Recently, three special commissions established through the Affordable Homes Act released final reports with recommendations on extremely low-income housing, accessible housing, and senior housing. CHAPA was among the several organizations that participated in the Special Commission on Extremely Low-Income Housing
The Extremely Low-Income Housing report focuses on households with incomes at or below 30 percent of area median income. It reports that Massachusetts had approximately 470,000 extremely low-income households as of 2023, including about 320,000 renter households. The report also cites National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates of a 183,253-unit shortage of homes affordable to extremely low-income households, based on 44 affordable units for every 100 extremely low-income households.
The commission calls for strengthening the Commonwealth’s rental assistance tools by expanding MRVP with 4,400 additional vouchers each year, split between 2,200 project-based and 2,200 mobile vouchers, and it recommends investing in supporting and sustaining effective tenant organizations. It also recommends codifying MRVP in Massachusetts General Laws, improving statewide data on homes affordable to extremely low-income households, continuing and increasing investments in RAFT, renewing the Tenancy Preservation Program, and establishing an upstream rental assistance pilot. MRVP is also a throughline across the other two commission reports, reflecting how important rental assistance is for supporting stability across populations. Together, the three reports point toward a practical, forward-looking roadmap to help more people stay stably housed, with supports that reflect how needs intersect across income, age, and disability.
Reports: