August 2026 NYC Housing Lotteries: Who They're For
Quick answer
In August 2026, 36 NYC Housing Connect lotteries were active, offering 1,171 affordable units. Eligibility peaked at middle income: a $40,000 earner qualified for 114 units, $60,000 for 461, $80,000 for 560, and $100,000 for 421. Rents ran $732–$4,518, median $2,117.
Who could actually apply
A common perception is that the income requirements are too high. The data shows a curve, not a wall: eligibility nearly triples from $40,000 to its peak of 560 units at $80,000, then falls more steeply through $100,000. The decline past the peak is far gentler than the climb — the shape matters for where a given income lands.
| Annual income | Units you qualified for |
|---|---|
| $40,000 | 114 |
| $60,000 | 461 |
| $80,000 | 560 |
| $100,000 | 421 |
By household size, a one-person household qualified for 682 units, two-person for 1,057, and three-person for 903.
What was on offer
36 lotteries were active in August, together listing 1,171 units. By borough:
| Bronx | 474 units |
| Brooklyn | 397 units |
| Manhattan | 255 units |
| Queens | 45 units |
Staten Island: no lotteries active this month.
Where the buildings were
All 46 buildings across August's lotteries — the month's full picture, open now and closed alike. (The live lottery map shows only what's open today; this one keeps the whole August set.)
All 46 buildings are listed at the end of this report →
The range of "affordable"
Rents ran from $732 to $4,518, with a median of $2,117. By unit size (min / median / max):
| Size | Min | Median | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $0 | $1,812 | $3,543 |
| 1 bedroom | $0 | $2,092 | $3,784 |
| 2 bedroom | $0 | $2,419 | $4,518 |
| 3 bedroom | $0 | $1,334 | $2,962 |
| 4 bedroom | $2,701 | $2,701 | $2,701 |
Where the units concentrate
Units are allocated to Area Median Income (AMI) bands. The largest single band was 60% AMI (453 units). Full distribution:
| AMI band | Units |
|---|---|
| 30% of AMI | 36 |
| 40% of AMI | 152 |
| 50% of AMI | 78 |
| 60% of AMI | 453 |
| 70% of AMI | 107 |
| 80% of AMI | 83 |
| 90% of AMI | 8 |
| 100% of AMI | 66 |
| 110% of AMI | 10 |
| 120% of AMI | 43 |
| 130% of AMI | 135 |
Income requirements spanned a wide range: minimums from $29,418 to $162,446, and maximums from $45,810 up to $252,480.
Unit sizes
| Studio | 265 |
| 1 bedroom | 417 |
| 2 bedroom | 375 |
| 3 bedroom | 111 |
| 4+ bedroom | 3 |
114 of 1,171 units had three or more bedrooms.
Asset caps
August's lotteries carried 11 different asset limits, from $50,880 to $220,480. These count savings and retirement balances — a detail applicants rarely see spelled out before applying.
Preferences
Of the 36 lotteries active in August:
| Mobility-disability set-aside | 7 |
| Vision- or hearing-disability set-aside | 6 |
| Community-board preference | 10 |
| Municipal-employee preference | 10 |
| NYCHA-resident preference | 0 |
| Senior preference | 0 |
How long you had to apply
Application windows ran from 21 days to 60 days, averaging 24. The lottery is a random draw among all on-time applications — the "apply in the first hour" advice applies to re-rental listings, not to these.
Frequently asked
What income do you need for a NYC affordable housing lottery?
It varies by unit. Across August 2026's lotteries, a household earning $40,000 qualified for 114 units, $60,000 for 461, $80,000 for 560, and $100,000 for 421. Eligibility peaked around $80,000; income ceilings on some units ran as high as $252,480.
How many August lottery units were open to lower-income applicants?
114 of the 1,171 units were open to a household earning $40,000. The single largest AMI band was 60% of Area Median Income (453 units).
What were the rents in these lotteries?
Monthly rents ran from $732 to $4,518, with a median of $2,117. Studios started at $0.
Are there asset limits for NYC housing lotteries?
Yes. August's lotteries carried 11 different asset caps, ranging from $50,880 to $220,480. Savings and retirement accounts count toward the limit.
How long do you get to apply?
Application windows ran from 21 to 60 days, averaging 24. Unlike re-rental listings, lottery applications are not first-come — every on-time application is entered into the same random draw.
Do the lotteries have accessibility or other preferences?
Of the 36 lotteries active in August, 7 had a mobility-disability set-aside and 6 a vision- or hearing-disability set-aside; 10 gave a community-board preference and 10 a municipal-employee preference.
The buildings
All 46 buildings in August's lotteries. See them on the map ↑
Closed — 1
45 not on the map. New construction whose exact address isn't in the city geocoder yet — it resolves to a neighbouring building, and a pin on the wrong building is worse than none, so these are listed but not placed: 125 Chrystie Street Apartments (125 Chrystie Street, Manhattan, NY); 132 Brown Place Apartments (496 East 134 Street, Bronx, NY); 1718 Crotona Park East Apartments (1718 Crotona Park E, Bronx, NY); 1760 3rd Avenue Residence (1768 3 Avenue, Manhattan, NY); 1976 Needham Avenue (1976 Needham Ave, Bronx, NY); 2074 Honeywell Avenue (2074 Honeywell Ave, Bronx, NY); 2246 Bathgate Avenue Apartments (2246 Bathgate Ave, Bronx, NY); 229 Wythe Avenue Apartments (229 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY); 23-57 31st Street Apartments (23-57 31st St, Queens, NY); 2757 & 2759 Fulton Street Apartments (2757 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY); 2757 & 2759 Fulton Street Apartments (2759 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, NY); 2764 Wallace Avenue Apartments (2764 Wallace Ave, Bronx, NY); 283 Flatbush Avenue Apartments (283 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY); 2838 & 2840 Webb Avenue Apartments (2838 Webb Avenue, Bronx, NY); 2838 & 2840 Webb Avenue Apartments (2840 Webb Avenue, Bronx, NY); 3034 & 3036 Barnes Avenue Apartments (3036 Barnes Ave, Bronx, NY); 3034 & 3036 Barnes Avenue Apartments (3034 Barnes Ave, Bronx, NY); 31-88 45th Street Apartments (31-88 45th St, Queens, NY); 3312-3314 Decatur Avenue Apartments (3312 Decatur Ave, Bronx, NY); 3312-3314 Decatur Avenue Apartments (3314 Decatur Ave, Bronx, NY); 3510 Glenwood Road (3510 Glenwood Rd, Brooklyn, NY); 3547 Webster Tower (3547 Webster Ave, Bronx, NY); 505 West 134th Street Cluster (505 West 134 Street, Manhattan, NY); 505 West 134th Street Cluster (523 West 134 Street, Manhattan, NY); 505 West 134th Street Cluster (527 West 134 Street, Manhattan, NY); 624 Metropolitan Avenue Apartments - Units Still Available (624 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, NY); 640 Riverside Drive HDFC (640 Riverside Drive, Manhattan, NY); 729 Rogers Avenue Apartments (729 Rogers Avenue, Brooklyn, NY); 733 Lincoln Place Apartments (733 Lincoln Place, Brooklyn, NY); 7910 4th Avenue Apartments (7910 4 Avenue, Brooklyn, NY); 920 Montgomery Apartments (920 Montgomery Street, Brooklyn, NY); BLONDELL COMMONS (1340 Blondell Ave, Bronx, NY); Green Manor of Jamaica Apartments (106-29 Guy R Brewer Blvd, Queens, NY); Green Manor of Jamaica Apartments (106-25 Guy R Brewer Boulevard, Queens, NY); Jamaica Central (89-25 162nd Street, Queens, NY); Joe BK Cluster (941 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY); Joe BK Cluster (976 Tinton Avenue, Bronx, NY); SOLACE (74 St Marks Pl, Brooklyn, NY); South Bushwick Neighborhood Homes (676 Central Avenue, Brooklyn, NY); South Bushwick Neighborhood Homes (1143 Hancock Street, Brooklyn, NY); South Bushwick Neighborhood Homes - Cooperatives (1262 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn, NY); South Bushwick Neighborhood Homes - Cooperatives (635 Chauncey St, Brooklyn, NY); STARHILL PHASE II (51 Featherbed Ln, Bronx, NY); Vernon Central aka 49-18 Vernon Blvd (49-18 Vernon Blvd, Queens, NY); Watjean Apartments (2-65 Watjean Ct, Queens, NY).
Where to go from here
August's lotteries have all closed. See the lotteries open now →
Every lottery open today, plotted by location: the lottery map →. The map above shows August's full set.
Methodology
Data is collected from NYC Housing Connect and has been gathered since 29 May 2026. 36 lotteries were active in August 2026 — meaning their application window overlapped the month — of which 21 opened during August. Figures describe lotteries active in the month, not only those that opened. Unit counts are the advertised affordable units (total_units, corroborated by the size and rent breakdowns). Area Median Income (AMI) bands are taken directly from each Housing Connect listing — the advertised “N% Area Median Income” label — not calculated from HUD income limits; analyses that derive the band (needed where a listing omits it) may report different figures. Listings that publish no band are excluded from the AMI distribution here rather than back-filled. We do not have data on the number of applications submitted, who received apartments, or how quickly the waitlist moved by log number, and make no claims about them.