Section 72 Alternative Housing Voucher Program

          Chapter 179 of the acts of 1995, as amended by section 64 of chapter 150 of the acts of 2024, is hereby amended by striking out section 16 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

          Section 16. The executive office of housing and livable communities, hereinafter referred to as EOHLC, shall, subject to appropriation, establish and administer an alternative housing voucher program in the form of either mobile vouchers or project-based vouchers for eligible and qualified low-income persons with a disability as determined pursuant to EOHLC regulations.

          To be eligible for the alternative housing voucher program, an applicant shall: (i) be a low-income person with a disability, as determined by EOHLC and (ii) comply with all applicable EOHLC program eligibility regulations.

          The executive office of housing and livable communities shall promulgate regulations and may issue guidelines or guidance materials, as it deems necessary, to administer the alternative housing voucher program. Such regulations, guidelines or guidance may include, but not be limited to: (i) income and asset requirements for applicant eligibility; (ii) requirements for program participants to pay a percentage of their income toward rent; (iii) methods for calculating payment standards and subsidy amounts and exemptions to payment standards deemed necessary by the executive office; (iv) administering the program through administrative agencies, which may include local and regional housing authorities and non-profit organizations and (v) conditions for program participation and termination.

          Nothing stated herein shall give rise to enforceable legal rights in any party or an enforceable entitlement to any form of housing and further, nothing stated herein shall be construed as giving rise to such enforceable legal rights or such enforceable entitlement.

This section amends the Alternative Housing Voucher Program standards to better align the program with the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program.