While the odds of winning an affordable housing lottery in New York City are generally low, now, at least, the paperwork will be easier. On Monday, the Department of Housing and Preservation and Development (HPD) announced it will require fewer documents from applicants to streamline the process for both renters and agents. And starting May 1, the city will allow landlords and brokers to advertise empty affordable housing units publicly, allowing applicants to directly apply for the apartments, instead of going through the city’s Housing Connect system.
“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,” Leila Bozorg, executive director for Housing, said.
“These recent reforms to the lease-up process begin to recognize the urgency of the moment, where we have a 1.4% rental vacancy rate and an ongoing housing emergency, and must therefore be doing everything in our power to deliver fair and efficient processes to house more of our neighbors.”
Under the new rules, applicants will only need to submit one month of pay stubs instead of six, tax returns will be required only from those who are self-employed.
Previously, applicants with assets under $5,000 were allowed to self-certify instead of submitting bank statements. Now, this option has been extended to those with assets under $51,600, and the self-certification process no longer requires a notary’s signature.
Additionally, applicants who receive federal benefits, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Social Security, will now face fewer documentation requirements. According to The City, the income information provided through these programs is sufficient, allowing recipients to skip submitting pay stubs and other documentation.
Individuals with disabilities will now have more options to verify their eligibility for affordable housing, including using documents like driver’s licenses and school records. Previously, they were required to have a medical professional complete a form confirming their disability.
The changes also make it easier for marketing agents, who manage applications and match New Yorkers with affordable housing. By reducing documentation requirements, the review process becomes faster, enabling agents to process more applicants in less time.
Additionally, the city has eliminated or revised several outdated policies that were burdensome. Agents are no longer required to follow strict advertising rules or to collect paper applications exclusively from specific mailrooms. They also no longer need to update and submit log reports.
Social service providers also say the changes will particularly ease the process for formerly homeless New Yorkers or those fleeing domestic violence, a leading cause of family homelessness in NYC, according to The City. Over 95 percent of domestic violence survivors experience financial abuse and have no power over their finances, often leaving behind important financial paperwork when escaping violent homes.
Starting May 1, HPD plans to pause certain rules for one year, allowing vacant affordable apartments to be rented or sold on a first-come, first-served basis instead of being marketed through the city’s affordable housing lottery system, as reported by The City
The HPD previously required affordable housing owners to rent each vacancy after initial lease-up through “mini-lotteries” on Housing Connect.
The changes follow a policy brief from the New York Housing Conference that found these units in existing affordable housing buildings being re-rented through the lottery system often sit vacant for months, or in some cases, more than a year. By making the re-rentals available publicly, filling the vacant apartments would be more efficient and improve transparency for renters.
In 2024, HPD connected nearly 14,654 households to affordable homes, including over 10,000 through the city’s housing lottery system and another 4,600 households transitioning from shelters into permanent housing.
In 2020, the city overhauled the housing lottery system by introducing a new web portal that allowed applicants to upload required documents online and create profiles to best match with open lotteries. In 2019, the city stopped requiring credit scores or social security numbers to apply.
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