The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) provides decent and affordable housing in a safe and secure living environment for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs. NYCHA works to enhance the quality of life at NYCHA by offering our residents opportunities to participate in a multitude of community, educational and recreational programs, as well as job readiness and training initiatives. NYCHA is also the largest public housing authority in North America and manages more than 175,000 apartments in its Conventional Public Housing Program.

Learn more about Applying for Public Housing:
Get an Application
Guide to Applying for Public Housing
Applications Offices
Eligibility
Outreach Program
Application Process
Frequently Asked Questions

Get an Application
To be considered for an apartment in a public housing development, a completed application must be submitted. On the application, applicants are requested to select a first and second borough choice and provide information about their total household income, family composition and current living situation.

IMPORTANT: No payment or fee should be given to anyone in connection with the preparation, filing or processing of an application for Public Housing.

• Public Housing Application (in PDF) NEW
• Downloaded applications MUST be printed on White Paper Only 
• To ensure that your information is easy to read we recommend that you complete the downloaded application online.

Mail:
You can request to have an application mailed to you by completing the Application Request Form below.
Application Request Form NEW

Completed applications should be mailed to the following address:

NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY
Post Office Box 1342
Church Street Station
New York, NY 10008

Applying for Public Housing Guide

Complete Guide to Applying for Public Housing

Applications Office
Applicants can call or visit any of the three Applications Offices. Applications can also be picked up at these offices.
Telephone: (718) 707-7771 Mon.- Fri. 8am - 5pm
Applications Offices

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You May Be Eligible For An Apartment If:

• The income limits of your family does not exceed the established Income Limits.
  
• You meet NYCHA's definition of family. The term “family” as used by the New York City Housing Authority includes the following:
  1. Two or more persons related by blood, marriage, domestic partnership, adoption, guardianship or court awarded custody.
     
  2. A single person.
     
• Your admission to a public housing development will not endanger the welfare and safety of other residents.
  
• You and your co-applicant (spouse or domestic partner, if any) must be at least 18 years of age.

To be eligible for a senior building, you or your co-head (spouse or domestic partner, if any) must be at least 62 years of age and all other household members must be at least 62 years of age.

Staten Island Outreach Program
There are a limited number of apartments currently available in Staten Island. Contact the Housing Applications Office in your Borough for more information.

Application Process

Within 60 days of receipt of your application you will receive an acknowledgement letter.

Please note that borough choice is a significant factor in determining how soon an applicant will be scheduled for an interview. Therefore, it is important for applicants to select their first borough choice carefully.

The Authority has longer waiting lists and fewer vacancies in the boroughs of Manhattan and Queens. Applicants selecting one of these boroughs as their first choice will probably take longer to be reached on the preliminary waiting list.

Read NYCHA's Fair Housing Non-Discrimination Policy.

Frequently Asked Questions