Most people who apply through NYC Housing Connect never hear back. If you did, your log number came up and your application looks like it might qualify. This is the stage where most households are lost. Usually it is not because they earn too much or too little, but because they miss a deadline or send an incomplete file.
If you are still waiting to see where you landed, start with our explainer on what your Housing Connect log number means.
How you will be contacted
If you applied online, the building's marketing agent sends a notification through Housing Connect in the language you chose. Under HPD's Marketing Handbook (revised April 2026), the deadline in that notice must give you at least ten weekdays to respond. If you upload only part of what was asked for, a follow-up request gives you at least five more weekdays.
If you still do not respond, the agent may send a rejection notice. Paper applicants are contacted by mail and get two notices. If neither is answered, a rejection follows.
Check your Housing Connect account and your email, including spam, every few days after a lottery closes. Make sure the phone number and address in your profile are current.
When it happens
HPD's applicant guide says eligibility appointments are usually scheduled two to ten months after the application deadline. A quiet few months does not mean you were passed over. Our guide to how long Housing Connect takes explains why.
Documents to gather now
The marketing agent tells you exactly what to bring, and you may need everything on the list. HPD's "After You Apply" guide lists the following. Bring copies, not originals, unless originals are requested. Copies are kept and not returned.
Household
- Your current lease, or a notarized letter from your landlord if you have no lease
- Your last three to twelve rent receipts or cancelled rent checks
- Your most recent electric, gas and phone bills, in your name at your current address
- If you live with someone and don't hold the lease: a notarized letter from that person, plus their lease and utility bills
- Birth certificate and Social Security card for every household member
- Photo ID for everyone over 18
- School enrollment letters for anyone in school, including college
Employment income (for each working member)
- Your six most recent consecutive pay stubs
- Last year's W-2s, all pages
- Last year's signed federal and state tax returns
- Notarized employer letters for any cash payments
- Bank statements showing your deposits
Self-employment
- Signed federal returns (Form 1040 with Schedule C, E or F) for the past three years
- All 1099s for the past three years
- Three years of state tax returns
Self-employed applicants report net income. Everyone else reports gross income, meaning pay before taxes, for every household member over 18.
Other income needs its own paper trail: a Social Security award letter dated within 30 days, benefit letters, statements for dividends or annuities, award letters for scholarships, the separation agreement plus a recent statement for child support or alimony, and a notarized statement with bank records for any recurring gifts.
Assets are reviewed too. See our guide to Housing Connect asset limits.
Credit and housing court history
You cannot be disqualified solely because of your credit score, but your credit history is reviewed. If you have resolved debts, paid judgments or payment plans, bring proof. If a landlord has taken you to court, bring the stipulations, final judgments and satisfactions. A clear paper trail lets the reviewer see that a problem was dealt with.
If you are offered a unit
The handbook gives you five weekdays to respond to a unit offer, and then a set time to sign the lease before the next applicant is offered the apartment. Before you say yes, look up the building. Open violations, heat complaints and pest history are public. You can check any New York City address for free on Weverit.
If you are rejected
A rejection notice must explain why and tell you how to appeal. A supervisor who did not make the original decision must review your appeal, and your place in line is held while it is pending. Our guide to why Housing Connect applications get rejected and how to appeal covers the most common reasons.
The short version
- Watch your account and email after every lottery closes.
- Answer within ten weekdays. Partial answers trigger a shorter second deadline.
- Assemble the document list now, before anyone asks for it.
- Check the building before you accept an offer.
Sources: HPD, "After You Apply"; HPD Marketing Handbook, revised April 2026; NYC Housing Connect.
