Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 760 CMR - HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF › Title 760 CMR 49.00 - Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program › Section 49.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Administering Agency
. A Local Housing
				Authority (LHA), a public body politic and corporate created pursuant to M.G.L. c.
				121B, § 3 or similar provisions of earlier general laws or of special laws, or
				a Regional Administering Agency (RAA), a regional non-profit corporation or other
				entity, under contract with the Department to administer the MRVP.
Appropriate Unit Size
. The size of a unit
				is appropriate for a household if the unit meets all the following criteria:
(a) Household members of the opposite sex, excepting husband and
				wife (or those in a similar living arrangement), do not have to share a bedroom,
				provided that children of the opposite sex younger than eight years old shall share
				a bedroom and provided that other household members of the opposite sex may elect to
				share a bedroom.
(b) Persons of the same sex shall share a bedroom, provided that a
				household member, 21 years of age or older, may elect not to share a bedroom with
				his or her child, grandchild, or legal ward and provided that a household member
				does not have to share a bedroom if a consequence of sharing is or would be a severe
				adverse impact on his or her mental or physical health and if the administering
				agency receives reliable medical documentation as to such impact of sharing.
(c) Each bedroom shall contain at least 50 square feet of floor
				space for each occupant and a minimum of 70 square feet and shall meet all other
				applicable requirements of 105 CMR 410.00
Minimum Standards of Fitness for
				Human Habitation (State Sanitary Code: Chapter II
) for a room occupied for
				sleeping purposes. No bedroom shall be shared by more persons than the number
				permissible under
Appropriate Unit Size
.
(d) In calculating the appropriate unit size, only bedrooms may be
				considered available to be used for sleeping purposes by household members; the
				kitchen, bathroom and hallways shall not be deemed available for sleeping purposes
				by any household member.
Contract Rent
. The total monthly rent
				specified in the lease and Voucher Payment Contract for a contract unit occupied by
				a participant. The contract rent includes the amount of the voucher payment paid by
				the administering agency and the amount of the participant's share of rent
				determined in accordance with
				760 CMR
				49.05. Contract rent does not include payments
				made by the participant separately to utility providers for the cost of heat,
				cooking fuel, and/or electricity.
Contract Unit
. A unit occupied by a
				participant for which the participant submits a Request for Program Payment, enters
				into a lease with the owner, and for which the owner and the administering agency
				sign a Voucher Payment Contract.
Department
. The Massachusetts Department of
				Housing and Community Development or successor agency.
Full-time Student
. A household member
				between 18 and 25 years of age, who is the dependent of another household member and
				who is enrolled in and attending an accredited educational or vocational institution
				and is carrying a course load that is considered full-time for students under the
				standards and practices of the institution. Full-time student status shall remain in
				effect as long as the individual carries a full-time student course load in pursuit
				of a bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, a master's degree, or a diploma from
				an accredited educational institution or a certificate from an accredited vocational
				program (excluding apprenticeship programs).
Grievant
. Any participant who files a
				written grievance with an administering agency in accordance with the administering
				agency's grievance procedure. A grievant shall also include any person about whom
				the administering agency holds data (data subject) who also pursues an appeal
				pursuant to
				760 CMR 8.00:
Privacy and
				Confidentiality
.
Guest
. A person temporarily staying in the
				MRVP contract unit with the consent of a member of the household who has the express
				or implied authority to so consent. The stay of any one guest sleeping in the MRVP
				contract unit shall be limited to no more than a total of 30 calendar days during
				any 12 month period unless the administering agency for good cause otherwise
				consents to a longer period in writing prior to the expiration of 30 calendar days
				or such longer period as may have been authorized. Children who are subject to a
				joint custody arrangement or for whom a family has visitation privileges that are
				not included as a family because they live outside of the assisted household more
				than 50% of the time, are not subject to the time limitations of a guest as
				described elsewhere in
				760 CMR 49.00.
Head of Household
. The adult member of the
				household who is considered to be the head of household for purposes of determining
				income eligibility and rent. The head of household is responsible for ensuring that
				the household fulfills all of its responsibilities under MRVP. The household may
				designate any qualified household member as the head of household. The head of
				household must have the legal capacity to enter into a lease under state and local
				law. If the head of household is a student, he or she shall not be considered a
				full-time student pursuant to
Head of Household
for
				purposes of calculating exclusions from household income under
				760 CMR
				49.05.
Hearing Officer
. An impartial person who
				conducts hearings on grievances (grievance hearings) in accordance with the
				grievance procedure and renders written decisions based on the material facts and
				applicable law.
Hearing Panel
. A group of impartial persons
				who conduct hearings on grievances (grievance hearings) in accordance with the
				grievance procedure and render written decisions based on the material facts and
				applicable law.
Homeless Applicant
. An applicant
				who:
(a) is without a place to live or is in a living situation in which
				there is a significant, immediate and direct threat to the life or safety of the
				applicant or a household member which situation would be alleviated by placement in
				a unit of appropriate unit size;
(b) has made reasonable efforts to locate alternative
				housing;
(c) has not caused or substantially contributed to the safety
				threatening or life threatening situation; and
(d) has pursued available ways to prevent or avoid the safety
				threatening or life threatening situation by seeking assistance through the courts
				or appropriate administrative or enforcement agencies; and
(e) has been or is about to be displaced from a primary residence;
				or
(f) otherwise meets the definition of homelessness under any
				legislative language directly governing the Department's administration of the
				MRVP.
Household (Family)
. A household or family
				consists of:
(a) two or more persons who live or will live regularly in a unit as
				their only residence whose income and resources are available to meet the
				household's needs; or
(b) one person.
A temporarily absent family member shall be deemed to be a household
				member. The Department may issue guidance with regard to temporarily absent family
				members. A child who is subject to a joint custody arrangement and resides in the
				unit more than 50% of the time shall be deemed a household member.
A full-time, live-in Personal Care Attendant, as defined in 760 CMR
				49.02:
Personal Care Attendant (PCA)
, whether or not a
				household member for purposes of rent determination, if determined by the
				administering agency to be qualified, shall be deemed a household member for
				purposes of determining the appropriate voucher size and be granted one additional
				bedroom.
Housing Quality Standards (HQS)
. The
				housing quality standards established by HUD for purposes of determining eligibility
				of a housing unit for assistance under the Federal Housing Choice Voucher
				Program.
HUD
. The United States Department of
				Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Income Limit
. Initially, 50% of the area
				median income, subject to change from year to year in accordance with the
				then-current MRVP budget line item. In each fiscal year, the Department will notify
				the Administering Agencies through written guidance of the income eligibility for
				that year.
Local Resident
. A person who has a sole
				residence or has a place of employment or has a child meeting the definition of
				household member and is enrolled in school in a city or town at the time of
				application to a LHA in that city or town and at the time of final determination of
				eligibility and qualification. Temporary residence with relatives or friends in the
				city or town is not sufficient unless the person's last residence and domicile was
				in the city or town. In the case of an applicant determined by the LHA to be
				homeless, the applicant may select one community for local preference, either the
				community from which he or she was displaced through no fault of his or her own, or
				the community in which he or she is temporarily housed. In the event that the
				applicant is employed in more than one city or town, the applicant may select one
				community for local preference on the basis of employment.
Mobile Voucher
. A voucher issued to an
				applicant or participant for use in any suitable unit.
MRVP Budget Line Item
. Massachusetts Budget
				Line Item: 7004-9024 or any other line item in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
				annual budget governing administration of the MRVP. Substantive provisions of the
				language of the MRVP budget line item shall take precedence over any contrary
				provisions of
				760 CMR 49.00 or any
				administrative guidance issued by the Department with respect to the fiscal year
				covered by the applicable MRVP budget line item language.
Owner
. A person (including a corporation or
				other entity) who has legal title to property. An owner may designate an agent to
				act on its behalf with respect to management and rental of a contract unit,
				including execution of a Voucher Payment Contract on the owner's behalf, collection
				of voucher payments and tenant-paid rent, and lease enforcement, but the owner shall
				remain responsible for its obligations as owner under the Voucher Payment Contract
				and the MRVP.
Participant
. One or more persons who have
				been determined eligible for MRVP and have been issued a voucher.
Personal Care Attendant (PCA)
. A person who
				resides with a household member with a disability and who:
(a) provides necessary assistance in activities of daily living to
				such household member insofar as he or she requires such assistance on account of
				his or her disability;
(b) is not obligated for support of the household member;
(c) is paid for the fair value of such assistance; and
(d) would not be residing in the unit except to provide such
				necessary assistance to the household member.
Project Based Units
. Units which are
				authorized by the Department to receive rental assistance that is attached to the
				unit (or project) and not to the person who occupies the unit. When the unit is
				vacated, the rental assistance remains with the unit (or project).
Project Based Voucher
. A voucher attached
				to a contract unit in a particular housing development, and not to the participant
				occupying the contract unit, which terminates (as to a particular participant) at
				the time the participant vacates the contract unit.
Project Based Waiting List
. The applicant
				list which the administering agency or project owner has established, with prior
				Department approval, for the purpose of offering units specifically funded by
				project based subsidy.
Request for Program Payment
. As defined in
				760 CMR
				49.09.
Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Eligible
				Property
. A rooming, lodging or boarding house, hotel, inn or private
				residence which is:
(a) Licensed for such operation by the appropriate authority;
				and
(b) Certified by the appropriate agency as in compliance with
				applicable Building, Sanitary and Fire Codes, including without limitation
				105 CMR
				410.100:
Kitchen
				Facilities
.
A student dormitory, residence of a religious order, facility
				providing continuous psychiatric, medical, or nursing services, or private club
				shall not constitute an SRO Eligible Property.
Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Unit
. A room
				intended for occupancy by a single individual in an SRO Eligible Property.
Suitable Unit
. A dwelling unit for which a
				Voucher Payment Contract is to be executed. The unit must:
(a) be intended solely for occupancy by the participant and as the
				participant's sole residence;
(b) be of an appropriate unit size for the participant
				household;
(c) comply with
				105 CMR 410.000:
Minimum
				Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation (State Sanitary Code: Chapter II)
(including lead paint laws, whenever the household includes a child younger than six
				years old), 780 CMR:
State Building Code
and other applicable
				laws;
(d) Contain, or if an SRO Unit, have access to, kitchen facilities
				as defined in
				105 CMR
				410.100:
Kitchen Facilities
.
				Kitchen facilities must include, or have space and proper facilities for the
				installation of, a refrigerator that is at least 7.5 cubic feet with a separate
				freezer compartment, conventional oven that is non-portable and must be installed,
				and cooktop with at least two burners;
(e) if a single room, meet the definition of 760 CMR 49.02:
Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Unit
.
Subsidized Housing Program
. Any housing in
				which the tenant rent share is adjusted based on income.
Utilities
. Any or all of the following:
				Electricity and any other fuels for heat, hot water, and cooking.
Veteran
. A person who is a veteran as
				defined in M.G.L. c. 14, § 7 clause forty-three.
Voucher
. A contract document between the
				administering agency and a participant which certifies program eligibility and sets
				forth program requirements, guidelines and benefits for applicants who have been
				determined eligible for assistance pursuant to 760 CMR.
Voucher Payment
. An amount paid by an
				administering agency to an owner under a Voucher Payment Contract in accordance with
				the Voucher Payment Contract and guidelines established by the Department, taking
				into consideration a participant's income, household size, contract unit size and/or
				geographic location.
Voucher payments shall be made only for those eligible participants
				during the actual period of occupancy in a contract unit. In no event shall payments
				be made by the Administering Agency pursuant to this program for vacancy losses,
				damage claims, participant's share of rent arrearage, or any other fee or charge
				owed by the participant.
Voucher Search Period
. The period of time
				following the issuance or reissuance of a voucher within which a participant must
				submit a Request for Program Payment for a proposed contract unit that is determined
				by the administering agency to be a suitable unit. The voucher search period
				initially shall be 120 calendar days from the date of issuance, subject to
				modification pursuant to administrative guidance issued by the
				Department.