This is crucial when it comes to applying for lotteries: One of the most common reasons for housing lottery rejection is that your current information doesn’t match what’s on your application. Once you create an account, you’ll want to check it regularly to make sure all the information is up to date. Create an Account on NYC Housing ConnectĪfter you find a lottery accepting applicants within your AMI, you must set up an account on NYC Housing Connect using your most recent tax return information. From there, you can view the building’s available units and income requirements. To be sure you meet the income requirements, click on the hyperlinked building name. Once you determine what percent of the AMI you earn, you can search for lotteries you qualify for on the NYC Housing Connect website. Income requirements are based on the Area Median Income, or AMI, and will vary from one lottery to the next. To qualify, you need to fall within a specific lottery’s required income range. NYC Housing Connect, as the housing lottery website is officially known, accepts applicants from a range of income levels. You don’t have to be poor to qualify for, or win, the housing lottery. So how did I do it? Here are some tips that helped me win the NYC housing Created with Sketch.īefore getting started, let’s clear up a basic misconception. A month after that, I signed the lease and moved in. Despite my initial skepticism, one month later, I was in a new high-rise in Downtown Brooklyn picking out an apartment. To say that I was thrilled at the prospect of living in a structurally sound building with in-unit laundry would be an understatement, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.Īs far as I was concerned, it wasn’t real until I signed the lease. I’d had bathroom ceilings cave in, floods, and carbon monoxide and gas leaks - at the same time. Up until that moment, my apartment experience in NYC had been a complete rollercoaster. I won! My instant jubilation was followed by a flash of skepticism: But did I really? Can I celebrate without actually signing a lease? I decided, yes! Yes, I can! I pranced around my Bed-Stuy studio, doing an excellent rendition of “We Are the Champions.” > See All Housing Lotteries on StreetEasy So, How Did I Become a NYC Housing Lottery Winner? “Um…” I couldn’t think what else to say, but managed to blurt out, “Thanks for the update!” The building will contact you with further instructions.” “Your application has been approved by the city. I just wanted to let you know that your application has been approved.” I froze, thinking I’d heard her wrong. “Hello? Miss Turner? This is MHANY Management. It all went down one night in late October 2016, when I picked up a call from an unknown number. “Your Lottery Application Has Been Approved” I can now proudly call myself an NYC housing lottery winner. I landed a rent-stabilized 1-bedroom in a brand-new building in Brooklyn. It was a months-long process, and at times it was quite stressful. To apply, I had to prove my income qualification, provide tons of paperwork, track my application on the NYC Housing Connect lottery website, interview with the building developers, and all the while try to remain patient and optimistic. How often do you hear people say, “No one wins those housing lotteries, so why enter?” That was my feeling, too - until I entered and actually won, joining an exclusive club of NYC housing lottery winners.