September 2026 NYC Housing Lotteries: Who They're For
Quick answer
In September 2026, 17 NYC Housing Connect lotteries were active, offering 732 affordable units. Eligibility peaked at middle income: a $40,000 earner qualified for 71 units, $60,000 for 167, $80,000 for 257, and $100,000 for 382. Rents ran $732–$4,518, median $1,967.
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 382 units at $100,000, and is still rising at $100,000. Higher earners were not shut out — the curve had not turned down by $100,000.
| Annual income | Units you qualified for |
|---|---|
| $40,000 | 71 |
| $60,000 | 167 |
| $80,000 | 257 |
| $100,000 | 382 |
By household size, a one-person household qualified for 433 units, two-person for 662, and three-person for 653.
What was on offer
17 lotteries were active in September, together listing 732 units. By borough:
| Bronx | 556 units |
| Brooklyn | 91 units |
| Manhattan | 83 units |
| Queens | 2 units |
Staten Island: no lotteries active this month.
Where the buildings were
All 21 buildings across September'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 September set.)
All 21 buildings are listed at the end of this report →
The range of "affordable"
Rents ran from $732 to $4,518, with a median of $1,967. By unit size (min / median / max):
| Size | Min | Median | Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | $0 | $1,812 | $3,543 |
| 1 bedroom | $0 | $1,574 | $3,784 |
| 2 bedroom | $0 | $1,864 | $4,518 |
| 3 bedroom | $0 | $1,334 | $2,962 |
Where the units concentrate
Units are allocated to Area Median Income (AMI) bands. The largest single band was 70% AMI (173 units). Full distribution:
| AMI band | Units |
|---|---|
| 30% of AMI | 36 |
| 40% of AMI | 80 |
| 50% of AMI | 78 |
| 60% of AMI | 95 |
| 70% of AMI | 173 |
| 80% of AMI | 33 |
| 90% of AMI | 8 |
| 100% of AMI | 5 |
| 110% of AMI | 10 |
| 120% of AMI | 43 |
| 130% of AMI | 171 |
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 | 79 |
| 1 bedroom | 354 |
| 2 bedroom | 229 |
| 3 bedroom | 70 |
| 4+ bedroom | 0 |
70 of 732 units had three or more bedrooms.
Asset caps
September'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 17 lotteries active in September:
| Mobility-disability set-aside | 5 |
| Vision- or hearing-disability set-aside | 4 |
| Community-board preference | 7 |
| Municipal-employee preference | 7 |
| 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 September 2026's lotteries, a household earning $40,000 qualified for 71 units, $60,000 for 167, $80,000 for 257, and $100,000 for 382. Eligibility peaked around $80,000; income ceilings on some units ran as high as $252,480.
How many September lottery units were open to lower-income applicants?
71 of the 732 units were open to a household earning $40,000. The single largest AMI band was 70% of Area Median Income (173 units).
What were the rents in these lotteries?
Monthly rents ran from $732 to $4,518, with a median of $1,967. Studios started at $0.
Are there asset limits for NYC housing lotteries?
Yes. September'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 17 lotteries active in September, 5 had a mobility-disability set-aside and 4 a vision- or hearing-disability set-aside; 7 gave a community-board preference and 7 a municipal-employee preference.
The buildings
All 21 buildings in September's lotteries. See them on the map ↑
21 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); 1349 Commonwealth Avenue Apartments (1349 Commonwealth Ave, Bronx, NY); 1718 Crotona Park East Apartments (1718 Crotona Park E, Bronx, NY); 1976 Needham Avenue (1976 Needham Ave, Bronx, NY); 2074 Honeywell Avenue (2074 Honeywell Ave, Bronx, NY); 229 Wythe Avenue Apartments (229 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY); 23-57 31st Street Apartments (23-57 31st St, Queens, 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); BLONDELL COMMONS (1340 Blondell Ave, Bronx, NY); One River Park 355 Exterior Street (355 Exterior St, 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).
Where to go from here
September's lotteries have all closed. See the lotteries open now →
Every lottery open today, plotted by location: the lottery map →. The map above shows September's full set.
Methodology
Data is collected from NYC Housing Connect and has been gathered since 29 May 2026. 17 lotteries were active in September 2026 — meaning their application window overlapped the month — of which 2 opened during September. 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.