ReRent NYC

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How to apply on NYC Housing Connect

[NYC Housing Connect](https://housingconnect.nyc.gov) is the city's site for affordable apartments financed by HPD and HDC. You fill in your household once, then apply to each lottery with one click.

1. Create an account and fill in your household

Register on Housing Connect, then enter everyone who will live with you: their income, assets and any disability. Your eligibility is checked against this profile, so keep it up to date, for example when someone gets a new job or loses one.

  • Wages count before taxes. Housing Connect turns your pay into a yearly amount for you: see How to count your household income.
  • If you have a housing voucher, say so in your profile: see Applying with a Section 8 or CityFHEPS voucher.
  • If you have a mobility, vision or hearing disability, live in the building's community district, work for the City or are a military veteran, say so too. Some apartments are set aside for these groups.

2. Say yes to re-rentals

In the "Housing Choices" part of your profile you can ask to be considered for re-rentals and resales: existing affordable apartments that open up when someone moves out. You can't search for these, but if you say yes, you can be picked for them at random. HPD recommends saying yes.

3. Find lotteries and apply

  • Open the Open Lotteries page and filter it. Each listing shows how many apartments there are, how many people can live in each, the income range and the deadline.
  • Only apply where your household size and income fit, or the application can't succeed.
  • Check your profile, then click "Apply Now!" on the listing.
  • If you can't use the website, request a paper application as the listing describes. Your chances are the same. Never send both a paper and an online application: that disqualifies you.
  • Lotteries are open for a few weeks to a couple of months. When you apply within that time doesn't matter.

4. After the deadline

Every application gets a random number, your log number. Applications are reviewed in that order, so with a low number or a preference you may hear back sooner; with a high number you may not hear back at all. Your Housing Connect dashboard shows the status of each application.

If yours is picked, you upload documents such as ID and pay stubs, and the building checks your credit or rental history: see Documents you need. If everything checks out and an apartment is available, you're approved. If not, you get a notice explaining why and how to appeal: see Rejected? How to appeal.

Checked against official NYC sources on October 31, 2026.