Massachusetts Centralized Section 8 List Open (Oct. 2026)
Quick answerThe Massachusetts Section 8 Centralized Waiting List was taking applications on October 8, 2026. Its own site, Mass.AffordableHousing.com, showed "Waiting List Status: Always Open" and "104 Participating Housing Authorities". One free application puts a household on the list for every participating housing authority, and each authority picks names under its own policy. It is not the state's closed voucher list and it is not CHAMP.
Last checked: October 8, 2026, against Mass.AffordableHousing.com, the list's AffordableHousing.com page, the paper pre-application (version 10/25), mass.gov (read through r.jina.ai), the CHAMP site, HUD's FY 2026 income limits, and the Worcester and Quincy housing authorities' plans and payment standards.
- Always Openstatus on the list's own site, October 8, 2026
- 104participating housing authorities the site states
- 1application per family, covering all of them
- $0cost to apply
- (866) 466-7328application and login help
- January 2003when the list opened
What Massachusetts Section 8 Centralized Waiting List says
The list's own site said on October 8, 2026 that it is "Always Open", with no close date. The home page describes it this way: "Applicants submit one application to apply to all participating PHAs. Each participating PHA selects participants to their Section 8 Voucher program off of the centralized waiting list in accordance with their local policy."
- Operatorthe site's About page says it was created by MassNAHRO, the association of Massachusetts housing authorities, and that applications run on RevoList, "powered by AffordableHousing.com", since July 1, 2019.
- How long it stays openthe AffordableHousing.com page says the list "will remain open and accept applications indefinitely."
- Opening datethe home page table shows 1/1/2003; the About page and AffordableHousing.com say January 6, 2003.
- Agenciesthe site states 104. Its participating page displayed 102 names on October 8, 2026.
- Elsewherethe national picture is in Is Section 8 Open Right Now?
Centralized list, state list or CHAMP: three different applications
Massachusetts has three separate statewide applications, and only the centralized list was taking Section 8 applications on October 8, 2026.
| Application | What it is for | Status read | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 8 Centralized Waiting List | Federal Section 8 vouchers at participating local housing authorities | "Always Open" | Mass.AffordableHousing.com |
| State (EOHLC) Section 8 list | Section 8 mobile vouchers run by the state housing office through regional administering agencies | Closed: "Effective January 13, 2025, EOHLC has closed its HCVP/Section 8 mobile voucher waiting list until further notice" | mass.gov |
| CHAMP | "state-aided public housing and state-funded rental vouchers" | Taking applications; no status line, the site says "Get started" | The CHAMP site |
What it means: a centralized list application does nothing for public housing, and a CHAMP application does nothing for Section 8.
Source: Mass.AffordableHousing.com; mass.gov, Apply for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program and Apply for state-funded public housing, read through r.jina.ai because mass.gov refused direct requests; CHAMP.
Watch outThe list's site says its applications "are not connected to CHAMP and cannot be used to apply for state-funded housing", and CHAMP's home page says federal voucher programs "are not managed through this site." Public housing and vouchers are compared in Section 8 vs. Public Housing.
Key pointSome authorities keep their own Section 8 list. Boston and Cambridge were not among the names on the participating page. The Cambridge Housing Authority list takes its own application.
How to apply
Apply once, online or on paper, and never pay: the application is free.
- 1Go to the official pageopen mass.affordablehousing.com, choose "How to Apply", then "Apply Here!". It leads to affordablehousing.com/masscwl.
- 2Create a free accountthe online form runs on AffordableHousing.com.
- 3Fill in the pre-applicationhousehold members, income, current living situation and the questions that feed local preferences.
- 4Submit once"Only one application per family will be accepted", and "No documentation is needed at time of application."
- 5Or use paperforms are posted in seven languages. Deliver or mail a signed original to any one participating authority; "Copies, facsimiles or emails of completed applications will not be accepted."
- 6Keep the receiptthe paper form says you get "a receipt with your application number and date on the waiting list."
What it means: the date on that receipt is your place in time at every participating agency.
Source: How to Apply and the paper pre-application, version 10/25, read October 8, 2026.
- Name, date of birth and Social Security number or Alien ID number for each person (the form allows "N/A" where there is none)
- Mailing address, physical address, phone and email
- Monthly employment income and other income for each person
- City of each person's employer and school, which "may be used to determine residency preference"
- Current living situation: permanent residence, temporary residence, shelter or hotel, or a place not meant for housing
- Military service, disability, and displacement by disaster, domestic violence, government action or the owner
TipApplying is free. Anyone charging a fee to apply, to hold a place in line or to promise a voucher is not a housing authority. The Federal Trade Commission's Section 8 alert says "there is no fee to register for a Section 8 waiting list." Questions go to (866) 466-7328 or any participating authority.
Who can apply
Families, older adults, people with disabilities and single people can apply if income is within the limit, which the site puts at 50% of area median for the place the family chooses to live.
| HUD area | 1 person | 2 people | 3 people | 4 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston-Cambridge-Quincy | $60,000 | $68,600 | $77,150 | $85,700 |
| Lowell | $50,050 | $57,200 | $64,350 | $71,500 |
| Brockton | $47,150 | $53,900 | $60,650 | $67,350 |
| Worcester | $46,100 | $52,700 | $59,300 | $65,850 |
| Springfield | $46,000 | $52,550 | $59,200 | $65,750 |
What it means: the site notes "you may be eligible at one PHA but not at another", because the limit follows the area.
Source: HUD, FY 2026 Section 8 income limits, read October 8, 2026.
Watch outThe list's How to Apply page prints its own table starting at $41,600 for one person, with no date, and the home page's income link opened a 2022 HUD page for Vermont on October 8, 2026. Use HUD's current figures above.
- Citizenshipat least one household member needs citizenship or an eligible immigration category; the rule is explained in What Disqualifies You From Section 8?
- No housing authority debt"Not owe money to this housing authority or other housing authority."
- Background checkdone for all adults "upon selection from the waiting list", not at application.
- Single peoplethe site lists "single people" among those who qualify; see Can a Single Person Get Section 8?
- Living elsewhereallowed. An agency may hold the voucher inside its area for the first 12 months when the family lived elsewhere at application (24 CFR 982.353); see How Section 8 Portability Works.
How one application reaches every agency, and how each ranks it
Your single application sits in one shared database, and each participating authority sorts that pool by its own preferences before choosing names.
| Worcester Housing Authority | Quincy Housing Authority | |
|---|---|---|
| Plan read | Leased Housing Administrative Plan, section 3, effective September 1, 2025 | HCV Administrative Plan, "Admin Plan 2026", chapter 4 |
| Local preferences | Local resident (lives, works or will work in Worcester), veteran, VAWA victim, rent burden over 50% of income, disabled person | Local residency (lives, works or hired to work in Quincy), veteran, emergency VAWA transfer, two funding-shortfall preferences |
| How preferences count | Points: resident 40, veteran 20, emergency categories 10 (section 3.4.2) | Priorities ranked one to four inside the local preference (section 4-III.C) |
| Order within a group | Date and time stamp (section 3.5) | Date and time of application (section 4-III.C) |
What it means: one application can rank near the top in the town where you live or work and far lower elsewhere.
Source: Worcester Housing Authority, Leased Housing Administrative Plan, amended August 21, 2025; Quincy Housing Authority, Admin Plan June 2026. The comparison is VoucherMatch's.
Worcester's plan also allows straight date-and-time selection that counts only resident and veteran preferences (section 3.5.1). Neither plan describes a random draw for this list; How Section 8 Lotteries Work covers agencies that use one.
How to update your application and survive a purge
Update once, online, and the change applies to every list you joined through AffordableHousing.com.
- Any changelog in at AffordableHousing.com and edit family, address, phone, email, income or preferences. On paper, send a written change to any participating authority.
- When emailed a reminderlog in and, if nothing changed, click "Everything Looks Good".
- Update mailingthe list is "updated and purged" to remove people who no longer respond. Quincy's plan says MassNAHRO mails every applicant on a biennial basis.
- Last purgeletters went out November 18, 2022, due December 12, 2022. After 120 more days, non-responders "as of April 18, 2023 have been removed."
- Reinstatementrequests for that purge were considered through May 17, 2024. Anyone removed then must reapply.
- One agency's letterunder Quincy's plan, a family that ignores Quincy's appointment letter is removed "for their particular PHA only" and stays listed for the others.
What it means: "If you do not respond to any correspondence mailed to you, or if your mail is returned for any reason, your name will be removed."
Source: Waiting List Updates, read October 8, 2026, and Quincy's plan, section 4-II.
What a voucher pays depends on the agency that issues it
No single payment table covers the centralized list, because each authority sets its own payment standards.
View the data table
| Bedrooms | Worcester Housing Authority | Quincy Housing Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | 1588 | 2263 |
| 1 bedroom | 1599 | 2394 |
| 2 bedrooms | 2056 | 2837 |
| 3 bedrooms | 2548 | 3418 |
| 4 bedrooms | 2825 | 3761 |
What it means: the figure is a ceiling on rent plus utilities, and the household still pays its share.
Source: Worcester Housing Authority, Payment Standards FY 2026, effective November 1, 2025 for new leases and January 1, 2026 for annual recertifications; Quincy Housing Authority, FY2026 Payment Standards for the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area, set at 95% to 96% of HUD's fair market rent.
Town-by-town benchmarks are in Massachusetts Section 8 Fair Market Rent Benchmarks by Town.
Other waiting lists in the Boston, MA area
VoucherMatch tracks 4 Housing Choice Voucher waiting lists in the Boston, MA area. When checked in September 2026: 2 open, 2 closed. Also taking applications: Cambridge Housing Authority (MA003). Every list tracked there, with phone numbers and status, is on the Boston, MA Section 8 page.
If the list closes before you apply
This list has stayed open since 2003, but any list can close, and three things still work if it has.
- Check the trackersee which Section 8 waiting lists are open now. VoucherMatch rechecks every list it tracks and dates each entry.
- Get an alertsign up for the waiting list alert on the Boston, MA page, and VoucherMatch will email you when a list in the area opens.
- Apply to more than one authorityfederal rules bar an agency from penalizing you for applying elsewhere (24 CFR 982.205).
Already have a voucher?
Then you do not need a waiting list. Search apartments from landlords who accept vouchers on VoucherMatch.
Questions about the centralized Section 8 waiting list in Massachusetts
How long is the Section 8 waiting list in Massachusetts?
No wait time is published. The list's FAQ says waiting lists "are generally very long and could take years", and that each authority "may give an estimated wait time and/or actual placement on the list at their own discretion."
Is the CHAMP housing waiting list the same thing?
No. CHAMP is the state's application for state-aided public housing and state-funded rental vouchers. The centralized list's site says its applications "are not connected to CHAMP."
Is the Section 8 waiting list open in Massachusetts in 2026?
The centralized list was open on October 8, 2026. The state's own Section 8 list has been closed since January 13, 2025, according to mass.gov.
Is Swampscott on the centralized Section 8 list?
Swampscott was not among the 102 names displayed on the participating page on October 8, 2026, though the site states 104 agencies. Ask the Swampscott Housing Authority directly; the housing authority directory lists its contact details.
Next step: apply once today, save the receipt, and set a reminder to log in every few months and confirm your address.
Sources for this article (16)
- home page (mass.affordablehousing.com)
- AffordableHousing.com page (affordablehousing.com)
- Apply for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (mass.gov)
- Apply for state-funded public housing (mass.gov)
- CHAMP (publichousingapplication.ocd.state.ma.us)
- How to Apply (mass.affordablehousing.com)
- pre-application, version 10/25 (cdn.prod.website-files.com)
- Section 8 alert (consumer.ftc.gov)
- FY 2026 Section 8 income limits (huduser.gov)
- 24 CFR 982.353 (ecfr.gov)
- Leased Housing Administrative Plan (d2ryl7tjymq8dy.cloudfront.net)
- Admin Plan June 2026 (qha.wpenginepowered.com)
- Waiting List Updates (mass.affordablehousing.com)
- Payment Standards FY 2026 (d2ryl7tjymq8dy.cloudfront.net)
- FY2026 Payment Standards (qha.wpenginepowered.com)
- 24 CFR 982.205 (ecfr.gov)
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