Navigating SF’s Affordable Housing Lottery System

Entering the raffle for a toaster oven at an Associated Students event isn't so different from entering the city's affordable housing lottery, though the prize is arguably a bit better than a new kitchen appliance. Both involve a hopeful entry, a random draw, and the dream of a life changing prize. The key difference? The city’s Affordable Housing Lottery, run by the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), requires a bit more than just your student email.

Step 1: Create an account on Dahlia 

To enter the lottery, students can apply through San Francisco housing portal, Dahlia, which was created in 2016 to be accessible and support individuals with understanding the full cycle process. With this, there have been struggles with individuals' access to the website and electronics in order to monitor their entries. To combat this, Dahlia includes resources of housing counselors across San Francisco that assist with documentation submission, application support, and all other questions.

Step 2: Check Your Eligibility & Find Listings

New affordable housing listings are posted weekly, each with its own application deadline. Creating an account to enter these raffles is completely free and open to anyone. There are four different preference programs that can be applied towards an application to “get a better chance at housing”. These special categories prioritize displaced tenants, employees of the San Francisco Unified School District, and those who already live or work within the city limits of San Francisco.. If you qualify for one of these categories, you are moved to the top of the lottery list for that specific property, dramatically increasing your chances of being selected.

Figure 1. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development process of filtering the lottery based on applicant’s preference programs.7

Step 3: Prepare Your Documents

The leasing process is often lengthy because it can take reviewing around ten applicants to find one who fully meets all the housing criteria.8 Due to this long process to find the right fit for each tenant, those who score lower on the lottery shouldn’t lose hope too quickly as they may find themself moving up if others do not meet the building’s specific requirements.

To qualify, applicants must meet specific income limits determined by each listing for their household size, pass a credit and background check, and provide documentation including tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements. Applicants must pass a credit and background check. This means you cannot have any negative marks like recently declared bankruptcies or unpaid bills that are over 90 days late. If your credit score is 620 or higher, you pass the credit check. If your score falls below this, you can still qualify if you have someone with good credit co-sign the lease, called a "guarantor." This person must live in California and earn at least three times the rent. They promise to pay the rent if you can't. The good news is, if you pay your rent on time for a full year, the guarantor is no longer needed when you renew your lease.

The process as a whole may sound lengthy, but with the support of the housing counselors, it is possible to be another success story.

Figure 2. Household maximum income for applicants.10

Step 4: Be Patient & Persistent After Applying

Between 2016 and 2020, there have been 265 raffles and over 1,700 people winning the Affordable Housing Lottery.10 Let that number be your motivation to get your documents organized, apply persistently, and utilize the available resources to support your entry. Your lottery number could be the next one called!

References

1. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-a). After the rental housing lottery . SF.Gov. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.sf.gov/after-rental-housing-lottery

2. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-b). DAHLIA San Francisco Housing Portal . Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://housing.sfgov.org/

3. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-c). Document checklist . DAHLIA San Francisco Housing Portal. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://housing.sfgov.org/document-checklist

4. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-d). Eligibility for MOHCD housing programs . SF.Gov. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.sf.gov/eligibility-mohcd-housing-programs

5. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-e). Get assistance . DAHLIA San Francisco Housing Portal. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://housing.sfgov.org/get-assistance

6. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-f). Get priority for the housing lottery . SF.Gov. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.sf.gov/get-priority-housing-lottery

7. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-g). Information - how the affordable housing lottery works . SF.Gov. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.sf.gov/information--how-affordable-housing-lottery-works

8. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-h). Information - learn how MOHCD runs affordable housing lotteries . SF.Gov. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.sf.gov/information--learn-how-mohcd-runs-affordable-housing…

9. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. (n.d.-i). Step-by-step: Understand the rental process . SF.Gov. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.sf.gov/step-by-step--understand-rental-process

10. Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Community Development. (2021, June 9). How to apply for affordable rental housing in San Francisco. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vowNa9A6x_4&t=390s