Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) Newly added to the CHAMP website.

The MRVP application is now included in the CHAMP program.  Please fill out a CHAMP application and include the MRVP program and the MRVP housing selections. You can apply for both the mobile and project-based vouchers. 

MRVP provides a permanent improvement in the lives of low-income families and individuals by offering both tenant- and project-based rental subsidies. The tenant-based voucher, which is known as Mobile, is assigned to the Participant and is valid for any housing unit that meets the standards of the state sanitary code. Project Based vouchers are assigned to a specific housing unit or development. The owner rents these units to a program eligible tenant, and Project Based tenants who move forfeit the subsidy. In both cases, a regional non-profit housing agency or a local housing authority like the Attleboro Housing Authority administers the program locally. 

For the Mobile component (tenant based program), the state subsidy or voucher value is a set amount. This amount is determined by several factors: the tenant's income, household size and geography. The participant pays the difference between the value of the voucher and what the landlord charges for rent. Much of the program’s recent growth has been in vouchers targeted to homeless families in motels or shelters; however, when other existing voucher holders leave the program, their vouchers are offered to eligible applicants on local waiting lists which can be quite lengthy, or closed, due to the great demand.

For the Project Based component, a participant pays either 35% or 40% of their adjusted gross income, depending upon whether or not heat is included in the utilities. 

An applicant whose household income does not exceed 80% of Area Median Income is eligible for the program. 

Housing Choice Vouchers Program (“Section 8”)

 The Housing Choice Vouchers Program (often referred to as “Section 8”) is the federal government’s primary program to provide housing for Americans who are living in poverty, as well as the elderly and disabled. It provides qualifying families with assistance in paying the monthly rental fee for homes and apartments that are located anywhere, not just in subsidized housing projects. In every major market in the country it is administered locally by municipal public housing agencies, which certify the tenants and residences for participation in the program.  

Information about the Housing Choice Vouchers Program, including eligibility requirements for both tenants and landlords’ residences, can be found from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at www.affordablehousing.com/MassCWL