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.

Community Partners

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 &amp; 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.”

Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Albanian.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Albanian Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Arabic.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arabic Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Bengali.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bengali Download </a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Chinese.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Simplified_Chinese.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese [Simplified] Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Ready_Set_Apply_English.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">English Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_French.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">French Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Haitian_Creole.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Haitian Creole Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Hindi.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hindi Download</a> 
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Italian.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Italian Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Korean.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Korean Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Polish.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Polish Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Punjabi.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Punjabi Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Russian.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Russian Download</a> 
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Spanish.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Spanish Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Urdu.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Urdu Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Yiddish.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yiddish Download</a>
Ready, Set, Apply — <a href="https://welcometocup.org/assets/images/Read_Set_Apply_Yoruba.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yoruba Download</a>

Download For Free

CUP
<a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/mark-torrey">Mark Torrey</a><a href="http://159.89.181.18/people/siyona-ravi-3"> Clair Beltran</a>

Advocacy Partners
<a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/nyc-dept-housing-preservation-development" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York City Department of Housing Preservation &amp; Development</a> Elizabeth Greenstein Emily Osgood 
<a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/new-york-city-department-of-consumer-affairs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York City Department of Consumer Affairs</a> Kimberly Goulart

Designer
<a href="https://welcometocup.org/people/maisonpapercut">Maison Papercut </a>Rebecca Clarke (Illustrator)

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Hyperakt is a purpose-driven design and innovation studio that elevates human dignity and ignites curiosity. Since 2001, co-founders Julia Zeltser and Deroy Peraza, along with the Hyperakt team, have been partnering with change-makers moving society forward. We believe in design’s power to build a future filled with courage, optimism, and honesty.

Hyperakt

The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of design and art to increase meaningful civic engagement in partnership with historically marginalized communities.

Center for Urban Pedagogy

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

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