Housing lotteries frustrate landlords, tenants. Here’s how to fix them

A curious fact about New York City housing: Despite tremendous demand for below-market units, market-rate apartments can be filled a lot faster. Underpriced rentals typically sit vacant for four or five months. In a housing crisis, that is ridiculous. The reasons are what you’d expect. Various efforts to make the awarding of below-market units fair and equitable have cluttered the system with bureaucracy and process. The city uses NYC Housing Connect, a lottery system, to fill income-restricted apartments in for-profit and nonprofit developments. In 2024, the lottery was used to place tenants in about 10,000 units across 300 buildings. Some […] This article originally appeared on The Real Deal. Click here to read the full story.