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Get Help With Housing

Get Help With Housing

in Massachusetts

If you need protection from eviction:

Apply for rental assistance here. See "If you need help paying for rent" below for more details on the process. You cannot be evicted while you wait for a decision on your rental assistance application.

If your landlord is trying to evict you, stay in your apartment, click here for free legal help, and click here for a guide on additional steps to take. Do not move out: only a court can evict you. A "notice to quit" from your landlord does not require you to leave, it just starts a court case.

If you need help paying your rent or mortgage:

Check eligibility & apply for RAFT rent/mortgage assistance here.

Residents of the City of Boston who owe rent arrears of at least 30 days can request rental assistance from the City's Tenant Stabilization Fund, by calling the Office of Housing Stabilization at 617-635-4200. Unlike RAFT, there is no requirement of a Notice to Quit from the landlord or an eviction court case.

If you are experiencing difficulty with a RAFT application , call 2-1-1 any day, any time.

Currently, you cannot access RAFT for past-due rent unless your landlord has served you with a 'Notice to Quit' or has begun eviction proceedings in court.

Section 8 Housing Vouchers:

To apply for a Section 8 housing voucher, submit two online applications:
Submit an application to the regional housing agencies in Massachusetts AND submit an application to the local housing authorities in Massachusetts
In addition, submit a third application if you live in one of these communities:
Boston application
Cambridge application

Public Housing:

Apply for state-funded public housing here.
To apply for federally-funded public housing, contact your community's local housing authority.

If you need to enter a family homeless shelter:

Apply for shelter by calling (866) 584-0653 - call every day starting at 8am until you get a response.

Eligibility: families w/ child(ren) under 21 OR pregnant, income no higher than 115% of the Federal Poverty Level.

Unfortunately, you may be placed on a waiting list. If this happens, you can ask to be placed in a "temporary overflow shelter." However, you may be limited to just 5 nights in an overflow shelter, and prevented from accessing a family homeless shelter for six months.

When you apply for shelter, ask about HomeBASE (an alternative to shelter, see next section).

Find some advocacy tips on accessing shelter or HomeBASE benefits here.

If you are in a family shelter and want your own apartment:

HomeBASE is an alternative to shelter that provides up to $10,000 in rental assistance. This can be used to avoid entering shelter, or to leave a shelter.

Apply for HomeBASE through your shelter.

If you need help paying utility bills:

Click here to apply for LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program). Eligibility requirements here.

You can also get help paying your utilities arrears through the RAFT rental payment assistance program (whether or not you are looking for help paying rent) - click here to apply for RAFT.

If your income is too high for either of these benefits, visit the Good Neighbor Energy Fund.

Click here for additional information on help paying utility bills.

Other resources:

Contact your region's housing assistance agency here, and scroll down to the map of Masssachusetts.
Free legal help if your landlord is trying to evict you, and other legal assistance.
Tenants' rights resources for public housing and for landlord-owned buildings.
Other non-housing resources can be found on One Family's website or via Mass 211 (call 2-1-1).
If you suspect that you are a victim of housing discrimination on the basis of your racial identity, ethnic background, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigrant status, religion, disability, or due to having a housing voucher, click here for assistance.

Back to All Resources

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