How to apply for NYCHA public housing

You apply for NYCHA public housing online through NYCHA’s Self-Service Portal (selfserve.nycha.info), or on paper with Form 070.002, which you can request by calling NYCHA’s Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771. Applying is free, but the waiting list is very long: 182,549 families were on it at the end of 2024, and NYCHA says it cannot estimate when any applicant will be called.

Your place depends mostly on your priority code and the date you applied, plus your borough choice and the apartment size you need. This guide explains each piece, what you control and what you do not.

Who is eligible

According to NYCHA, your household can qualify if:

• It meets NYCHA’s definition of family: two or more people related by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, adoption, guardianship or court-awarded custody, or a single person.
• The applicant or co-applicant is at least 18, or an emancipated minor.
• At least one household member is a US citizen or has eligible immigration status.
• Household income is at or below NYCHA’s limit for your family size. There is no minimum income.
• Admission would not endanger the welfare and safety of other residents.

You do not have to live in New York City to apply, but people who live or work in the city get priority. For senior buildings, the head or co-head of household must be at least 62, and every other permanent household member must also be 62 or older.

Income limits

These limits are much higher than most tenants’ incomes; the average public housing family’s income was $26,129 in NYCHA’s 2025 fact sheet. Being under the limit makes you eligible, but your priority code decides how soon you might be reached.

How to apply

1. 1

   Gather your household details

   You will need names, birth dates and income for everyone who will live with you, plus your reason for applying. You do not upload documents with the application; NYCHA checks them at the eligibility interview.
2. 2

   Apply online or on paper

   Apply on the Self-Service Portal from any device, or book a Walk-in Center appointment to use a NYCHA kiosk. For paper, request Form 070.002 by calling 718-707-7771 (Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm) and mail it to NYCHA, P.O. Box 19205, Long Island City, NY 11101-9998.
3. 3

   Choose your boroughs

   List a first and second choice among the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. You cannot apply for a specific development.
4. 4

   Watch for the acknowledgment letter

   NYCHA mails an acknowledgment letter showing your priority, filing date and case number, and separately notifies you of your preliminary eligibility. If no letter arrives within 30 days, call the Customer Contact Center.
5. 5

   Note your priority code

   Your acknowledgment letter shows the priority assigned to your application. Make sure your answers reflect your real situation (see the table below); NYCHA verifies need-based priorities during eligibility processing. Check your status on the portal.
6. 6

   Renew every two years

   Applications are active for 24 months. Click “Update/Renew My Case” on the portal before then. Renewing keeps your original filing date.

Priority codes: the biggest factor

NYCHA offers apartments to applicants with the highest priority first and, within a priority, to the oldest certification date. N0 comes before N1, and W0 before W1. The codes that require living or working in NYC are noted by NYCHA on its priority page.

NYCHA defines a working family as one whose income comes from actual employment, or where the head and spouse (or sole member) is 62 or older or receives disability-based benefits. If you are fleeing domestic violence, you must submit the VDV form after you apply to be considered for N1. Displaced by a fire or vacate order? See where to get help after a fire or vacate order.

After you apply

The eligibility interview

When your application comes up, NYCHA schedules an eligibility interview, where staff confirm your documents and ask standard questions. Bring proof of identity, household members and income for everyone. Before an apartment is offered, every household member 16 or older must pass a criminal background check. If someone does not, NYCHA sends a letter with next steps; if you do not respond, the application is no longer considered.

The certified waiting list

If you are found eligible, NYCHA mails you a notice that you are on a certified waiting list for a borough (or a development), based on your priority and the bedroom size you need. NYCHA posts a “Current Certified Wait List by Borough” page in the eligibility section of its website.

If you are found ineligible

You get a written decision. NYCHA’s admissions policy gives applicants found ineligible three opportunities to dispute the decision, which can include a hearing scheduled by NYCHA’s Office of Impartial Hearings. Follow the deadlines in your letter.

What you control, and what you don’t

The honest picture: NYCHA had 152,926 public housing apartments and 182,549 families on the waiting list at the end of 2024, and the City’s Mayor’s Management Report counts 2,147 applicants placed in public housing in fiscal 2026 (July 2025 to June 2026). Apply anyway, keep the application current, and pursue other options at the same time. NYCHA lets you be on both the public housing and Section 8 lists, but you can receive help from only one program at a time, and NYCHA’s Section 8 waitlist is currently closed to new applicants.

Apply for these at the same time

• Housing Connect lotteries for income-restricted apartments.
• Mitchell-Lama waiting lists.
• Vouchers: CityFHEPS and renting with a voucher. Estimate your share with the Section 8 rent share calculator.
• Behind on rent now? The HRA One Shot Deal may help.