High Vacancy Rate at Housing Authority Units While Amherst Residents Search for Apartments

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust, October 12, 2023

This meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded. It can be viewed here.

The Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust (AMAHT) invited Pamela Rogers, Executive Director of the Amherst Housing Authority, to speak to them about the agency. Rogers said that the Amherst Housing Authority (AHA) is both a corporate body (rental agency) and a government entity that must abide by guidelines established by the state. The Massachusetts legislature created local housing authorities in the 1950s. Amherst’s housing authority has been in existence for 51 years.

Rogers said that the AHA manages over 200 units of affordable housing in Amherst. It also cooperates with housing authorities in Belchertown and Hadley, which adds another 120 potential units. In addition, it oversees several voucher programs issued by the state and federal government. These vouchers should provide access to an additional 498 units, but voucher holders are having a hard time finding qualified housing in the area, especially in Amherst because of the high cost of rent. Low-income residents must compete with college students for affordable units. Rogers said that as of now, 50 Amherst residents with vouchers are looking for housing here. Because of the scarcity of appropriately priced housing, the AHA often must apply for the terms of the vouchers to be extended.

The vacancy rate in AHA-controlled housing (Ann Whalen, Chestnut Court, and Valley Main Street) is currently 9.6%, with 14 vacancies; ideally, she said, the vacancy rate should be less than 3%. Also, it used to take about 30 days to prepare a vacant unit for new occupancy, but that process is now taking up to six months. 

Rogers explained that there are several reasons for the long turnover time. One is that most of the buildings are over 50 years old, and require extensive remodeling and repair before a new tenant can move in, especially if the previous tenant had occupied the unit for many years. The five-person maintenance crew is also responsible for day-to-day repairs, lawn cutting, snow shoveling, etc. not only for units in Amherst but for those in Belchertown and Hadley. The AHA does not have money to hire outside contractors to fix up vacant units. 

Another reason for the long turnover time, Rogers said, is the introduction of the statewide CHAMP application form. This common application for all 248 housing authorities in the state was supposed to reduce the time for those who are unhoused to find available housing, but it has actually made things worse. Besides the initial CHAMP application, there are numerous follow-up applications that have to be filled out and read. In addition, the housing authorities have more potential clients to weed through than in the past. Rogers said her office will often work with a client and get to the end of the process, and then the person asks where the nearest T stop is because they have no idea where Amherst is.

Because of this sort of problem and other areas of confusion, the process is being reworked, so that the state is divided into regions, with maps included in the application. This has shortened the application list and allowed more local residents to find housing. The state also hired an outside firm to vet applicants, a process involving 30 pages of qualifying guidelines.

Typically, Rogers said, the wait for a section 8 (federal) voucher is 10 years, so by the time a person’s name comes up, they may no longer qualify. Also, with wages increasing in Massachusetts, someone working full-time at minimum wage may earn too much to qualify for a voucher now. If the housing authority goes through its whole waiting list and does not find a qualified applicant, it can apply for a waiver to accept someone whose income is slightly higher than the guidelines. The state public housing is for those with low to moderate incomes, but the federal housing voucher is only for those with low incomes. Because of the high rents in Amherst, housing subsidies are 110% of those in Hampden County, according to Rogers. For instance, a studio apartment allowed for subsidy in Hampden County would cost $987 per month, while a qualified apartment in Amherst could cost $1300 per month. Each resident with a voucher pays 33% of their income for rent, and the subsidy covers the rest. Top priority is given to people who are homeless due to circumstances beyond their control, then to the elderly and disabled, and then to local applicants and veterans.

Despite the challenges, Rogers said that evictions from housing authority apartments are rare, about one percent over the region. Most evictions are due to mental health issues, so the authority’s social worker is an important part of the agency. AHA is currently looking to fill a vacancy for a social worker.