According to a temporary new policy change from the NYC Housing Preservation and Development, New Yorkers will have the limited opportunity to score affordable housing without having to win an NYC housing lottery. This is all thanks to re-rentals.
Re-rentals aren’t a new concept (in fact, they’re listed on our 5 Secret Tips To Win An NYC Housing Lottery — Straight From The Pros). Essentially, they refer to affordable units that have once again become available—and with much less competition.
However, marketing agents and owners were formerly required to list these re-rentals on NYC Housing Connect. This ruling has been temporarily revoked, allowing re-rentals to be more flexibly advertised directly on the HPD website.
Interested New Yorkers won’t have to opt-in for re-rental notifications on their Housing Connect profiles, thus making affordable housing more accessible.
“We’re not taking anything away; we’re just giving people more ways to connect,” a spokesperson of HPD assured. Renters will soon be able to sort through available re-rentals and resales on a dedicated HPD page. From there, the available units will be linked out to other platforms where they are being listed.
Even though re-rentals won’t have to go through Housing Connect, HPD will maintain applicant reviews for affordable housing to ensure compliance.
Deputy Press Secretary of DHP, Natasha Kersey, said:
With the vacancy rate at an all-time low, we’re overhauling the re-rental process to get New Yorkers into housing faster, cut red tape, and meet New Yorkers where they are… This temporary change helps people get matched with the right home at the right time as we revamp Housing Connect and its functionality.
This new policy is just one way HPD intends to modernize the affordable housing process. Other modernization efforts have included revisions to the Marketing Handbook within the last few years.
HPD confirmed with us that this change is temporary. It’s intended to aid with the accumulated backlog in filling affordable vacancies and to reduce obstacles for connecting New Yorkers to necessary affordable housing.
Find more information you may need on the NYC Housing and Preservation Development official website.