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Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) - Eligibility - Massachusetts

To be eligible for the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP), an individual must have a disability, be under age 60, and have an annual net income less than the amount necessary to maintain decent, safe, and sanitary housing.

Applicants must have been determined to have one or more impairments that are expected to be of long continued and indefinite duration and that substantially impede the individual’s ability to live independently in conventional housing.

The local housing authority determines whether applicants for the AHVP meet the criteria for disability and have low income. Applicants may be required to provide documentation to help the local housing authority determine eligibility. As part of determining eligibility, the following actions and findings are necessary:

·      The applicant must provide certification by a physician documenting a physical or mental impairment which is expected to be of long and continued duration (at least for more than six months);

·      The local housing authority must determine that either certain special architectural design features or low-rent housing are not available in the private market, and that the applicant is faced with living in an institution, in substandard housing, or paying excessive rents; and

·      The local housing authority must determine that the applicant’s household income is within the income limits set for state-aided public housing. Income limits for admission of an applicant to state-aided public housing and for participation in the Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) are set at two-year intervals. The income limits are the "low income limits" set by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development then in effect for a similarly sized household in the city or town where the local housing authority is located.

NOTES: For the Federal income limits established by Housing and Urban Development (HUD), see the HUD Income Limits page at:
http://www.huduser.org/datasets/il.html

The limits change annually, usually in February or March, so you should check then. You should also check to see if a WorkWORLD update is available at:
http://www.workworld.org/

A household that occupies a unit in family or elderly/handicapped housing remains eligible for continued occupancy until such time as 30% of its monthly net household income equals or exceeds fair market rent then in effect for the Section 8 program for a comparable unit in the area where the local housing authority is located.

NOTE: See the topic "Fair Market Rent - Section 8" in the main WorkWORLD Help/Info system for more information.

An AHVP participant remains eligible for continued occupancy in a unit until the participant’s share of the rent equals or exceeds the contract rent. A participant who meets this standard retains an AHVP voucher for ninety (90) days following the local housing authority’s determination that the participant’s share of rent equals or exceeds the contract rent.

For more information, see:

Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) - Overview

Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) - Non-Financial Eligibility

Public Housing - Eligibility - Massachusetts

Alternative Housing Voucher Program (AHVP) - Rents - Massachusetts

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