Get priority in the housing lottery

A red brick apartment building on an urban street corner. The sun is setting.

Lottery preferences give you a better chance at getting housing

Get affordable housing in San Francisco by entering a lottery. Preferences give certain groups priority. Check if you qualify below.

How preferences work

Preferences are programs that give San Francisco residents and workers a better chance at getting housing.

If you qualify for a preference, it will help you rank higher in the lottery.

If you do not qualify for a preference, you will be ranked below those who do.

How the housing lottery works.

Enter a housing lottery

Preferences are available in lotteries run by the City of SF.

Enter a City-sponsored housing lottery on DAHLIA. On the application, we ask questions to find out if you qualify for preferences.

Preferences cannot be used to help you get housing through state or federal programs like section 8 housing.

Find housing on DAHLIA San Francisco Housing Portal.

What documents you need

Each preference requires different documentation.

Make sure you provide the right documentation. Otherwise, you might miss your chance to get housing.

Find out what documents you need.

Check if you qualify for a City of SF housing lottery preference

Only 1 person needs to qualify. When at least 1 person on your application qualifies for a preference, the entire household gets a higher lottery ranking.

Check DAHLIA to see which preferences are available for the listing you are interested in.

You or your family were forced to move by the SF Redevelopment Agency

You can get a Certificate of Preference if you were displaced by the former SF Redevelopment Agency in the 1960s, 70s, or 80s. You can get this preference in the lottery for most buildings.

Descendants of people who were displaced can also qualify. Descendants can get this preference in the lottery for specific buildings.

More about the Certificate of Preference.

You were forced to move due to fire, eviction, or rising rent

You can get the Displaced Tenant Housing Preference (DTHP) if you were forced to move due to:

Fire damage
Eviction caused by an owner moving into the apartment
Eviction under the Ellis Act (owner plans to go out of the rental housing business)
Rising rent costs in an affordable housing unit
Your apartment was an unlawful or illegal residential unit

You can get this preference in the lottery for buildings with at least 5 units for sale or rent.

More about the Displaced Tenant Housing Preference.

You live in the same neighborhood as a new building

You can get the Neighborhood Resident Housing Preference if you live within a half-mile of, or in the same supervisor district as the listing you are applying to.

Find out which Supervisor District you live in.

You can get this preference in the lottery for buildings that:

Are new (recently built),
Are being rented or sold for the first time, and
Have at least 5 units for sale or rent.

You live or work in San Francisco

You can get the Live or Work in San Francisco Preference if you already live in San Francisco, or work at least 75% of your working hours in SF.

You can get this preference in the lottery for most buildings.

You are a Veteran of the US military

If you are a Veteran, you can get priority within a preference category. You must qualify for at least one other lottery preference to get priority.

More about priority for Veterans.