STATE LIHTC RESEARCH

Massachusetts
QAP scoring guide.

Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) — successor to the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) · 2025-2026 (extended through 2027 by a January 2026 amendment) QAP

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● Verified guideChecked Aug 20, 2026View source QAP ↗

THE POINT TABLE

Competitive scoring

16 categories

Not stated anywhere in the QAP. No scoring summary or recent-award data with a historical cut score was found in this document; would require EOHLC's actual competition results/award announcements (not published within the QAP itself) to determine.

Select a category to read its scoring criteria.

A-1. Financial Feasibility

20 pts

Fundamental Project Characteristics (12-pt minimum required in each of the five A-categories). Evidence of financing commitments from construction/permanent lenders, comprehensive syndicator/investor LOI, debt service coverage/cash flow assumptions 'consistent with industry standards,' and syndicator/investor track-record screening (defaults, IRS/HUD investigations, litigation history, etc.).

A-2. Fundamental Design Characteristics

20 pts

Fundamental Project Characteristics (12-pt minimum required). Green/carbon-reducing/sustainable/climate-resilient design consistent with Enterprise Green Communities Certification Standards and the Massachusetts Stretch Energy Code; senior-housing design checklist (Appendix M) where applicable.

A-3. Development Team

20 pts

Fundamental Project Characteristics (12-pt minimum required). Track record/capacity of owner, consultant, architect, contractor, management agent, and attorney; M/WBE inclusion and utilization plan; diversity efforts; prior HLC-project performance; general contractor evaluation; apprenticeship-program participation bonus.

A-4. Marketability

20 pts

Fundamental Project Characteristics (12-pt minimum required). NCHMA-standard market study demonstrating need/demand, comparable rents, vacancy rates; independent HLC housing-need evaluation (waiting-list ratios, rent burden); marketing/outreach plan; Housing Navigator listing commitment.

A-5. Readiness to Proceed

20 pts

Fundamental Project Characteristics (12-pt minimum required). Zoning/land-use approvals, environmental (Phase I) and historic reviews, ability to meet the IRC 10% test and carryover deadlines, Chapter 40B comprehensive permit status where applicable.

B-1. Official Local Support

2 pts

Special Project Characteristics. Letter of support from the chief elected official, weighted in part by whether local resources are also committed.

B-2. Contribution to a Concerted Community Revitalization Planning Effort

6 pts

2 pts for a project in a formal neighborhood revitalization plan; 2 additional pts if sponsored by an HLC-certified CDC (Ch. 40H) with an adopted Community Investment Plan; 2 pts for location in an HLC-approved housing production plan or state-designated Priority Development Area.

B-3. MBE/WBE Membership on the Development Team

6 pts

6 pts if the sponsor, general contractor, or management agent is SOMWBA-certified MBE/WBE; up to 3 pts if another key team member (architect, consultant, contractor, attorney, accountant, syndicator) is SOMWBA-certified. M/WBE checklist (Appendix C) required.

B-4. Non-Profit Sponsorship

5 pts

5 pts for sponsorship by an HLC-certified Ch. 40H Community Development Corporation with development capacity; 3 pts if sponsored by a non-profit that has successfully completed at least two prior LIHTC projects in Massachusetts.

B-5. Persons with Disabilities or Special Populations as Intended Consumers

8 pts

Up to 8 pts (combined cap) for projects reserving units (up to 15% of total) for persons with disabilities with appropriate design/services, OR for projects reserving ≥20% of units for other special-needs populations (homeless veterans, other homeless individuals, frail elderly in service-enriched senior/assisted-living housing, etc.) with appropriate services.

B-6. Location in an Area of Opportunity

14 pts

Family projects in census tracts/municipalities with <15% poverty rate and meeting bedroom-mix thresholds (≥65% 2BR+, ≥10% 3BR) can earn: up to 8 pts for public-school MCAS performance (90%+ Advanced/Proficient = 8 pts, scaling down to 75%+ = 2 pts); up to 6 pts for proximity to jobs by average commute VMT (≤5 mi = 6 pts, ≤7 mi = 4 pts, ≤9 mi = 2 pts); up to 4 pts for location within 0.5 mi of major transit; up to 2 pts for proximity to higher education (within 2 mi); up to 2 pts for proximity to health care (within 1 mi). Category capped at 14 pts even though sub-items can sum higher.

B-7. Rural LIHTC Projects

4 pts

Projects in rural Massachusetts communities (generally <500 persons/sq. mi.).

B-8. Conformance with Section 42 Code Preferences

3 pts

Category capped at 3 total points; sub-criteria (each described as 'up to 3 pts') are: Extended Term of Affordability (≥50 years); Lowest Income Population Served (≥15% of tax-credit units at ≤30% AMI); and location in a Qualified Census Tract tied to a concerted community revitalization plan.

B-9. Emphasis on Green, Carbon-Reducing, Sustainable, and Climate Resilient Design

21 pts

Available only to projects already meeting Enterprise Green Communities certification and achieving acceptable scores elsewhere. Sub-parts: (A) Building Energy Performance up to 10 pts (HERS ≤70/≤60 for rehab, Passive House/Specialized Stretch Code pre-certification for new construction); (B) Electrification up to 4 pts (heating/cooling electrification 2 pts, DHW electrification 2 pts); (C) Clean Energy Systems up to 4 pts (on-site PV, solar hot water, energy storage, clean-energy PPA/aggregation); (D) Reduced Embodied Carbon of Building Materials up to 3 pts (low-carbon concrete, low-carbon insulation, LEED v.5-consistent material carbon reduction).

B-10. Enhanced Accessibility

10 pts

Points awarded across a long menu of accessibility/visitability enhancements beyond code minimums: additional Group 2 accessible units (up to 4/7/10 pts at 5%/10%/15% thresholds), fully accessible common spaces, Group 1 units in adaptive reuse, vision/hearing-impairment accommodations, voice-activated controls, accessible egress, Universal Design compliance (up to 7 pts), visitability features, accessible elevators, HP van drop-off area, mobility-aid storage, scuff/corner guards, in-unit laundry at accessible units, CBH clearance compliance — category capped at 10 pts total.

B-11. Proximity to Transit

6 pts

Projects within 0.5 mi (or 0.5-1 mi with compelling TOD features) of an existing/planned transit node (subway, commuter rail, high-frequency bus, or ferry), tied to the state's Transit Oriented Development (TOD) funding program administered with MHP.

Scoring source

Section XI, "The Competitive Scoring System" (QAP pp. 37-66): Section XI-A "Fundamental Project Characteristics" (A-1 through A-5, pp. 38-51, 100 pts total, stated at line ~1689) and Section XI-B "Special Project Characteristics Scoring" (B-1 through B-11, pp. 52-66, stated as 86 pts total at line ~1690). Note: itemizing each individual B-category maximum as printed in the QAP (2+6+6+5+8+14+4+3+21+10+6) sums to 85, one point short of the QAP's own stated 86-point Special Project Characteristics total — this is an apparent arithmetic discrepancy in the source document itself, not an extraction error; the 100 fundamental points check out exactly (5 x 20).

MODEL ASSUMPTIONS

Underwriting parameters

Massachusetts' QAP has no dedicated "Underwriting Standards" section/appendix (the term "underwriting" itself appears only twice in the whole document, in unrelated contexts). The relevant material is scattered: Section X, Threshold #4 "Creditworthiness of Sponsor/Owner" (p.33-34) and Threshold #6 "Identification of All Financing Sources" (p.34); Section XI-A, "A-1. Financial Feasibility" (p.39-40) and "A-4. Marketability" (p.49-50); Section IX, "Recommended Cost Limits; Caps on Eligible Basis and Allocations Per Project" (p.29-30); and Appendix J, "Program Administrative Requirements" (developer's fee/overhead formula, cost reasonableness review, pp. J-1 to J-3). No separate companion underwriting-standards PDF was found on EOHLC's LIHTC page (mass.gov/info-details/low-income-housing-tax-credit-lihtc) — its "LIHTC Guidelines" link resolves to an in-page anchor pointing back to the QAP itself, not a distinct document.

OPERATING ASSUMPTIONS

Utility allowance

Preferred method: not specified

2025-2026 QAP, Appendix E ("Compliance Monitoring Procedures"), Record keeping item (c) — the QAP's only reference to utility allowances, with no methodology detail; contrast with EOHLC's compliance-monitoring delegate's current Massachusetts LIHTC Compliance Guide (Spectrum Enterprises, V1.1, July 2025), p.20 & p.25 ("Treasury Regulation 1.42-10 clarifies utility allowances in LIHTC projects... The calculation methodology used for utilities can change from year to year. As long as the source meets the requirements set forth in 1.42-10, it can be incorporated.")

YOUR NEXT STEPS

Development guides for Massachusetts

PHASE 1Site sourcing and screening PHASE 2Site control and due diligence PHASE 3Entitlement pathway election PHASE 4Program election (9% vs. 4% vs. hybrid)PHASE 5Rents, income limits, and the operating pro forma PHASE 6Cost, construction type, and the labor package PHASE 7Capital stack and soft money PHASE 8Application assembly and submission PHASE 9Post-award readiness clock PHASE 10Construction, prevailing wage, and the path to Form 8609 PHASE 11Compliance, Year 15, and Massachusetts's real extended-use term — 30 years, or 45 with the state credit, not 55

Use the LIHTC feasibility checklist →