Apply for the Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers Program (HCVP)

NOTE: Effective January 13, 2025, EOHLC has closed its HCVP/Section 8 mobile voucher waiting list until further notice. Applications, regardless of how they are submitted, will not be accepted by EOHLC or its regional administering agencies (RAA) on or after January 13, 2025.

Other options while the HCVP/Section 8 mobile waiting list is closed

Project-based vouchers (different than mobile; attached to specific units) are administered by RAAs. To apply for a project-based voucher:

1. Contact your local RAA to learn which properties are in your area.
2. Download this spreadsheet to find property management contact information for specific properties.

Local Housing Authorities (LHA) have separate Section 8 vouchers. To apply, you can contact an LHA and you can also apply online to MassNAHRO's centralized Section 8 waiting list.

City of Boston Stability Vouchers: The City of Boston's Continuum of Care program has Stability Vouchers (emergency housing vouchers) for people in Boston who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and who might be veterans or escaping domestic violence. If this applies to you, contact the City of Boston CoC. 

RAFT: The Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) program provides short-term emergency funding to help you with eviction, foreclosure, loss of utilities, and other housing emergencies.

What are HCVP/Section 8 vouchers?

The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) helps families with low income by paying part of their rent.

You can use some vouchers anywhere as long as the unit meets health and safety standards (tenant-based or mobile vouchers). Other vouchers are for specific housing units (project-based vouchers). There's high demand for housing assistance, so there are waitlists for applications. Some waitlists are so long that they may be closed. Apply for both to increase your chance of getting a voucher faster. 

If you qualify, you'll receive a voucher to pay part of your rent. You'll have a limited time to find a rental home anywhere in the country. You can also choose to stay in your current rental home if it meets the program's requirements. The home must meet minimum standards of health and safety.

We'll calculate the value of the voucher based on the cost of units like yours in the same area. However, the Section 8 program does not set the amount a landlord charges for rent.

Generally, you'll pay 30% of your income toward rent. We'll pay part of the rent directly to the landlord.

Who is eligible for Section 8 vouchers?

NOTE: As stated above, effective January 13, 2025, EOHLC has closed the HCVP/Section 8 mobile voucher waiting list. Regardless of eligibility, you cannot currently apply for the program. 

Your eligibility depends on your household's income. 

• For EOHLC’s Federal Section 8 Housing Vouchers, eligibility is generally 50% AMI (Area Median Income). 
• In Massachusetts, eligibility for the whole state is set using Boston’s 50% AMI, which maximizes program eligibility. 

• This program uses total gross income (your income before taxes or other amounts are taken out). 

  The federal government has a tool to help you figure out what the Median Family Income is in your area.

Who sets the limits? The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) establishes income limits for people receiving vouchers. Those limits are based on Median Family Income estimates and the Fair Market Rent for where you live. 

Note: There are often long waiting lists for vouchers because demand for help with housing is high. While you wait, it's important to keep your contact information up to date with the agency you applied to so they can notify you of any changes. If you don't, you could lose your place on the waitlist.

What is a Payment Standard?

Section 8 vouchers pay different amounts toward your rent based on the location of the apartment you are renting.  So your voucher may pay more in one town than in another. This is because housing costs are different in different areas of the state. Each region has a different “Payment Standard,” or maximum payment that a housing agency can pay to a landlord on behalf of a tenant.

How is the Payment Standard (maximum Section 8 contribution toward rent) set for an apartment?  

Up until recently, the amount that each voucher paid was based on the metropolitan region the apartment was in. Starting on March 1, 2024 and moving forward, the payment standard will be based on the apartment’s zip code instead. This approach allows the Section 8 program to more accurately reflect the market rents within neighborhoods, expand housing choices and create new opportunities for program participants.

Want to Understand the HUD Official Language?

In the past, payment standards have generally been based on HUD’s “area-wide” Fair Market Rents, which generally reflected different metropolitan areas. Going forward, payment standards will be based on HUD’s Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs), which reflect zip codes.

You can use this tool to find EOHLC’s Section 8 payment standards, effective March 1, 2024.