Ready, Set, Apply!

  • Made By CUP With:
  • Community Partners
  • Tags:
  • Housing

A guide to applying for affordable housing that explains the application process, how to make a strong application for an affordable housing unit, and other resources.

Getting ready to apply for affordable housing takes time, and it involves more than just filling out paperwork. Each building has different income qualifications and required materials, which can make putting together a strong application confusing. What exactly is affordable housing, and what does it take to qualify to live in it? How much money should you save and what kind of credit do you need to have?

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) and the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE) collaborated with CUP, designer Maison Papercut, and illustrator Rebecca Clarke to help people understand how to apply for affordable housing.

Financial empowerment and preparedness is a key part of preparing an affordable housing application. In addition to explaining how to apply for affordable housing, Ready, Set, Apply! provides concrete steps that low- to moderate-income people can take to strengthen their financial profile before even starting their applications.

In addition to the guide being available in English and Spanish, CUP has since partnered with HPD to translate the guide into sixteen additional languages, Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Urdu, Yiddish, and Yoruba.

“[Ready, Set, Apply!] met HPD’s goal of providing accessible, visual information on applying for affordable housing and helping low- and moderate-income individuals build financial health. The guide is a departure from standard agency-designed materials and reflects a true community-engaged design process.”

—Elizabeth Greenstein, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Download For Free

Ready, Set, Apply — Albanian Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Arabic Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Bengali Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Chinese Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Chinese [Simplified] Download

Ready, Set, Apply — English Download

Ready, Set, Apply — French Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Haitian Creole Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Hindi Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Italian Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Korean Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Polish Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Punjabi Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Russian Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Spanish Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Urdu Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Yiddish Download

Ready, Set, Apply — Yoruba Download

Project Collaborators

Designer

Maison Papercut
Rebecca Clarke (Illustrator)