Following an annual recertification (which is started four months in advance) or following an interim recertification, you will receive a rent share letter providing you with the new breakdown of your portion and our portion of the rent. If you do not agree with the amounts listed on the rent share letter we recommend you seek out information on how these numbers were calculated.
Before you reach out, it’s important to note:
- Your tenant share is based on ALL income in the household.
- Income is not only wages. We count the following as income:
- Wages from a job (Gross income, not take home pay and wages do fluctuate)
- Unemployment Insurance
- Benefits from the Department of Transitional Assistance (TAFDC, etc.)
- Child Support
- Social Security, SSI and SSDI
- SSP if you are receiving SSI
- Workers’ compensation
- Seasonal income/contract income
- Alimony
- Regular Gifts
- If your income has changed, you may need to report the change rather than disputing the calculation by requesting an interim and providing verifications:
- For Section 8: you can submit your request through our cognito link: https://www.cognitoforms.com/MetroHousingBoston1/interimrecertrequest
- For MRVP: You can email our client focused team, Gateway with the request at gateway@metrohousingboston.org.
- To see what documents are required, see our income decrease section here.
- If you are submitting documents to dispute the original calculation, they must be from the time the original documents were submitted, not currently when your income has changed and requires an interim.
- If you are appealing the tenant share, this does not mean you do not have to pay the current share. You are responsible to pay the share on the last rent share letter until there is an official change in your account and a new rent share letter is submitted to you and the owner via mail. We will communicate this information to the owner if asked. Failure to pay rent may result in the owner exercising their right to start the eviction process.
Step 1:
If you would like information on how the rent was calculated, request the income and amounts used in your rent share calculation, we can provide you with copies of the income and your calculation sheet from your file.
Step 2:
If after viewing the incomes and calculation sheet you would like to continue with the tenant rent dispute, please follow the directions below by either requesting a rent share appeal based on information in your file or based on documents you would like to submit:
- Option 1: You can submit a request for a review of your rent share if you believe the calculation is incorrect based on the documentation already submitted.
- Option 2: You can submit a request for a review of your rent share if you believe the calculation is incorrect and you have new supporting documentation which shows the amount calculated is incorrect.
Communicate this to the Gateway and attach any relevant documents. If there are no documents attached, the request will be submitted without them.
Step 3: Wait for processing and review
How long will this process take?
Once a request for a review is received, it is assigned to a staff who has not previously touched your file. Your rent share is then reviewed and recalculated and any calculation changes are discussed with a manager. Due to the need for additional verification, this process can take anywhere between 3-4 weeks to complete.
Step 4: Appeal determination
I received a determination and I still disagree with the amount
If after the review by both a staff member and a manager was conducted you would like to dispute the matter further, you can request an appeal. This appeal needs to be made in writing and will be sent to our Hearing Officer who will set up a meeting to further discuss how the rent share is determined.
Step 5: Attend hearing and request additional appeals
The Hearing Officer will communicate the outcome in the hearing or will communicate the time frame for further review before making a determination.
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