Renting vacated, affordable apartments through the city’s housing lottery is about to get easier, but you'll have to be quick to find one.
For the next year, the city’s housing department will waive bureaucratic rules on how landlords have to get new tenants into empty affordable-housing units, according to The City.
Starting May 1 through April 30, 2026, landlords and brokers will be able to advertise those apartments publicly, on websites like Streeteasy or Craigslist, on the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s website or on other platforms.
Eligible apartment-seekers will be able to apply directly, instead of going through the city’s lottery system, known as NYC Housing Connect, and landlords or brokers will be able to process those applications in a first-come, first-served order, the news agency said.
After the landlord or broker verifies the applicant’s eligibility, the applicant can submit their information to the Department of Housing Preservation and Development for approval.
The new process, which also applies to subsidized properties for sale through the lottery, is meant to remove red tape that’s led to hundreds of affordable apartments sitting vacant for months and has kept much-needed housing off the market, The City said. It’s one of several ways HPD plans to streamline the process of applying to and securing income-restricted subsidized housing, according to officials.
