Medium-form · ~800 words · Safety-first
The affordable housing application process is entirely free. It is administered by New York City government agencies and by approved private marketing agents. No one can charge you for access, guarantee you placement, or expedite your application. If someone tells you otherwise, they are trying to defraud you. This guide identifies the most common scams and tells you how to verify and report.
Housing Connect is free — always
The NYC Housing Connect portal states directly: “NYC Housing Connect is free. You do not need to pay money to apply for affordable housing.” There is no application fee. There is no fee to create an account. There is no fee to submit a lottery application.
Marketing agents may run a credit or background check if you are selected for processing, and that specific check may have a nominal cost in some cases. But that happens after the lottery, after your log number is reached, after the marketing agent contacts you. It does not happen when you apply.
HPD and HDC do not distribute applications
The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the NYC Housing Development Corporation (HDC) do not hand out applications themselves. They do not run the applicant-side of the lottery. Private marketing agents — approved by HPD’s Pre-Qualified List — administer each lottery.
This matters because it rules out a specific scam: someone claiming to be from HPD or HDC directly, offering to “submit” or “expedite” your application. The agencies don’t do that.
Red flags
Be alert to any of the following:
- Any upfront fee request. You should never pay to apply, never pay a “processing fee,” never pay to be placed on a waitlist, and never pay for an “expedited review.”
- “Guaranteed” placement offers. No one can guarantee placement — the lottery is randomized.
- Requests for personal documents (SSN, bank statements, paystubs) before you have been contacted about a specific lottery you applied to. Legitimate marketing agents request documents only after selection.
- Requests for cash, gift cards, money orders, or wire transfers. Legitimate fees in affordable housing never require these payment methods.
- Craigslist or social media posts offering Housing Connect apartments. Real Housing Connect lotteries run on the Housing Connect website — nowhere else.
- Callers claiming to be from HPD or HDC directly. The agencies do not cold-call applicants.
- Fraudulent URLs. Check that links end in .gov (housingconnect.nyc.gov is correct). Lookalike domains ending in .us or .com that use HPD or HDC branding are scams.
How to verify a legitimate marketing agent
Every active Housing Connect lottery has a “Contact” tab on the listing page. That tab identifies the approved marketing agent for that lottery. Only the agent listed there can legitimately contact you about that specific lottery.
HPD maintains a Pre-Qualified List of marketing agents at https://www.nyc.gov/site/hpd/services-and-information/marketing-agent-pql.page. Approximately 63 firms are on the list as of early 2025. If someone contacts you claiming to be a marketing agent, you can verify them against this list.
Where to report scams
If you encounter a suspected scam:
- HPD: call 311 and ask for “Affordable Housing Fee Fraud.”
- NYC311: report fraudulent listings or fee requests.
- NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP): 311 or nyc.gov/dcwp.
- NY State Attorney General (Letitia James): file a housing complaint at ag.ny.gov.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC): reportfraud.ftc.gov or 1-877-FTC-HELP.
- If the scam involves an approved marketing agent misrepresenting their role, contact the NYC Department of Investigation, which handles HPD/HDC referrals on irregular marketing-agent conduct.
A recent data-breach note
Between May and July 2025, a misconfigured Housing Connect portal operated by Reside New York exposed approximately 38,000 applicants’ data — including names, unverified incomes, and contact information. No confirmed identity theft has been traced to the exposure, and HPD and the City Council investigated. But the incident illustrates an important practice: use a unique, strong password for Housing Connect, and consider signing up for free credit monitoring.
Treat any email claiming to be from Housing Connect with appropriate skepticism. Legitimate Housing Connect communications come through the dashboard inside your account — not from forwarded external emails asking you to log in via a link.
What to do if you think you’ve been scammed
- Stop all communication with the person or organization.
- Do not send any more money.
- Report to one or more of the agencies above.
- If you provided financial information (bank account, credit card), contact your bank or card issuer immediately.
- Consider a credit freeze with the three major credit bureaus.
You will not get in trouble for reporting a scam. Government agencies want to hear about these incidents — reporting protects other applicants.
The fundamental rule: if you have to pay to apply, it is not a real affordable housing opportunity.
