Public housing is an invaluable asset in Massachusetts that supports many of our most vulnerable residents, specifically low-income older adults, families, and people with disabilities across 230 cities and towns. Public housing includes a variety of housing types including family housing in large developments, elderly housing ranging from motel-style campuses to high-rises, group homes serving DMH & DDS clients, and scattered-site single-family homes and duplexes. Massachusetts is one of only four states to provide state-funded public housing and does not solely rely on federal public housing units. Both state and federal public housing units are overseen at the municipal government level through local housing authorities (LHAs). Massachusetts LHAs manage approximately 30,000 federally supported public housing units and 41,500 state funded units, On a per-capita basis, this is more than any other state.
Public housing in Massachusetts experienced a housing development boom starting in 1948 in response to the post-war affordable housing crisis for returning veterans. The construction of this critical housing resource occurred primarily between 1948 to 1956 through large scale public investments of capital funding that focused on common templates to achieve scale. Though many of these units are still serviceable, they often had common design issues and have seen significant deterioration over time, outpacing the funding provided to modernize these units. From 1960 to 1985 the state and federal governments also funded a large portion of public housing to house the elderly, but these buildings have also significantly aged and are lacking the accessibility features to support aging-in-place.
The Commonwealth and federal government have tried to revitalize public housing through increased capital funding and redevelopment programs including the HOPE and RAD/Restore-Rebuild programs on the federal side and the state Public Housing Innovations Program. Harbor Point was a successful and nationally recognized transformation, followed by many federal housing redevelopments including Old Colony in Boston and Lyman Terrace in Holyoke. On the state side, major redevelopments include Orient Heights in Boston, Innes Apartments in Chelsea, and Lee Fort Terrace in Salem. While these redevelopments utilized various public and private funding resources to transform neighborhoods and create much-needed housing, the available funds do not meet the demand. Most state and federal funding is allocated primarily toward maintaining aging infrastructure rather than developing new housing. In Fiscal Year 2025, the estimated capital backlog across the state-aided public housing portfolio was approximately $4 billion, compared to FY25 capital funding of $157M. This backlog combined with factors including staffing capacity (state public housing subsidy lags federal public housing operating support) across Local Housing Authorities (LHAs) and challenges with the centralized public housing waitlist implemented in 2019, has resulted in approximately 2,150 (5%) public housing units being vacant as of January 16, 2025, despite a waitlist of over 200,000 people. Although this level of vacant units is comparable to industry standards, it is unacceptable given the demand for rental housing.
| Program | # Units |
|---|---|
| Family | 12,787 |
| Elderly/Non Elderly Disabled | 28,721 |
| Group Home (Approximate) | 1,850 |
| State-Aided PH Demographics 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Family | Elderly | |
| Average Income | $29,859 | $21,593 |
| Median Income | $23,960 | $18,600 |
| HoH Employed | 47% | 16% |
| HH Member Disability | 26% | 31% |
| HoH White | 65% | 77% |
| HoH Latino | 35% | 9% |
| Average Family size | 2.8 | 1% |
The legislature mandated a statewide application system for state-aided public housing as part of the Public Housing Reform legislation in 2014. The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) established the Common Housing Application for Massachusetts Programs (CHAMP) pursuant to this legislation, launching in April 2019 and fundamentally restructuring the Local Housing Authority (LHA) application process. Instead of requiring applicants to appear in person or mail an application to each LHA, who previously managed individual waitlists subject to state regulation but with minimal oversight, CHAMP now provides all applications through a single portal. Unfortunately, CHAMP’s effectiveness has been hindered by multiple challenges, principally the huge volume of applications and prioritization claims while leaving most tasks in the hands of individual LHAs. The implementation of centralized emergency priority screening has addressed many of these challenges, however. EOHLC, in partnership with the legislature and LHAs, has identified additional steps to improve access and equity.