Skip to main content

Affordable housing waiting lists

NYC Mitchell-Lama | NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR)

Find a housing development

How it works

The Mitchell-Lama program provides affordable rental and cooperative homeownership opportunities to families with moderate and middle incomes.

  • You have to apply to each development waiting list separately.
    • Apply to ones that fit your income, household size, and preferences.
    • Applicants may apply to open waiting lists. Closed waiting lists do not accept new applicants.
    • Entering the lottery for an open waiting list puts you in a lottery for the waiting list, not the next available unit.
    • If your application is chosen from the lottery, you’ll be added to a waitlist and notified when a unit becomes available.
  • It may take several years before a unit becomes available to people on a waiting list.
  • Veterans may be entitled to a preference for Mitchell-Lama developments with an open waiting list.
  • Mitchell-Lama housing lotteries are only one type of housing lottery. For other affordable housing opportunities, visit NYC Housing Connect.

Eligibility requirements

Eligibility for Mitchell-Lama rental units is determined by:

  • The size of the unit
  • The number of people who will be living in the unit
  • Your total household income which cannot be more than the limits shown below. Different developments have different limits:
Household Size Federally Assisted Rental Federally Assisted Cooperative Non-Federally Assisted
1 $86,960 $135,875 $135,875
2 $99,440 $155,375 $155,375
3 $111,840 $174,750 $174,750
4 $124,240 $194,125 $194,125
5 $134,160 $209,625 $209,625
6 $144,080 $225,125 $225,125
7 $154,080 $240,750 $240,750
8 $164,000 $256,250 $256,250

 


How to apply

Apply online

  1. Create an account on Mitchell-Lama Connect.
    • Signing up for NYC Mitchell-Lama Connect will provide email notifications when additional waiting list lotteries open.
  2. Find developments with open wait list lotteries.
  3. Apply for developments with open waitlists. There is a non-refundable $75 application fee.

Additional Mitchell-Lama waiting lists are managed by NYS Homes and Community Renewal. See their list of developments for middle income families and seniors.

Find a housing development


Get help

Visit the website

Visit HPD’s Mitchell-Lama page for more information.

Email HPD

Email [email protected] with questions.

Call HPD

Call 212-863-6500 with questions.


Come back to it later.
We can send you a link to this page to help you get back to it when you’re ready.


Last Updated August 20, 2024

Stay updated on benefits

Get occasional emails about benefits news, upcoming enrollment periods, and deadlines. Translations are available in 11 languages.