How To Apply

How To Apply

Applying For The NYC Affordable Housing Lottery

The hows, whens, wheres, dos and don'ts

While applying for for an affordable apartment may at best seem like a gamble, Reside New York, an offshoot of  Metropolitan Realty Exemptions Inc. was created to allow the optimal ability at obtaining affordable housing for its clients. 

Apartments in an Affordable Housing Project are generally open for application for a timeframe of 3 weeks, with the lottery occuring shortly thereafter. The marketing of affordable apartments typically attracts thousands of applications which can be a reason for some discouragement to even try to apply. However, with Reside New York, your chances increase exponentially.

Read on in order to determine your eligibility, learn how to apply, and discover how Reside New York will help you increase your chance at winning the preferred affordable apartment.

Are You Eligible?

Common misconception is that affordable housing is developed for the purpose of housing the very poor. However, the Affordable Housing Program allows applicants to earn a middle range income.

How is that? 

The Affordable Housing Program designates 20% of the units in an Affordable Housing Project to be occupied by applicants who earn up to 60% of the Annual Median Income (AMI) which is currently set at $38,100 per year for an individual, and $54,360 for a family of four.

However, in many instances, developers may choose to increase the allowances for such earners to up to 50% of the units due to multiple reasons such as additional tax credits or other development advantages.

Such creates an opportunity for middle income earners to apply for affordable housing, since it is the developer that will set the minimum.

To determine whether you are eligible to apply, based on your
income, check out the guidelines provided by the New York Housing Development Corporation.

The Process

At Reside New  York, we will make the application process as convenient and effortless as possible. 

So go ahead, discover the many availabilities, the numerous options in multiple neighborhoods. Start by browsing our listings to find your fit, and then apply with ease.

1. Browse All Available Units

Browse all available units. Make use of  our advanced property search bar. You may want to select developments that are not open for applying yet, but will open soon, since the timeframe for applying is short at only 3 weeks.

If you have been through the process already, you can go straight to the units that are currently open to application and narrow down the available units only.

2. Review The Listing To Determine Eligibility

Review the listing to determine if your income is within the eligible bracket for this specific affordable housing unit. each listing will contain the information necessary in order to determine your eligibility.

Once you determine for which units you will be applying, you may click on the a link to the right of the listing which will lead you to the  NYC Housing Connect Website.

3.Create Your Account With Housing Connect

Create Your account here.
Follow the prompts, verification process, and then sign in. Once You have signed in, find the edit profile link on the top right of the page. You may review the instructions and click continue. The site will then follow through with a list of questions that will discover your personal and financial information. 

If you need assistance in completing the questionnaire, contact Support at Reside New York and click extension 0.

4. Find Your Selected Listing On Housing Connect

After completing your profile, you will be able to browse the current listings within the Housing Connect website. Find the development address that you’ve previously browsed in the Reside New York Website and click Apply

(Unfortunately the housing connect website does not provide a search bar, thereby making locating a specific project a bit difficult.)

What Happens Next?

How does the NYC Affordable Lottery Work?

So you’ve applied! What happens next? Your application will be randomized along with all the other applications and assigned a log number. Starting with the lowest log number, the developer will begin the process of reviewing applications.

It is quite common for developers to select preferential applicants i.e.: disabled persons, municipal employees and/or residents currently residing within the  development’s community board district. Otherwise, the lottery is performed in a  fair manner, giving all applicants an equal chance of winning.

If your log number is low, you are more likely to hear from a developer if you are qualified. The process may take anywhere between 2 and 10 months.

Your Time Is Running Out!

You have a three week timeframe in which your affordable apartment is open for application!
Browse all apartments currently accepting applications to find your perfect affordable apartment.

Remember, Reside New York is here to assist you throughout the process. Contact us with any questions or comments.