabilitation program or the circumstances that led to eviction no longer exist.⁶

Beyond those mandatory bars, housing authorities have discretion to deny admission for a pattern of drug use, violent criminal activity, or other behavior that could threaten neighbors or housing staff. Different Massachusetts housing authorities apply those discretionary standards differently.

Documents to Gather Before You Apply

Each agency can ask for slightly different paperwork, but most request the same core records:

Photo ID, Social Security cards, and birth certificates for every household member.
Two current and consecutive pay stubs, plus benefit award letters for Social Security, SSI, SSDI, TANF, unemployment, or child support.
A signed citizenship declaration or, for eligible noncitizens, immigration documents and a verification consent form.
Bank statements, information about any real estate, and retirement account balances.
A utility bill or current lease, which the agency may use when assessing priority.

Report accurately. Providing false information or hiding income can result in immediate denial, or in later termination from the program along with a demand to repay the subsidy.⁷

How to Apply in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has two application tracks, and the distinction trips people up. The state-level EOHLC operates a “mobile voucher” waiting list, but that list has been closed since January 13, 2025, and is not currently accepting new applications.⁸ Separately, local housing authorities across the state maintain their own voucher programs with their own waiting lists. You can contact individual housing authorities directly, and you can also apply through MassNAHRO’s centralized Section 8 waiting list, which sends a single application to multiple participating local agencies at once.

Apply to as many lists as you can. Each local housing authority opens its list on its own schedule. Some stay open continuously; others open only for brief windows, and thousands of people may apply within days of an opening.

What Happens on the Waiting List

Waits run from several months to many years depending on the agency and local demand. Some agencies use a lottery when a short application window produces a flood of entries. Others order their lists chronologically but apply preferences that move certain applicants ahead. Common preferences include local residency, veteran status, homelessness, displacement by a disaster, or living in substandard housing. The specific preferences vary by agency.

When your name reaches the top, you attend a mandatory briefing where the agency explains program rules and your responsibilities. The agency then issues your voucher, giving you 60 to 120 days to find a qualifying rental unit.¹ Most agencies grant extensions in 60-day increments if you can show you have been actively searching, up to a general cap of 180 days total. Families with a disabled member can request additional time as a reasonable accommodation.

What You Will Actually Pay in Rent

As a voucher holder, you generally pay about 30 percent of your household’s adjusted monthly income toward rent and utilities. The housing agency pays the rest directly to your landlord.⁹ “Adjusted” income means your gross income minus allowed deductions, such as deductions for dependents, elderly or disabled household members, medical expenses, and child care costs.

The subsidy is capped by a “payment standard” that each housing authority sets based on HUD’s published Fair Market Rents. Payment standards must fall between 90 and 110 percent of Fair Market Rent for each bedroom size.¹⁰ If you pick an apartment with rent at or below the payment standard, you pay exactly 30 percent of your adjusted income. If the rent exceeds it, you cover the difference out of pocket on top of your 30 percent share. There is a hard cap: when you first lease a unit, your total out-of-pocket share cannot exceed 40 percent of your adjusted monthly income.¹¹

If you pay utilities directly rather than having them included in rent, the housing authority applies a utility allowance that reduces your rent payment. The allowance follows a standard schedule for your area and unit size, not your actual bills. If your real utility costs run higher than the allowance, that extra comes out of your pocket.

Finding and Leasing a Unit

Once you find a unit and the landlord agrees, the landlord completes a Request for Tenancy Approval form that goes to your housing authority.¹² That triggers a Housing Quality Standards inspection and a rent reasonableness review. The inspector checks safety basics such as working smoke detectors, safe electrical and plumbing systems, adequate ventilation, a properly equipped water heater, and sound floors, walls, and ceilings.¹³ For units built before 1978 where a child under six lives or will live, the inspector checks for flaking, peeling, or chipping paint and requires the landlord to document compliance with Massachusetts lead paint regulations. Defective paint surfaces must be remedied with lead-safe work practices before the unit can pass.

Security Deposits

The security deposit is the tenant’s responsibility, not the housing authority’s. A Massachusetts landlord participating in the voucher program can charge a deposit up to one full month’s rent, and “full month” means the total contract rent, your share plus the agency’s share combined. If the total rent is $2,000 and your share is $600, the landlord can still charge you $2,000 as a security deposit.¹⁴ If that is a barrier, ask your housing authority about any available deposit assistance before you sign.

Landlords Cannot Refuse Your Voucher

Under Massachusetts law, it is illegal for a landlord to refuse to rent to you because you use a Section 8 voucher or receive any form of public housing subsidy. The state’s antidiscrimination statute treats housing subsidies as a protected class, so a landlord who says “I don’t accept Section 8” is breaking the law in the same way a landlord discriminating based on race or disability would be.¹⁵ If a landlord refuses you solely because of your voucher, you can file a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). Landlords who advertise “no Section 8” or reject your application after learning about your voucher may face enforcement action.¹⁶

Keeping Your Voucher Once You Have It

The housing authority must reexamine your income and family composition at least once a year.¹⁷ You will receive notice before your annual recertification date and must provide updated documentation of earnings, benefits, household members, and assets. If your income goes up, your rent share increases. If it goes down, your share decreases.

Between annual reviews, report significant changes as they happen. If your household’s adjusted income rises by an amount the agency estimates at 10 percent or more, the agency must conduct an interim reexamination and adjust your rent. If your income drops, you can request an interim reexamination to lower your rent sooner rather than waiting for the next annual review.¹⁷

The housing authority can terminate your assistance for several reasons:

Eviction from your assisted unit for a serious lease violation, which triggers mandatory termination.
Missing your annual recertification or refusing to sign required consent forms.
Misrepresenting income, assets, or household composition.
Drug-related or violent criminal activity by any household member.
Unpaid rent or damages owed to a current or previous housing authority.

The agency must give you notice and an opportunity for an informal hearing before termination, so you have a chance to present your side.¹⁸

Moving With Your Voucher

You are not locked into one city or even one state. If you want to relocate, you can “port” your voucher to any jurisdiction in the country where a housing authority administers the program. The receiving housing authority cannot refuse to assist you.¹⁹

To port, you must be in good standing with your current housing authority, with no outstanding debts or unresolved program violations. You generally need to notify your housing coordinator well in advance, with 60 days being common, and complete any overdue income reexamination. Your current agency packages your file and sends it to the receiving agency, which issues a new voucher and handles your lease-up in the new location. Payment standards and utility allowances differ between jurisdictions, so a move between a lower-cost area and Boston will change how much rent you pay out of pocket.

1
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Choice Voucher Tenants
2
eCFR. 24 CFR Part 982 Subpart E – Section 982.201 Eligibility and Targeting
3
GovInfo. 24 CFR 982.201 – Eligibility and Targeting
4
HUD User. FY2025 Adjusted HOME Income Limits – Massachusetts
5
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. PHA Letter on Citizenship and Immigration Status Verification
6
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.553 – Denial of Admission and Termination of Assistance for Criminals and Alcohol Abusers
7
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Common Documents for Public Housing and HCV Applicants
8
Mass.gov. Apply for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP)
9
eCFR. 24 CFR Part 982 – Section 8 Tenant-Based Assistance: Housing Choice Voucher Program – Section 982.1
10
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.503 – Payment Standard Amount and Schedule
11
eCFR. 24 CFR Part 982 – Section 982.508
12
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-52517 – Request for Tenancy Approval
13
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD-52580A – Inspection Form
14
Massachusetts Legal Help. Security Deposits in Subsidized Housing
15
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B Section 4
16
Mass.gov. Guidance on Preventing Housing Discrimination Based on Source of Income
17
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.516 – Family Income and Composition: Annual and Interim Examinations
18
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.552 – PHA Denial or Termination of Assistance for Family
19
eCFR. 24 CFR 982.355 – Portability