Apply for state-funded public housing

Next steps   for Apply for state-funded public housing

1. LHA processes your application

   If your application is complete, the LHA will process it, and you'll be added to a waitlist. Each housing authority has its own waitlist. And you’ll have a better chance at getting an offer if you are a veteran, and if you live or work in that community.

   You may not hear anything for a long time after you apply. The waitlist for some locations may be very long, sometime years.

   If you have a homeless priority or veteran’s preference claim, look for emails, phone calls, and mail from the Centralized Screening Office (ASG). Respond with the documents they ask for, and if ASG approves your claim, you won't spend as long on the waitlist.

2. Log into CHAMP to keep your application active

   You need to log into the CHAMP website or contact a housing agency each year to keep your place on a waitlist. If you're inactive for 2 years, your application may be closed.

3. Apply to other housing programs

   The waitlists for public housing vary by LHA and by your specific situation. Housing for seniors (60 and over) tends to have more openings, for example. Here are other programs you may want to apply for:

   • Learn about federal public housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's website.(This page is just about Massachusetts-funded public housing.)
   • Some public housing is reserved for people who need full-time, intensive care for behavioral or medical issues. Contact your local Department of Developmental Services (DDS) area office to ask about this kind of housing and care.
   • Rental voucher programs pay part of your rent. 
   • The RAFT program is for emergency housing costs
   • Congregate housing is shared housing (roommates) for seniors and people with a disability. Some congregate housing is public housing, and some is privately owned.

4. Respond to requests for documents

   When your application is near the top of a waitlist, the LHA will contact you and ask for more documents and the CHAMP Supplemental Application (see an example). The documents they may ask for include a birth certificate, pay stubs, bank statements, or driver's license. You can upload these to CHAMP or deliver these to the LHA by mail or in person.

   If you have questions about documents, review the Frequently Asked Questions on the CHAMP Help Page or contact the LHA.

   Responding to Local Housing Authorities even if you don’t have the documents is the most important factor in successfully getting your application verified.

   Note: Some documents expire after 90 days. This means that if you've applied to multiple properties, you may have to upload the same document more than once. This would happen if there's a long time between when you get to the top of one LHA's waitlist and when you get to the top of another's.

5. Check the status of your application with the LHA

   If you want to know the status of your application, you will need to contact the LHA(s) that oversee the housing you chose in CHAMP. 

   If you have questions about your homeless priority claim, contact the Centralized Screening Office (ASG) email ASG or call them at (978) 935-4900,

6. LHA verifies your application and makes a housing offer

   Once you have submitted the required documents, the LHA will decide if you’re eligible, what your priority status is, and what your preference status is. Then, if you're at the top of the waitlist, you may receive a housing offer.

   If you refuse a housing offer, you will be removed from that public housing waiting list. If you refuse 3 offers, you will be removed from public housing waiting lists at all housing authorities where you have applied.