Eligibility for Program Participation

(1) Income and Asset Limits for Admission and Continued Eligibility. (a) For admission to the MRVP, the net income of eligible household members shall not exceed the income limit then in effect. (b) A participant shall remain eligible for assistance until six months after the first date on which both of the following conditions are met: 1. The participant's net income, as defined in 760 CMR 49.05, exceeds the then-applicable income limit; and 2. The tenant's share of the rent is equal to, or greater than, the contract rent. (c) For the purposes of initial eligibility an applicant household's total assets may not exceed one and one half times the gross household income of the applicant or $25,000.00, whichever is greater. The following assets are exempt from this initial eligibility calculation: Individual Retirement Account, 401(k) pension, or similar retirement account subject to IRS regulation, and the value of any interest in a special needs trust, as defined by state and federal law. For these assets, there is no limitation. There is no asset limitation for purposes of continued eligibility. An "asset" includes but is not limited to the following: 1. The amount of all cash, savings, checking, money market or similar account. 2. The market value of equity in real property, stocks, bonds or other form of capital investment, whether personal or business. 3. The value of equity in such personal property as boats, recreational vehicles, luxury goods. Value is determined by taking the higher of the insured value or appraised market value. 4. Payment received or to be received in settlement of personal or property loss; money at interest and debts due applicant byany person(s), or the value of cash surrender insurance policies. 5. The value of any business or personal asset disposed of by any household member (including a disposition in trust) for less than fair market value during the two years prior to the determination of eligibility pursuant to 760 CMR 49.03 to the extent of the difference between the fair market value and the consideration received. 6. The value of any interest in a trust fund benefiting any adult household member. (d) To be eligible for MRVP, an applicant may not own residential real estate. (2) To be otherwise eligible for the MRVP, an applicant or participant including all household members must not: (a) Owe back rent, damages, vacancy loss payments, or any other monies to an owner under a subsidized housing program or an administering agency, for which the household has not entered into a repayment agreement, or have failed to stay current with a repayment agreement; (b) Have been terminated from any previous subsidized housing program for cause; (c) Have had a judgment for possession of premises leased from an administering agency or an owner under a subsidized housing program entered against him or her by a court for good cause; (d) Have misrepresented or falsified any information required to be submitted as part of the application process, or a prior application within three years, or for determining continued eligibility and the head of household fails to establish that the misrepresentation or falsification was unintentional; (e) Have committed program abuse or fraud, defined as a single act or pattern of actions that constitute a false statement, omission, or concealment of a substantial fact, made with the intent to deceive or mislead, in relation to MRVP; (f) Have engaged in criminal activity, which would interfere with or threaten the rights of other tenants, administering agency, or owner employees to be secure in their persons or in their property or with the rights of other tenants to peaceful enjoyment of their units and the common areas; (g) Be subject to lifetime registration as a sex offender in Massachusetts; (h) Have failed to comply with the terms of an MRVP voucher; (i) Have directed abusive or threatening behavior which was unreasonable and unwarranted toward an administering agency employee; (j) Have failed to provide information reasonably necessary for the administering agency to process the applicant's application or properly administer a participant's voucher; (k) Intend to live somewhere other than a contract unit as his or her sole residence (with the exception of minor children subject to joint custody arrangements); (l) Be a current illegal user of one or more controlled substances as defined in M.G.L. c. 94C, § 1. A person's illegal use of a controlled substance within the preceding 12 months shall create a presumption that such person is a current illegal user of a controlled substance, but the presumption may be overcome by a convincing showing that the person has permanently ceased all illegal use of controlled substances. This disqualification of current illegal users of controlled substances shall not apply to applicants for housing provided through a treatment program for illegal users of controlled substances; (m) Have ever been convicted of drug-related criminal activity for the manufacture or production of methamphetamine; (n) Be proven to have caused intentional damage to the contract unit in an amount exceeding two months of rent during any one year period; or (o) Violate any other eligibility requirements set forth in the MRVP budget line item as in effect from time to time or in administrative guidance issued by the Department. (3) Requirements for Continued Program Participation. A participant in the MRVP remains eligible for program assistance provided that all members of the participant household then occupying the contract unit remain eligible in accordance with 760 CMR 49.03, the terms of the executed voucher document, and any other program documents.