Eligibility

Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to apply for public and subsidized housing?

No, you do not have to be a United States citizen to apply for public or subsidized housing. Lawful permanent residents and many other immigrants may apply for all types of government housing.

If your entire family is undocumented, you will not be eligible for certain federal programs. In addition, for certain federal housing programs, if some but not all of your household members are citizens or have certain types of recognized immigration status, your portion of the rent will be higher than it otherwise would be. This may result in a rent that you cannot afford and make it unwise for you to apply for those programs. See What is pro-rated assistance or pro-rated rent? and If some, but not all, household members are eligible due to immigration status, should I still apply?

Some housing programs do not require information about immigration status or citizenship at all. Other programs are allowed to ask you about your citizenship or immigration status.

What housing programs take applications from immigrants?

There are no citizenship or immigration restrictions for all state housing programs in Massachusetts and for some federal programs.¹ If you are an immigrant—no matter what your immigration status is—you may apply to the following housing programs:

State housing programs

State public housing for families

State public housing for elders and people with disabilities

Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program

Alternative Housing Voucher Program

State-funded multifamily housing²

Federal housing programs

Some federal multifamily buildings³

Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)

McKinney Homeless Programs (except for the McKinney Section 8 moderate rehabilitation program)

Shelter Plus Care

Supportive Housing

HOME Rental Assistance

Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties (unless there are other housing program rules for the property to which immigration restrictions may apply)

These are unrestricted housing programs. This means that whether you have legal immigration status or not, you can apply to these housing programs. You do not have to provide any documents about your immigration status.

What housing programs limit applications from immigrants?

Many federal housing programs limit applications based on what your immigration status is.⁴ These are the restricted housing programs. Depending on your immigration status, you may or may not be able to apply for the following federal housing programs:

Federal public housing for families, elders and people with disabilities
Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers
Section 8 moderate rehabilitation program
Most federal multifamily buildings
Federal First Time Homebuyer programs.

Who may apply to housing programs which limit applications?

Your family may apply to any federal housing program listed in What housing programs limit applications from immigrants? as long as one member of your household is a citizen or eligible noncitizen, as follows:

Citizens

A citizen born in the United States;

A naturalized citizen;

Eligible Noncitizens

A permanent resident;

A registry immigrant (admitted for permanent residence by the U.S. Attorney General and eligible for citizenship);

A refugee or an asylee;

A conditional entrant;

A parolee;

A withholding grantee;

A person granted 1986 amnesty status;

A resident of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, or Guam;

A victim of trafficking or relatives of such a victim.⁵

Eligible noncitizens

If one member of your household is a citizen or fits into any of the eligible noncitizen categories above, your whole family can apply to all state and federal housing programs. This person does not have to be the head of household.⁶

If, however, no one in your household fits into any of these categories, you cannot apply for the federal housing programs listed in What housing programs limit applications from immigrants? Your family may still apply to the housing programs listed in What housing programs take applications from immigrants?

Important

If you apply to a housing authority that has both state and federal housing programs and are not eligible for federal housing because of your immigration status, this should not affect your eligibility for state housing. In other words, you are eligible for state-funded housing. You should make sure, however, that you are still on the waiting list for any of the housing authority's state-funded housing.

Also note

Even if you are eligible for one of these federal housing programs because one or more household members is a citizen or eligible noncitizen, it still may not be wise for you to pursue the application, because your rent will be so high (due to the immigration status of other household members) as to make your housing unaffordable. See What is pro-rated assistance or pro-rated rent? and If some, but not all, household members are eligible due to immigration status, should I still apply?

What if I will eventually have a "green card," but I do not have one now?

Many people may eventually qualify for lawful permanent resident status (having a "green card") because of a petition filed for them by relatives or family members. But they may have to wait for years to get a green card. Unless another household member falls into any of the eligible noncitizen categories discussed in Who may apply to housing programs which limit applications?, the person waiting for a green card is not eligible for the federal housing programs discussed in What housing programs limit applications from immigrants?

What if I have work authorization? Is this enough?

No. A number of people may qualify for work authorization due to their immigration status, but still not be considered eligible noncitizens for the federal housing programs discussed in What housing programs limit applications from immigrants? You need to see if you fit into one of the categories discussed in Who may apply to housing programs which limit applications?

What if I am a victim of domestic violence?

If you or your children are victims of domestic violence and are not U.S. citizens, you may qualify under the Violence Against Women Act for certain special immigration protections. These protections do not mean that you are automatically eligible for federal housing programs. You must still show that you fit into one of the eligible noncitizen categories discussed in Who may apply to housing programs which limit applications?⁷

Can I apply for housing if some people in my family do not have immigration papers?

If some people in your household do not have immigration papers, but some are citizens or eligible noncitizens (see Who may apply to housing programs which limit applications?), then you have what is called a mixed household. For example, if you do not have legal immigration status but your child was born in the United States and is a U.S. citizen, you have a mixed household.⁸

If you are a mixed household, you can apply to any housing programs listed in What housing programs take applications from immigrants? and What housing programs limit applications from immigrants? But for the programs listed in What housing programs limit applications from immigrants?, you will be eligible only for pro-rated assistance.

What is pro-rated assistance or pro-rated rent?

Pro-rated assistance (or pro-rated rent) for the programs listed in What housing programs limit applications from immigrants? means that your housing assistance or subsidy and your rent will be based on the number of eligible family members, not on the total number of people in the household. That means your family's rent will be higher than for housing programs listed in What housing programs take applications from immigrants?

For example, if you are a four-member Section 8 household that has two eligible members, the subsidy will be pro-rated by 50%.⁹ If the total rent is $1,200, this is how it would work:

Section 8 Sample
Total rent	$1,200
Section 8 voucher worth	$900
Your portion before pro-ration	$300

Section 8 voucher worth	$900
Housing authority pays 50%	$450
You pay 50%	$450

Your total payment for rent	$750

Calculations for the federal public housing program are figured a little differently, but the general rule is the same: pro-rated rent is much higher and depends on what proportion of your household is eligible.¹⁰

If some, but not all, household members are eligible due to immigration status, should I still apply?

Often pro-rated assistance results in your rent not being affordable. Even if you are eligible to apply for a federal housing program, if you are affected by pro-ration at all, it is usually a better idea to pursue the non-restricted housing programs mentioned in What housing programs take applications from immigrants? You will need to figure out what makes sense for you, based on your personal situation and how much your pro-rated rent will be. Ask the housing authority or subsidized landlord to explain how much you may end up paying in rent due to pro-ration.

If your rent is pro-rated and, at a later date, someone else in your household becomes eligible (for example, you finally get lawful permanent resident status), you should let the housing authority or subsidized landlord know this right away. It may result in a reduction or elimination of the pro-rated rent. If you are applying at a housing authority that runs both state-funded and federally funded public housing or rental assistance, and your pro-rated rent would not be affordable, you should not withdraw your application. You should ask if you can simply withdraw your application from the programs listed in What housing programs limit applications from immigrants? but keep your application active for the programs listed in What housing programs take applications from immigrants?

Endnotes

¹ Weeks v. Waltham Housing Authority, U.S. District Court, No. 76-402-F (Aug. 2, 1977). See also G.L. c. 6A, § 16C.

² This includes 13A developments through MassHousing, the SHARP program (State Housing Assistance for Rental Production), and other multifamily state-funded subsidized housing. See Housing Programs in Massachusetts for a list of state-funded multifamily housing programs.

³ This includes federally funded multifamily housing developments subsidized under the 202 PAC, 202 PRAC, 202 (without Rent Supplement or Section 8), 811 PRAC, and 221(d)(3) programs. HUD Multifamily Occupancy Handbook 4350.3 CHG-1 (Aug. 2004), Chapter 3, § 1. See Housing Programs in Massachusetts for more about these programs.

⁴ 42 U.S.C. § 1436a; 24 C.F.R. § 5.504; see generally HUD Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook (June 2003), Chapter 2, § 2.2; HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program Guidebook (Section 8), 7420.10G (2001), Chapter 5, § 5.2; HUD Multifamily Occupancy Handbook 4350.3 CHG-1 (Aug. 2004), Chapter 3.

⁵ Relatives include spouses, children, parents, and minor siblings of child victims. 42 U.S.C. § 1436a(a) 1-7; 24 C.F.R. § 5.506(a); see also 67 Federal Register 65272-01 (October 23, 2002). Section 107 of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000, 114 Stat. 1464, Pub. L. No. 106-386 (Oct. 28, 2000), codified at 22 U.S.C. § 7105. See also Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-193 (Dec. 19, 2003).

⁶ HUD Guidebook on Restrictions on Assistance to Noncitizens, 7465.7G (Nov. 1995), is confusing on this point. The model certification form in Appendix E says the head of household must be a citizen or eligible immigrant, although the Guidebook Q & A states this is wrong and should be deleted. See also HUD Memorandum to housing authorities dated Mar. 11, 2004, from William O. Russell (hereinafter "Russell memo," on file with Mass. Law Reform Institute (MLRI).

⁷ The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 created new protections for victims of domestic violence who are applying to subsidized housing or who are being threatened with eviction. See generally Violence Against Women Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-162, 119 Stat. 2960 (2005), Title VI. For more information about these changes, visit National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. For more information about the self-petitioning process for VAWA immigrants, see 8 U.S.C. § 1154 (a)(1)(A) & (B), and How Do I Apply for Immigration Benefits as a Battered Spouse or Child?.

⁸ 24 C.F.R. §§ 5.506(b)(2), 5.516, 5.518, 5.520; Russell memo.

⁹ 24 C.F.R. § 5.518, 5.520.

¹⁰ In federal public housing, there is no such thing as a subsidy. Instead, housing authorities are required to establish a "maximum rent" based on the value of the 95th percentile of the Total Tenant Payment for each federal public housing tenant. The methodology for this is complicated and changes each year. See HUD Guidebook on Restrictions on Assistance to Noncitizens, 7465.7G (Nov. 1995), §§ 11-5, 11-6, and Appendix H. Since federal public housing tenants have the right to choose between an income-based rent and a flat rent as a matter of law, this is even more complicated because pro-rated rent is calculated in one way using the housing authority's flat rent formula and in a different way using an income-based rent. See Appendix III (mixed household flat rent worksheet) to HUD's Family Report Form HUD-50058 Instruction Booklet PDF (June 2004).

Produced by Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Last updated December 2009