60 percent of applicants are "immediately ineligible," the Times writes, presumably because they don't meet the program guidelines. For every 100 apartments, projects often get 10,000 applications, as the New York Times reported in 2011. Tenants have to meet income eligibility requirements, and from there are picked via lottery. Not surprisingly, the demand for these places is sky-high.
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“You will find many on the Upper West Side and Upper East Side and in the Financial District and Midtown Brooklyn, as well,” says Heidi Burkhart, the president of Dane Professional Consulting Group, a commercial real estate brokerage that focuses on affordable housing. Public housing this is not: Many 80/20 apartments are in brand-new buildings with amenities like a doorman, gym or laundry, so snagging one can mean living in the most coveted parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. That's why these are sometimes known as "80/20 buildings."įor tenants in the "20" portion of 80/20s, the rent will be 30-35 percent of their or their family’s pre-tax income, depending on which tax breaks the developer takes. In housing lottery buildings developers get tax breaks from the city and state to build, and in exchange must set aside at least 20 percent of the apartments for gainfully employed low- and middle-income renters. “I can actually save money and I don't have to eat ramen every day.” “Not spending 90 percent of my income on rent gives me financial freedom,” says one lottery apartment tenant who lives in Battery Park City and has written about her experience for Brick Underground. You can spend years on a waiting list before your application is considered, and the competition is almost always stiff.īut the process itself is not that difficult, and snagging one of these places can be life-changing. Applying for an apartment through the New York City affordable housing lottery takes persistence.