Starting at a new school with new people and new faces can be overwhelming, but North 116 Flats is here to help ease the transition by providing 40B affordable housing. Through 40B affordable housing, we help students who receive need-based financial aid, pay for school via student loans, or work while going through school to pay for living expenses independently.
SMART Housing FAQs
40B affordable housing is a Massachusetts program that allows properties to provide a percentage of affordable housing units. Max rent amounts are released each year by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
1. Households must have income and assets below 80% of the Area Median Income for Franklin, MA, as published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
2. Income from assets will be counted as follows: the greater of the actual income earned on the assets or .06% of the current asset value (for total assets over $5,000.00). If an applicant divests him/herself of an asset for less than full and fair cash value within the two years prior to applying, the full and fair cash value of the asset will be included for purposes of calculating eligibility.
3. At move-in, no household member can own a home. All homes must be sold prior to being approved to lease an affordable unit.
4. Household members or their families, who have a financial interest in the development or are considered a Related Party are not eligible to lease an affordable unit.
5. Households must occupy the unit as their principal residence.
6. The 40B affordable units are not intended to be used as student assistance. Therefore, there are specific rules about the types of students who are eligible to rent the affordable units. A household that contains an ineligible student is not eligible to lease an affordable unit. The eligibility of students will be verified at move-in, initial certification, and annually thereafter.
Our 40B program offers a variety of floor plans; however, these rates apply to a fixed number of units, and we are unable to add any additional units to this program.
The program is available at all times; however, we do have an extensive waitlist. The approximate wait times for an available unit are 1-2 years, but this can go as long as three years.
Max rent amounts are determined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development each year. For 2024-2025, pricing is as follows:
- One bedroom- $1350.00
- Two bedroom- $1509.00
- Three bedroom- $1622.00
For our 40b program, prospects will apply as a household, and they will need to qualify based on the entire household income. If they do not qualify, this would be as a whole, and the household composition would need to change in order to be reassessed.