Mitchell-Lama apartments: how to apply and how waitlists work

Mitchell-Lama apartments are New York rentals and co-ops (homes where you own a share of the building), built for moderate- and middle-income families. Each building keeps its own waitlist, a list of names for openings, so you apply building by building. As of October 9, 2026, we list 61 open Mitchell-Lama waitlists on New York State's housing portal.

What is Mitchell-Lama housing?

New York City's housing department, HPD, says the program provides affordable rental and cooperative housing to moderate- and middle-income families. Some developments are supervised by the city and some by the state.

The state housing agency, New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), says all Mitchell-Lama housing is privately owned and managed. It counts 269 state-supervised developments with over 105,000 apartments built under the program. It also says 93 developments, about 31,700 apartments, have voluntarily left. A building can leave the program after 20 years once it pays off its mortgage, or after 35 years if it was built with loans from before May 1, 1959.

How is it different from the New York City housing lottery?

The two overlap in one place. HPD says all Mitchell-Lama lotteries (random drawings) now run on NYC Housing Connect, the city's online lottery site. Use Housing Connect to enter one.

The difference is what you are entering. In a Mitchell-Lama lottery you enter to get onto a building's waitlist. HPD says buildings open their lists from time to time and accept new applications by lottery, and it calls them waitlist lotteries. For lotteries on new buildings, see our guide to the New York City housing lottery.

Which Mitchell-Lama buildings are open now?

As of October 9, 2026, we list 61 open Mitchell-Lama waitlists. Here is what they are:

• 37 are rentals and 24 are co-ops or homes for sale.
• All are on the state's housing portal. HPD runs the city-supervised lists, so check Housing Connect for those. See our New York City page for lotteries there.
• 25 are in New York City, 24 in Upstate New York, 11 in Westchester and the Hudson Valley, and 1 on Long Island. Our pages for New York City, Westchester and Upstate New York show them with the rest.
• 28 are for seniors only. 20 take people 62 and older, and 8 take people 55 and older.
• Almost all say applications are ongoing, with no due date.

The 33 that are not senior-only are below. The income range is the lowest to highest yearly income across all of that building's apartment types, as listed on the state's housing portal. A range starting at $0 means no minimum is shown. Your own limit depends on household size and the apartment you want.

You can see all 61, including the senior buildings, on our listings page. Lists close and reopen, so confirm with the building before you count on one.

How do you apply to a building's waitlist?

1. Pick the buildings. HPD says each development takes applications separately and there is no master list. You can apply to several at once.
2. Find out if the list is open. HPD says many lists are closed because there are already enough applicants to fill the openings expected for the foreseeable future. HCR says to contact the building's management office to ask about availability and upcoming lotteries, and its applicant information page lists the steps.
3. Apply the way that building allows. For state-supervised buildings, HCR says you can apply online on NYS Housing Search. Its find affordable housing page is the starting point. In our data, 55 of the 61 take online applications with a free NY.gov ID, a New York State online account, and 6 take paper applications by mail only. For city-supervised buildings, HPD says to contact the managing agent, which is the company that runs the building, or enter the lottery on Housing Connect.
4. Pay the fee if there is one. HPD says that since August 2019 the fee for new waitlist applicants is $75 and is not refundable. Ask each building about its fee.
5. Claim any preference, which is priority for certain groups. HPD says veterans who live in New York State may be entitled to a preference at buildings with open lists. HCR says buildings that limit the owner's profit, with open lists, must give one to veterans, or their surviving spouses, who served on active duty.

Once you are on a list, HPD says it posts the last waitlist number called for each apartment size and updates the numbers weekly, so you can watch your progress.

What are the Mitchell-Lama income limits?

There is no single income limit, the most a household can earn and still qualify. HPD says limits depend on the kind of building: rentals that get federal rent help, co-ops, and buildings with no federal help. HPD's 2026 table:

HPD says its table has more rows up to 8 people, and that these limits are only for admission. Once you live there, you report your income every year, and a household over the limit pays extra on top of rent. A guide to the median-income math behind these numbers is in what area median income means. Area median income is the middle income in an area.

The state sets limits differently. For buildings with federal rent help, your income cannot be above the limit that HUD, the federal housing department, sets for the building's area. The limit rises with household size. See HUD's income limits page for the numbers.

For other rentals, the state starts from the building's yearly rent and multiplies it. Depending on the building's program, the multiplier is 7 for one to three people and 8 for four or more, or it is 8 and 9. Ask the building which one applies.

Co-ops start from the yearly carrying charge, which is the monthly fee owners pay, added up for a year. They then add 6 percent of the equity, which is the amount you pay to buy in, and $120 per rental room. So the limit changes building by building, which is why the portal shows a range.

Two more rules apply. The apartment must fit your household under the building's occupancy rules, and it must be the main home of everyone in the household.

How long is the wait?

No one publishes a typical wait. Neither HPD nor HCR gives one, and HPD says many lists stay closed because they are already long enough. Get on every open list you qualify for, and keep your contact details current.

A worked example

Say a household of four earns $70,000 a year. These are real open buildings from our list, using their posted ranges:

• Riverview 2, Yonkers (rent). The range is $57,360 to $134,640. $70,000 falls inside it. Online application.
• Chatham Gardens, Rochester (rent). The range is $24,040 to $84,192. $70,000 falls inside it.
• Baptist Manor, Buffalo (rent, seniors 62+). The range tops out at $64,650, and the building is for people 62 and older. This household is out on both counts.

Applying to a building whose limit you are over, or whose age rule you miss, can waste your time and any application fee. Our free qualify check matches your household to open listings. Compare HPD's 2026 table too: $70,000 is well under the $135,680 limit for four people in a rental with federal rent help in that table.