Getting Settled
Getting an Apartment
Once you have received an apartment offer from the Boston Housing Authority (BHA), there are still many steps to take before you are settled in your new space.
1. Receive a Letter from BHA
If an apartment is available for you or you and your family, you will receive a letter from BHA. The letter provides contact information and asks you to contact the manager at the development where the apartment is located. You should make an appointment to view the apartment.
2. View the Unit and Make a Decision
You have five business days to contact management, schedule an appointment to view your new apartment and decide if you want to accept it. When you view the apartment, you should identify any maintenance or other concerns and discuss them with the manager.
If you choose to accept the apartment, the manager will arrange for you to sign the lease and receive the keys to your new home. If you choose not to accept the apartment, you must have a “Good Cause” reason. If you do not have Good Cause for refusing the apartment, you may be taken off of all BHA waiting lists and be ineligible to reapply for a year.
3. Lease Signing
At the time you sign your lease, you will also meet with the manager of your development and receive information about living in a BHA development. Your manager will review information specifically related to your new development and also about living in a BHA community in general. You and you manager will go over the following information.
4. Grievances and Appeals
A public housing resident who feels they have been treated unfairly by a Boston Housing Authority (BHA) action or failure to act in accordance with the lease or any policy or regulation that affects the resident’s status, rights, duties or welfare may be entitled to a grievance hearing before BHA's Grievance Panel. Read more here.