Mike Racioppohide

Housing and its price are often discussed, directly and indirectly. In every corner of New York City, even more so. Those discussions can be indirect, like with the countless articles pondering “why are so many young adults living with their parents?” I haven’t read all of them, but the bottom line is it’s due to housing costs.

This page aims to simplify and clarify what housing costs are based on what’s available at a given time. I used all listings from 2010 to today based on StreetEasy.com’s listings. I broke it down from micro (cb6/ neighborhoods) to macro (borough and citywide).

Rest assured, it’s not just staring at numbers that I’d say are too high; it’s also got every active “affordable housing” lottery open across NYC. I put “affordable” in quotes, as that may be better described as “less expensive housing”, but I digress. I’ll keep making updates, but check it out and let me know what you think.

Mike RacioppoDistrict Manager, Brooklyn Community Board 6

CB6 & Beyond›Housing & Rent›Renting›Affordable Housing

Affordable & Income-Restricted Housing

Income-restricted apartments, priced to your household size and income.

This page helps you find housing you can actually afford: what you qualify for, what is open now, and who will help you apply.
Eligibility toolEnter your household and income to see which units you may qualify for.
Open lotteriesEvery affordable housing lottery accepting applications, with deadlines.
What has been builtHow much affordable housing exists and for which incomes.
Free help near youNonprofits that will help you apply, at no cost.
How affordable housing works here

Affordable means income regulated. Rent is capped and tied to a share of Area Median Income, and you qualify by earning within a set range, with both a floor and a ceiling.

Applying is free and happens through NYC Housing Connect. Nobody should ever charge you to apply. Each lottery has its own deadline and its own income and household size requirements.

The eligibility tool is a guide, not a decision. The listing itself is the authority on who qualifies.

Eligibility tool
What could you qualify for?
Enter your household and income to see what you may be eligible for right now.
Household total and AMI band detail
How eligibility is decided
Only two things decide eligibility: headcount and total counted income. Who earns it does not matter. Two adults earning $30,000 each and one adult earning $60,000 with a baby are the same household to HPD: 2 people, $60,000. Both qualify from the same AMI band. But that same $60,000 with only one person in the household qualifies from a higher band, because the limits rise with household size.

Everyone who will live in the unit counts toward headcount, including infants, children, and dependents with no income. Income counted is generally the gross (pre-tax) income of household members 18 and over.

Unit size follows occupancy standards. Every one of the 16 open lotteries uses the same ranges: studio 1–2 people, 1-bedroom 1–3, 2-bedroom 2–5, 3-bedroom 3–7, 4-bedroom 4–9. These are the household-size ranges printed in each lottery's own Available Units table on Housing Connect. They set who may apply for a size, not who must: a household of three can apply for a 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom or 3-bedroom. HPD sets these in its Marketing Handbook and revised them upward by one person per unit size, so older published ranges may differ.

AMI is set each year by the federal government (HUD) for the whole New York metro area, so it can be higher than the actual median in many neighborhoods. Figures here are the NYC HPD 2025 chart. A household usually must fall between a unit's minimum and maximum income, so earning too little can also make you ineligible for a given unit.
Open lotteries
Affordable housing lotteries on Housing Connect
Advertised lotteries recorded by HPD. Apply on Housing Connect, which is always the authoritative list.
Reference
Income limits for every household size
The full HPD chart. Your household's row is highlighted.
Every household size against every income limit
What has been built
Affordable, income regulated units financed since 2014
All the charts and a production report → Open the full map →
Free help near you
Neighborhood Preservation Companies

These are nonprofits contracted by New York State to provide housing services in a defined area. Not city agencies, not landlords. Most offer tenant rights counselling, help with repairs and code complaints, eviction and foreclosure prevention, and help applying for affordable housing. Services are generally free.

How to apply
Applying through NYC Housing Connect
Housing Connect is the city's official portal for affordable housing lotteries, run by HPD and HDC. It is free to apply.
  1. Create a free profile at Housing Connect with your household size and income.
  2. Search open lotteries and filter to units that match your household and income band.
  3. Apply to any you qualify for. Applying to multiple lotteries is allowed and encouraged.
  4. If your application is selected, you will be asked to verify income and household documents.
  5. Never pay a fee to apply. The lottery and application are always free.
The other lottery
Mitchell-Lama and State housing
Housing Connect is the city's list. New York State runs its own, and the two do not overlap. If you only check one, you are missing half of what is open.

Mitchell-Lama is middle income housing, both rentals and co-ops. Created in 1955, the developments are privately owned but income regulated, and many have income ceilings well above the city lotteries. A one person household can qualify up to roughly $141,750 in a non federally assisted development, and a four person household up to roughly $202,500.

Most Mitchell-Lama openings are waitlists, not lotteries. You apply to each development separately, and a place on the list can take years to move. Some lists are open, some are closed. Veterans may be entitled to a preference at developments with an open list.

It all moved to one site in 2025. NYS Housing Search replaced the old Mitchell-Lama Automated Waiting List, and now carries every HCR funded listing, lottery and waitlist in one place. If you applied before May 2026, your existing applications can be linked to a new account.

  1. Create a free account at NYS Housing Search.
  2. Filter by household size, income, county and bedrooms, and tick Mitchell-Lama to see only those.
  3. Apply to every development you qualify for. Each has its own list.
  4. Check your position and update your contact details through the same account.
  5. Never pay to apply. It is free, the same as Housing Connect.
🏛NYS Housing Search →Every State funded listing, lottery and Mitchell-Lama waitlist, statewide. Official and free. 📋How Mitchell-Lama works →HCR's own guide to eligibility, waiting lists and transfers, with development listings by county. 🏗What affordable housing got built →Every affordable unit the city financed since 2014, by year, income band, unit size and district. 🏠NYC Housing Connect →Create a profile and apply for affordable housing lotteries. Official, free, run by the City of New York. 📊HPD Area Median Income chart →The official annual AMI chart this tool is based on.
Rent-regulated & DHCR
NYS DHCR listings
New York State's Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) oversees rent-regulated and Mitchell-Lama housing.
DHCR listings will appear here once the data is added. For now, you can search Mitchell-Lama and other DHCR-supervised housing directly on the state's site.
🏢NYS HCR / DHCR affordable housing →Search state-supervised affordable and Mitchell-Lama housing.
AMI figures: NYC HPD 2025 Area Median Income chart (HUD FY2025, New York HMFA). This page is an educational guide from Brooklyn CB6 and is not affiliated with HPD, HDC, or DHCR, and does not determine eligibility. Always apply and confirm through the official portals above.
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Know your rights as a tenant Repairs, heat and hot water, harassment, eviction, lease renewals and rent regulation. From HPD.
Tenants’ rights →