Parent Page: Housing Stability

Housing Choice Voucher Program Section 8

ATTENTION SECTION 8 VOUCHER HOLDERS:

Have you recently lost your job? Or have you had your hours reduced? Are you unable to pay your current tenant share? If so, you may be eligible for a change in the tenant share you pay your property owner.

To get started, contact the Leased Housing Gateway at 617-425-6611 or via e-mail at Gateway@MetroHousingBoston.org. Be sure to include the name of the head of household and current address. Our staff will provide you with the information needed to complete any changes to your household income or household composition and can also provide information on how to relocate.

Please note: This process only applies to current voucher program participants with Metro Housing through Section 8, MRVP, or COC. For everyone else who has lost a job or has had reduced hours, click HERE for information about the eviction prevention program known as RAFT. To get on the waiting list for a housing voucher, click HERE.

Housing Choice Voucher Program Section 8

The Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8, is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, elders, and people with disabilities to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. With a Section 8 voucher, the tenant pays up to 30 percent of his or her income toward rent and utilities and the voucher covers the rest of the housing costs.

Participants are free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program. Rental units must meet minimum standards of health and safety, as determined by local housing authorities.

THE MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES (EOHLC, F/K/A DHCD) DIVISION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE (DRA) CURRENTLY OFFERS ONE-TIME SECURITY DEPOSIT ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN VOUCHER HOUSEHOLDS WHO ARE MOVING INTO A NEW APARTMENT/UNIT. FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO HERE.

Do you need to apply for a rental voucher?

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Communities we serve

Metro Housing|Boston serves individuals and families, as well property owners, in 30 communities throughout Greater Boston.

  • Arlington
  • Bedford
  • Belmont
  • Boston
  • Braintree
  • Brookline
  • Burlington
  • Cambridge
  • Chelsea
  • Everett
  • Lexington
  • Lynn*
  • Malden
  • Medford
  • Melrose
  • Milton
  • Newton
  • North Reading
  • Quincy
  • Reading
  • Revere
  • Somerville
  • Stoneham
  • Wakefield
  • Waltham
  • Watertown
  • Wilmington
  • Winchester
  • Winthrop
  • Woburn

*Metro Housing|Boston does not administer RAFT, Voucher Programs, or HomeBASE assistance in Lynn. See Lynn Housing Authority.
*In addition to the 30 communities listed above, Metro Housing|Boston administers rental voucher programs in Holbrook, Randolph, and Weymouth. If you are specifically seeking RAFT assistance in those communities, you must apply instead to NeighborWorks. (https://nhsmass.org/).

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