Frequently Asked Questions
Subsidized means you pay a percentage of your income for rent
Affordable housing means you have to pay a fixed rent all by yourself regardless of what you make.
If you have a mobile voucher, you can afford the affordable housing. If you don’t have a mobile voucher, you need to apply for subsidized housing.
There is no centralized place to send all your housing options; most applications go to different addresses. Some places allow electronic applications. However, many places require you to send a printed paper application.
Glossary
Subpopulation : an identifiable fraction or subdivision of a population
Area Median Income, also known as “A-M-I” or sometimes referenced as Median Family Income (MFI), is the household income for the median/'middle' household in a given region. Thus, if you were to line up each household from poorest to wealthiest, the household in the very middle would be considered the median
Other Helpful Resources | |
Agencies that might assist you with Housing SearchMany are only funded to work with those who are already homeless. Logically, every household needs a housing advocate to help nagivate the complicated helping system; to print and mail applications; and to explain terms and provide support. But you should check with these agencies anyway. HousingWorks believes that the only fair and effective strategy is for each state to fund full-time housing advocates who works out of City Hall and the local housing authority - please consider pushing for this idea in housing advocacy forums. | See alphabetized list of agencies |
Locate Landlord Information for your ApplicationsMany states have similar services: Simply search like this: "New York Interactive Property Map | Locate Landlord Information Look at the top right-hand corner and type an address |
| Use one of these two forms to notify Waitlist Administrators about changes to your status: | MS Word | PDF |
| This Guide is a handy way to document discrimination you've experienced in your Housing Search: | HousingWorks: Discrimination Self-Help Handbook |
| Massachusetts Law Reform Institute writes short legal guides in 8th grade English. | Extremely Helpful Legal Guides from Mass. Law Reform Institute |
| Massachusetts Law Assistance Corporations | Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation - Good Directory of Resources and Legal Help from |
| This form is provided by HUD to help you formally complain about discrimination. | HUD: Discrimination Complaint Form. |
Contacting your state and federal legislators:This is often a great way to get institutions to respond to you more quickly. If you find that an agency, housing authority, or management company is not helping you fast enough, try having your state legislator call on your behalf. Each legislator has staff whose primary job is to help their particular consituents by making calls for them. Be sure to do your legwork before you call them. | Find your State and U.S. Legislators |
HousingWorks, Inc.
P.O. Box 231104
Boston, MA 02123