Massachusetts

Tax credit apartments in Somerville, MA

HUD's database lists 10 properties in Somerville built or rehabbed with low-income housing tax credits: 947 apartments, 298 of them income-restricted. Rents in those units are capped while each property's affordability agreement runs, and you qualify by income; many properties still keep waiting lists.

Equal housing opportunity. Tax credit properties must follow the Fair Housing Act, which bars discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin, and they may not refuse an applicant because the applicant holds a Housing Choice (Section 8) voucher (IRC 42(h)(6)(B)(iv)). Properties HUD lists as senior housing may limit who lives there by age only as the Fair Housing Act's housing-for-older-persons exemption allows. To report housing discrimination, call HUD at 1-800-669-9777.

LIHTC Atlas does not own, manage or rent these apartments and does not take applications. Contact each property's management for availability, rents and income rules. Listings come from HUD's database and may be out of date.

33 Bow St

33 Bow St, Somerville, MA 02143

14 2BR, 2 3BR, 2 4BR

Apartments
18
Income-restricted
16
Placed in service
n/a

34 Linden Street Apts LP

36 Linden St, Somerville, MA 02143

1 1BR, 30 2BR, 11 3BR

Apartments
42
Income-restricted
42
Placed in service
2002

Capen Court Apts

1 Capen Ct, Somerville, MA 02144

Apartments
95
Income-restricted
n/a
Placed in service
n/a

Clarendon Hill Towers

1370 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144

Apartments
472
Income-restricted
n/a
Placed in service
n/a

Kent Street Apts

28 Kent St, Somerville, MA 02143

8 studio, 12 1BR, 16 2BR, 4 3BR

Apartments
40
Income-restricted
40
Placed in service
1998

St Polycarp I

460 Mystic Ave, Somerville, MA 02145

6 1BR, 12 2BR, 6 3BR

Apartments
24
Income-restricted
24
Placed in service
2009

St Polycarp II

480 Mystic Ave, Somerville, MA 02145

Apartments
29
Income-restricted
n/a
Placed in service
n/a

St Polycarp III

5 Memorial Rd, Somerville, MA 02145

7 1BR, 17 2BR, 7 3BR

Apartments
31
Income-restricted
31
Placed in service
2014

Visiting Nurse Assisted Living Community

259 Lowell St, Somerville, MA 02144

97 1BR

Apartments
97
Income-restricted
73
Placed in service
2000

Vna Senior Living Community

405 Alewife Brook Pkwy, Somerville, MA 02144

HUD lists it as senior housing · 99 1BR

Apartments
99
Income-restricted
72
Placed in service
2008

Source: HUD's national LIHTC database (LIHTCPUB, revised May 28, 2026; projects placed in service through 2024). Properties a state agency has flagged as no longer monitored are left out; properties placed in service after 2024 are not in HUD's database yet.

How tax credit apartments work

Each income-restricted unit has a maximum rent set from the area's income limits: gross rent, including a utility allowance for tenant-paid utilities, can't go above 30% of the income limit for the unit's size. The rent doesn't change with your own income, so a household near the bottom of the range pays the same rent as one near the top. That's different from public housing or a voucher, where you pay a share of what you earn.

To qualify, your household's income has to be at or under the limit the unit is set at, usually 50% or 60% of the area median, and up to 80% in some buildings. Management checks income, and assets, when you apply. A household made up entirely of full-time students generally can't qualify, with exceptions in IRC 42(i)(3)(D) such as single parents and married students filing jointly. More on qualifying.

You can apply with a Housing Choice voucher, and the property can't turn you down because you have one.