Two recently completed affordable-housing projects are welcoming their first wave of tenants this month and optimistically moving forward.

Yet both appear to have found that filling the units is difficult and that filling them with qualified Wareham residents is probably impossible.

"We've been very pleased with the response," said Jim Regis of S-C Development, which manages the Village at 815 Main Street in West Wareham.  Regis said nearly 75 percent of the 44 units had committed tenants.  "Things are going as anticipated. We're glad to see people moving in and enjoying their new home."

Of the tenants, Regis estimated that about half are from Wareham. Units were made available to non-Wareham residents only after applications from all qualified Wareham residents had been satisfied.

Representatives of The Retreat at Union Pond, a similar affordable housing complex of 104 recently constructed units, did not respond to repeated requests for information on their leasing experience.

But it is clear that Union Pond, located on the Cranberry Highway in East Wareham, has not filled its units either. Advertising now offers a "first month free."

A representative of the project told the Zoning Board of Appeals earlier this month that move-ins were scheduled for 22 of the 104 units this month -- and that the development company is proceeding with requests for funds to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to construct an additional 40 units.

Both projects are being developed under the state law known as "40B," which streamlines the permitting process for developers who commit to making 20-25% of the new units "affordable," as defined by state law. In the case of both projects, 100% of the units are affordable.

In a town with a clear need for more lower-cost housing for residents with limited incomes, why weren't all the units immediately snapped up? Developers of both projects and others note that there are restrictions that make some interested applicants ineligible or ultimately uninterested:

"Affordable" rents are set on the basis of what is affordable to those making up to 60% of the median household income in the metropolitan Boston area. Those rents may be too high for many in Wareham.

815 Main St. offers one-bedroom units for $850 a month, two-bedroom units for $990, and three-bedroom units for $1,175 per month -- plus gas and electric..

The Retreat at Union Pond offers one-bedroom units for $895 per month, two-bedroom units for $995, and three-bedroom units for $1,195 – plus gas and electric.

Between the two projects, just 16 units come with lower rents – deemed affordable to those making no more than 30% of the median income in the Greater Boston area.

And, for those who decide they can afford the rents, leasing requirements disqualify people making too much money to be eligible for designated affordable housing. Also disqualified are those whose income stream is not considered secure enough to provide confidence that they will be able to continue to pay the rent.

"Many applicants self-certify when they apply, but when their application is verified [with tax returns, paychecks, etc.] they drop out," explained Regis.