1
File the application onlineApplications go through ApplyNYCHA on the Self-Service Portal at selfserve.nycha.info. You do not attach any documents at this stage.
2
Answer what it asksTotal household income, who is in the household, your current living situation, and a first and second borough choice.
3
Watch for the letterNYCHA sends a letter within 30 days of submission. You can also check status any time on the Self-Service Portal.
4
Renew every two yearsAn application stays active for two years. Use "Update/Renew My Case" on the portal before it lapses and you keep your original filing date.
5
The eligibility interviewThis is where NYCHA verifies everything you reported. Applicants are called in based on priority code and how long the certified application has been waiting.
- The applicant or co-applicant is 18 or older, or an emancipated minor.
- At least one member of the household is a United States citizen or has eligible immigration status.
- NYCHA's definition of family covers two or more people related by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, adoption, guardianship or court awarded custody, and also covers a single person living alone.
- Household income is at or under the limits below.
- Senior buildings have their own rule: the head of household, or head and co-head, must be at least 62, and every other permanent member must be 62 or older.
| Household size | Public housing income limit |
|---|
| 1 | $95,000 |
| 2 | $108,600 |
| 3 | $122,150 |
| 4 | $135,700 |
| 5 | $146,600 |
| 6 | $157,450 |
| 7 | $168,300 |
| 8 | $179,150 |
Limits continue upward for households of 9 through 15. The full table is on NYCHA's eligibility page. Section 8 has separate and lower limits, applied at the point a voucher is issued rather than at application.
How the line is ordered
Priority codes
NYCHA does not work first come, first served. Every application gets a priority code, and apartments are offered by highest priority and oldest certification date. Living or working in New York City is required for the need based and working family priorities.
N0Referrals from city agencies, including families with children referred by Homeless Services, households displaced by fire or vacate order and referred by HPD, and referrals from HASA and ACS.
N1Certified victims of domestic violence, and intimidated witnesses referred by a District Attorney's office.
N4Substandard conditions or rent hardship: homeless, involuntarily displaced, doubled up or overcrowded, or paying more than half of gross household income in rent.
N8No need based preference, or households that neither live nor work in New York City.
N9Applicant is already the lessee or co-lessee of a public housing or Section 8 apartment.
W0 to W3Working family priorities, banded by share of area median income. W3 is up to 30 percent, W2 is 31 to 50 percent, W1 is 51 to 80 percent. W0 covers working families with children referred by Homeless Services.
A working family here means income from actual employment, or a head, spouse or sole member who is 62 or older or receiving disability benefits. Applicants filing as a victim of domestic violence submit the application first and then file the VDV form, and may choose a citywide waitlist or a single borough, and may exclude up to two zip codes.
The other program
Section 8 is a separate application, and it is closed
The Housing Choice Voucher waitlist last opened for one week, June 3 to June 9, 2024, and applications were placed on the list by random lottery rather than by filing order. NYCHA is not accepting Section 8 applications from the general public now. If you applied in that window, check and update your record on the Self-Service Portal, because a canvass letter sent to an old address is the most common way an application quietly closes.
NYCHA never charges a fee
There is no fee to apply for public housing or Section 8, and no fee to process a Section 8 rental. Anyone asking for payment to file, to move you up a list, or to secure an apartment is running a scam. Report it to the Department of Investigation's NYCHA Inspector General at 212-306-3355, or the HUD Office of Inspector General at 1-800-347-3735.
If you need help filing
By phone or in person
Customer Contact Center(718) 707-7771, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm, for help completing an application.
Brooklyn Walk-In Center787 Atlantic Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn NY 11238. Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. Serves Brooklyn and Staten Island. Appointments are booked in advance and kiosks are available to apply on site.
Bronx Walk-In Center478 East Fordham Road, 1 Fordham Plaza, 2nd Floor, Bronx NY 10458. Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm. Serves the Bronx and Manhattan.
Brooklyn Borough Management Office718-491-6967, for residents with an issue at an existing development rather than an application question.
In this district
Community Board 6 has four NYCHA developments: Gowanus, Wyckoff Gardens, Red Hook East and Red Hook West. The board has no role in the application, the waitlist or apartment offers, all of which NYCHA runs directly. What the board does touch is the land around them and the capital commitments attached to rezonings. You can see every development in the city on the NYCHA map.