Public & Subsidized Housing

When you apply for public or subsidized housing, learn how programs see whether you are eligible.

Learn about the steps a landlord must take to legally evict you.

Learn the basics about rent laws for private housing, state and federal public housing, and subsidized housing.

Learn more about paying utilities like electricity and gas as a tenant. Find out what rights and protections you have.

Learn about the reasons you can be denied from public or subsidized housing, including voucher programs.

Learn how to figure out which waitlists are open and how to keep track of all your housing applications.

Learn the basics of eligibility, waiting lists, rent, and more in public or subsidized housing.

If you are facing eviction and don't have a lawyer, use the information in these PDF booklets to protect yourself.

Learn about the eligibility rules for public and subsidized housing in Massachusetts if you are a non-citizen or in a mixed status household.

If you or someone in your household has a disability, there are laws that can give you tools to help you get housing, or make the housing you already have easier to use with your disability.

An overview of how apartment leases work in Massachusetts.

Learn how to get ready to move out of your apartment and avoid problems with your landlord.

Every year, the federal government updates its poverty guidelines. They are used to decide who is financially eligible for particular programs.

Here are some of the ways that reasonable accommodations can help when you are applying to, or living in, public and subsidized housing in Massachusetts.

An updated version of Legal Tactics: Finding Public & Subsidized Housing is underway. In the meantime, you can view chapters of the 2009 edition here as PDF files. Please note that some information may be outdated.

Coming soon -- newly updated articles about leases in state and federal public housing in Massachusetts. Including information about: Reading Your Lease Common Lease Terms, Tenants' Obligations, Housing Authority's Obligations, Lease...

Coming soon -- newly-updated articles about how to transfer to a different apartment if you live in state or federal public housing in Massachusetts. Including: types of transfers, whether a Housing Authority can make you transfer, how to...

Coming soon -- newly updated articles about how rents are set in state and federal public housing in Massachusetts. Including information about: Calculating rent, What to do if your income changes, What to do if your household size changes...

Learn more about smoking policies in public housing.