Code of Massachusetts Regulations
760 CMR - HOUSING AND LIVABLE COMMUNITIES, EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF
Title 760 CMR 65.00 - The Massachusetts Short-term Housing Transition Program
Section 65.04 - Determination of Benefits
Universal Citation: 760 MA Code of Regs 760.65
Current through Register 1518, March 29, 2024
(1) General Provisions.
(a) If administering
agency determines, pursuant to guidelines issued by the Department, that assistance
other than Rental Assistance will best serve the family in obtaining safe, permanent
housing, the Department may provide alternative housing-related expenses for
eligible families, in accordance with guidance published by the Department, which
guidance may, but need not, include household assistance payments for the purposes
listed in 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d) through (g). The administering agency shall determine
the specific benefits to be provided to a Participant in its reasonable discretion
pursuant to such guidelines as the Department may issue from time to time. Such
determination shall not be overturned unless in violation of the law or
760 CMR 65.00. Any assistance paid
under 760 CMR 65.04(1) must be necessary to maintain housing for the Participant
Family.
(b) Rental assistance shall be
limited to families who as of June 30, 2012, were receiving STHT rental
assistance.
(2) Rental Assistance.
(a) In
determining the value of Rental Assistance for each Rental Assistance Benefits
Participant in STHT, the administering agency shall establish each Rental Assistance
Benefits Participant's gross family income as defined in
760 CMR
67.02(5). The administering
agency may utilize data provided by another government agency in determining income.
The amount of a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant's Rental Assistance Payment
shall be the difference between the Rental Assistance Benefits Participants' portion
of the rent and utility allowance, as determined in accordance with 760 CMR
65.04(2)(b), and the Contract Rent.
(b)
Rental Assistance Benefits Participants shall pay 35% of gross family income, as
determined pursuant to
760 CMR
67.02(5), toward rent and utility
allowance. For purposes of calculating this requirement, utility allowances shall be
as determined by the Department on a regional basis, based on such factors as the
Department deems relevant, including but not limited to comparable values for
Departmentally determined utility allowances for recipients of Housing Choice
(Section 8) vouchers, geography, and historic usage patterns.
(c) When the value of the Rental Assistance
benefits has been determined in accordance with 760 CMR 65.04(2)(b), the
administering agency will send a Rental Assistance Payment each month to the Owner
of the Contract Unit in which the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant lives, or
to the Owner's Agent, and the remainder of the Contract Rent shall be paid to the
Owner or the Owner's Agent by the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant. In cases
when 35% of the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant's gross income is less than
the utility allowance as calculated pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(2)(b), the
administering agency will send a Rental Assistance Payment each month to the Owner
of the Contract Unit in which the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant lives, or
to the Owner's Agent in the amount of the full Contract Rent, and the administering
agency will send a utility allowance payment each month to the Participant in an
amount determined by subtracting 35% of gross family income, as determined pursuant
to
760 CMR
67.02(5), from the full utility
allowance for the Participant's family as determined in accordance with 760 CMR
65.04(2)(b).
(d) Determination of Value
of Rental Assistance benefits on an Annual Basis. Upon the annual recertification of
family income in accordance with
760 CMR
65.03(8), the administering
agency shall then determine whether the Participant's Rental Assistance benefits
value and share of rent should be adjusted based on the family income at the time of
the annual review in accordance with 760 CMR 65.04(2). If the Participant's share of
the rent is adjusted, the value of the Rental Assistance benefits shall be adjusted
accordingly, effective in the first month of the following year of Rental Assistance
benefits.
(e) If a Rental Assistance
Benefits Participant relocates or there is a change in the Participant's family
composition, the Participant's continued eligibility, share of rent and appropriate
unit size shall be fully redetermined at that time. If a Rental Assistance Benefits
Participant experiences a decrease in family income of more than 10% of the
previously reported income, the Rental Benefits Participant may request an interim
recertification, which may result in a redetermination of the Rental Assistance
Payment. Interim recertification shall not be required if a Rental Benefits
Participant's family experiences an increase in income, except in the case of a
Participant family:
1. that reported no income or
minimal income (less than $250 per month) at the time of application;
2. whose income increased due to receipt of
initial or additional public benefits; or
3. who experienced a decrease in income expected
to be temporary at the time of the decrease. Participant families covered by 760 CMR
65.04(2)(e)1. or 2. shall report, within ten days, any change of income greater than
10% of their prior income and shall receive an interim recertification on the basis
of their new income. Participant families covered by 760 CMR 65.04(2)(e)3. shall
inform the Administering Agency at the time of the temporary decrease in income of
the anticipated date that income will increase and to what level the anticipated
increase will affect the Participant's share of rent as of the following month,
unless the Participant provides verification that income will not increase as
expected at that time, in which case the increase in income will take effect at such
later date as is determined by the verification. If the Participant's share of the
rent is adjusted pursuant to an interim recertification, the value of the Rental
Assistance benefits shall be adjusted accordingly, effective in the first day of the
full month following the change requiring interim recertification.
(f) Rental Assistance benefits values
shall be adjusted whenever necessary to comply with
760 CMR 65.00. In the event that a
Rental Assistance Benefits Participant files an appeal as to the amount of a
redetermined rent share within 14 days of the administering agency's notice of the
redetermined rent, the Participant shall continue to pay the rent share in effect
instead of the redetermined rent (unless the redetermined rent is lower) until
disposition of the appeal. Following disposition of the appeal, the Participant
shall forthwith pay to the administering agency any additional amounts determined to
have been due but not paid since the effective date set out in the notice of
redetermined rent or the administering agency shall credit the Participant with any
amounts paid but determined not to have been due. The redetermined rent shall be
paid beginning on its effective date.
(g) A Rental Assistance Benefits Holder shall
submit a Request for Program Payment for a proposed Contract Unit to the
administering agency.
(h) Upon receipt
of the necessary documentation, the administering agency shall enter into a Rental
Assistance Payment Contract with the Owner of the Contract Unit, or the Owner's
Agent, on behalf of the Rental Assistance Benefits Holder (subsequently referred to
as the Rental Assistance Benefits Participant).
(i) While a Rental Assistance Payment Contract is
in effect, the terms and conditions of the Participant's Program Participation
Agreement remain in effect for the period of time that the Rental Assistance
Benefits Participant occupies the Contract Unit or until otherwise ter- minated.
When a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant chooses to move for reasons considered
good cause as determined by
760 CMR
67.06(2)(c) or is required to
move, the Participant shall give one calendar month's written notice to the
administering agency and to the Owner or Owner's Agent. If a Rental Assistance
Benefits Participant chooses to leave a Contract Unit without good cause as
determined by
760 CMR
67.06(2)(c), the Participant will
be deemed to have abandoned the Contract Unit.
(j) If a Rental Assistance Benefits Participant
has vacated an STHT unit with good cause as determined by
760 CMR
67.06(2)(c) before locating
another Suitable Unit and does not locate a new Suitable Unit within 30 days of
vacating the unit, the Program Participation Agreement will expire and the Contract
Unit will be deemed abandoned, and the Participant shall not be entitled to further
STHT benefits. The administering agency may extend this period for up to an
additional 60 days upon a showing of good cause, as determined by
760 CMR
67.06(2)(c), by the
Participant.
(k) Subject to the
qualifications in 760 CMR 65.04(2)(i) and (j), a Rental Assistance Benefits Holder
may move anywhere in the state without jeopardizing program eligibility. When a
Rental Assistance Benefits Participant relocates from one administering agency's
jurisdiction to another, the Rental Assistance benefits will thereafter be
administered by the administering agency with jurisdiction where the Participant
takes up residence and the Department will make any necessary adjustments to the
budget allocations for the affected administering agencies pursuant to guidelines
issued by the Department.
(3) Household Assistance Benefits and Other Non-rental Assistance Benefits.
(a)
Maximum
Expenditures. The administering agency shall not pay more than $4000
per year per family towards benefits available through STHT in any 12 month period,
except for families who are recipients of Rental Assistance benefits. Except for
families who received Rental Assistance benefits within the past 12 months, the
maximum annual STHT benefit shall be reduced by any amount paid to the STHT
Participant Family, or to another family including one or more of the children in
the STHT Participant Family, pursuant to the Residential Assistance for Families in
Transition (RAFT) program pursuant to budget line item 7004-9316. Except as provided
otherwise in 760 CMR 65.04(3)(c), the benefits year for purposes of 760 CMR 65.04(3)
shall commence on the first date on which services were paid to or benefits were
received by the Participant
Family. The Department may issue guidance as to the nature, use, and amount of benefits for specific purposes payable pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04. Non-rental Assistance Benefits subject to the $4000 per year family cap, including but not limited to benefits listed in 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d) through (g), otherwise known as "cash assistance", may be referred to as "Household Assistance" benefits.
(b)
Limitations. Participant Families can receive assistance in
any combination of types of non-rental assistance up to the $4000 annual maximum,
with the exception of:
1.
Temporary
Accommodation. Temporary Accommodation is not subject to the cap on
maximum annual benefits.
2.
Out-of-state Relocation Assistance. Out-of-state relocation
assistance, which may only be received one time by any family. Families utilizing
out-of-state relocation assistance, whether or not in combination with other forms
of non-rental assistance, may not further access STHT assistance during the year
following their receipt of relocation assistance.
3.
Moving Cost
Assistance. Moving cost assistance may only be paid for one move per
year per family, except when a subsequent move is caused by a direct threat to the
family's safety, a serious health condition of a family member that cannot be
reasonably accommodated in the original housing arrangement, or a move to safe,
permanent housing.
(c)
Temporary Accommodation.
1. A family eligible to receive STHT Rental
Assistance benefits that cannot remain in its STHT unit because of domestic violence
or because the Owner or Owner's Agent has evicted the family during the period that
the family is receiving aid pending appeal may receive temporary
accommodation.
2. A family receiving
temporary accommodation because of domestic violence receives such benefits subject
to the housing search limits of 760 CMR 65.04(2)(j). A family receiving temporary
accommodation because of aid pending appeal may receive such benefits only during
the aid pending appeal period and, if the family is successful in retaining STHT
Rental Assistance benefits through the appeal process, during an additional period
subject to the housing search limits of 760 CMR 65.04(2)(j), which shall be deemed
to run from the date on which the appeal was decided.
3. Administering agencies shall provide to the
Participant receiving temporary accommodation benefits, and the Participant shall
sign, an agreement based on a standard form approved by the Department. A
Participant who refuses to sign such an agreement may not receive temporary
accommodation benefits. The agreement shall provide, in addition to such other terms
and conditions of receipt of benefits as the Department may require, that:
a. the temporary accommodation shall constitute
only a license to use any space provided to the family as a temporary accommodation,
and only so long as the family complies with
760 CMR 65.00.
b. the Participant Family must move to another
temporary accommodation for the convenience of the Department;
c. the Participant Family must move to alternative
feasible housing, including but not limited to alternative feasible housing made
available through STHT non-rental assistance benefits, when such housing becomes
available;
d. the Participant Family
must move out if terminated from STHT for any cause on the effective date of the
termination;
e. the Participant Family
will abide by any reasonable rules relating to use and occupancy of the premises
required by the Owner or Owner's Agent, of which the Participant has had reasonable
notice; and
f. the temporary
accommodation does not create a tenancy.
(d)
Incentive Payments.
1. The administering agency may provide incentive
payments to a non-STHT-Recipient primary tenant to permit the Participant Family to
reside with such primary tenant. This benefit allows a family to stay with another
family in a situation when the Owner of the unit or the Owner's Agent approves and
the unit complies with
105 CMR 410.000: Minimum
Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation State Sanitary Code: Chapter II,
780 CMR: Board of Building Regulations and Standards, and
760 CMR
65.02: Appropriate Size
Unit for the total number of residents including the Participant
Family, or the primary tenant has the ability to transfer to another unit that
complies with
105 CMR 410.000: Minimum
Standards of Fitness for Human Habitation State Sanitary Code: Chapter II,
780 CMR: Board of Building Regulations and Standards, and
760 CMR
65.02: Appropriate Size
Unit for the total number of residents including the Participant
Family. The Owner or Owner's Agent shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with
the State Building Code, the State Sanitary Code, and Appropriate Unit Size
requirements.
2. Payments pursuant to
760 CMR 65.04(3)(d) shall not be made in cash to the primary tenant, but shall be in
the form of direct payment to providers of services for the benefit of the primary
tenant or through the provision of goods (which may include stored value cards) and
services to the primary tenant. Incentive payments shall not be considered income to
the primarily tenant in any program administered by the Department, unless otherwise
required by law. Primary tenants receiving incentive payments shall be notified that
incentive payments may be considered income in other governmental benefits
programs.
3. The primary tenant shall
list the Recipients as additional household members with the Owner or Owner's Agent
of the primary tenant's unit, and shall sign such documents as the Owner or Owner's
Agent and the administering agency may require so that the Participant Family will
be able to continue to reside in the primary tenant's unit on a long-term basis.
Payments to or on behalf of a primary tenant pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d) shall
cease immediately as soon as a Participant Family ceases to reside in the relevant
unit.
(e)
Furnishings. The administering agency may provide the
Participant Family with furnishings, or payment to or on behalf of the family for
furnishings, such as a refrigerator, beds, bedframes, or cribs, that are necessary
to make an unfurnished unit rented by the Participant Family habitable. No
furnishings provided pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(e) shall be affixed to the unit.
If benefits are provided pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(d), any furnishings provided
to the Participant pursuant to this provision shall be the property of the
Participant and the Participant shall acknowledge that the Participant intends in
good faith to use any such furnishings for the intended purpose.
(f)
Moving Cost
Assistance. Pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(3)(f), an administering agency
may make a single payment to assist a Participant Family with:
1. expenses of transportation for persons and
goods to move to a location outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;
or
2.
a. payments of first month's rent, last month's
rent, or a security deposit as required by an Owner or Owner's Agent prior to the
Participant Family moving into a unit meeting Appropriate Unit Size and Suitable
Unit requirements;
b. expenses of
transportation for persons and goods to move to a location within the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts; and
c. expenses to
remove goods from storage. Payments pursuant to 760 CMR 65.04(1) shall be limited as
provided in 760 CMR 65.04(3)(b). Moving Cost Assistance may be made on behalf of any
Participant Family, whether receiving rental assistance or household
assistance.
(g)
Rental Stipend. STHT Household Assistance may be used to
subsidize regular monthly rental payments for a Participant who is a tenant or
co-tenant in a unit pursuant to such guideline as may be established by the
Department.
(h)
Mediation
Services. Pursuant to guidance provided by the Department,
administering agencies may provide mediation services to Participant Families, their
extended family members, former roommates or housemates, primary tenants who sublet
a unit to the Participant Family, and an Owner or Owner's Agent of a unit previously
rented by the Participant Family, provided that such mediation services have a
significant likelihood of resulting in an agreement to allow the Participant Family
to obtain a safe residential accommodation for a period of one year or longer.
Mediation services provided through STHT shall be deemed to have incurred no cost to
or on behalf of the Participant Family for purposes of annual maximum STHT
benefits.
(i)
Stabilization
Services.
1. Pursuant to guidance
provided by the Department, administering agencies shall provide stabilization
services to Participant Families. Such services shall include economic
self-sufficiency case management services and may include housing search assistance,
housing placement support, links with community-based agencies to ensure long-term
housing stability and economic growth, and assistance with locating resources to aid
in fulfilling stabilization plan requirements for Participant Families.
2. Stabilization services provided through STHT
shall be deemed to have incurred no cost to or on behalf of the Participant Family
for purposes of annual maximum STHT benefits and shall be provided to all
Participant Families for the duration of their receipt of benefits pursuant to
760 CMR 65.00. Interactive
stabilization services shall be made available to all Participant Families during
such time as the family is receiving non-stabilization STHT benefits or for 12
months from the first date on which non-stabilization STHT benefits were provided
to, or payments made on behalf of, the Participant Family, whichever is later,
provided that no such services shall be provided after termination of the family's
benefits pursuant to 760 CRM 65.05.
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