Starting May 1, New Yorkers looking for affordable housing will have a new way to secure apartments without going through the city’s traditional Housing Connect lottery system.
Under a new policy announced by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), landlords of affordable units will be allowed for at least the next 12 months to list their vacant apartments on public rental platforms widely used across the city. The initiative aims to speed up tenant placement in buildings subsidized by the city.
“As we roll full steam ahead on our aggressive and historic housing agenda to unlock, build, and preserve record levels of housing across our city, we must be equally focused on ensuring New Yorkers have easy and efficient access to the thousands of affordable homes that become available through the Housing Connect lottery each year,” said Leila Bozorg, the city’s executive director for Housing.
The policy change opens the door for renters to directly apply for units in newly constructed or recently renovated developments—particularly in neighborhoods such as Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and East Harlem, Manhattan—either by contacting property managers or continuing to use the Housing Connect platform. Applications submitted through the lottery remain valid, giving applicants multiple pathways to secure a unit.
The rule change also eases the documentation burden traditionally required for Housing Connect applications. Applicants will now only need to submit one month of pay stubs instead of six, and tax returns are required only for the self-employed. Renters with less than $51,600 in assets may self-certify without providing bank statements. Households receiving federal benefits—including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Social Security—will face fewer paperwork requirements.
The goal is to cut down on processing times and address bottlenecks in the Housing Connect system, which has long been criticized for bureaucratic delays. The vacant apartments—referred to as “re-rentals”—are part of the city’s affordable housing stock earmarked for low- and middle-income residents. These units are owned by developers and nonprofit groups that received public financing or tax incentives to build affordable housing.
According to HPD data, between 2% and 5% of these units become available each year. Yet many sit vacant for months because of the complex process of contacting and qualifying prospective tenants through the lottery system. In some cases, apartments have remained empty even as qualified applicants were unaware of their availability because they were not enrolled in the lottery. While the lottery was originally created to ensure fairness and transparency, city officials say it has become increasingly inefficient in its current form.
