PACT

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Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT)

PACT Overview

PACT Projects & News

Resources for Residents

Resources for Partners & Vendors

PACT Progress and Oversight

To watch more videos about the PACT program, check out our PACT YouTube Playlist!

What is PACT?

Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) is one of NYCHA’s most successful tools for modernizing its aging housing stock and providing a better quality of life for NYCHA residents.

The program allows NYCHA to unlock funding to complete comprehensive repairs or build new, modern homes at NYCHA properties. PACT ensures that homes remain permanently affordable and resident rights are fully preserved.

Through PACT, developments are included in the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and transition to a more stable, federally funded program called Project-Based Section 8.

PACT depends on partnerships with private and non-profit development partners, who are selected based on resident input. NYCHA leases the land and buildings to the development partners, who will conduct the repairs, serve as the new on-site property manager, and provide enhanced social services and community programs.

Public Control

Developments will remain under public control. After conversion, NYCHA will continue to own the land and buildings, administer the Section 8 subsidy and waitlist, and monitor conditions at the development. Where needed, NYCHA can step in to resolve any issues that may arise between residents and the new property management team.

Comprehensive Investments

Development partners bring design and construction expertise to address all physical repair needs or construct new residential buildings.

Professional Management

Property management partners are responsible for the day-to-day operation and upkeep of the buildings and grounds.

Enhanced Social Services

Social workers provide direct assistance to residents and enhance on-site services and programs for the entire community.

How are developments selected for the PACT program?

NYCHA has a responsibility to maintain its buildings to ensure the safety and welfare of residents. Due to a lack of federal funding, many of NYCHA’s buildings have severely deteriorated over the past few decades. As the owners and stewards of this critical housing stock, NYCHA is using the PACT program to ensure that its communities are preserved and its homes are safe, healthy, and permanently affordable.

What happens during a community planning process?

Residents are meaningfully involved in all aspects of the PACT program, such as:

Helping select the PACT partners
Designing apartments, common areas, and open spaces
Shaping plans for property management, public safety, and social services

NYCHA works closely with resident leaders to ensure the community is regularly informed and that residents have ample opportunities to be involved. No one knows NYCHA developments better than NYCHA residents, so the program centers residents’ lived experience, goals, and priorities to ensure these investments are successfully meeting each community’s needs.

“The Resident Association (RA) was involved in all the meetings. The meetings were hosted by the PACT team and RA. The RA was educated so we could educate the residents about what was going on and the transition that we were going through. NYCHA provides information through town hall meetings, door-dropped materials, office hours, and the PACT hotline. Information is always available in multiple languages. We appreciated that because a lot of people were still skeptical about the PACT program. They were still nervous and scared about going through the process. The PACT process made us feel that the RA was involved in the design of the apartments, and it made residents feel included in what was going on in the development.”

Walter McNeill, Resident Association President of Edenwald Houses

What can residents expect with the PACT program?

NYCHA’s goal is to preserve its communities for current and future generations of low-income New Yorkers. Below are some key facts about the PACT program and how it will impact residents.

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Residents’ rent calculation and other costs will remain the same.

Residents continue to pay 30% of their adjusted gross household income towards rent* and will not have to pay any additional fees, charges, or utility expenses that are greater than what they currently pay.

*Exceptions may apply to households who pay flat rent; are currently tenant-based Section 8 participants; are a mixed family as defined by HUD; or who signed a nonpublic housing over-income lease.

Residents will not be rescreened for Section 8 eligibility.

Federal rules prohibit the rescreening of current households for Section 8 eligibility. This means that all existing households residing at the development will automatically qualify for the Project-Based Section 8 program regardless of their income eligibility, criminal background, or credit history.

PACT leases will automatically renew.

Households will sign a new PACT Section 8 lease, which is similar to the Public Housing lease. It automatically renews each year and cannot be terminated except for good cause.

Developments will receive more federal funding.

The per-unit subsidy for Project-Based Section 8 is higher than for Section 9, which means more funding will be available to operate and maintain the property.

The PACT partner will address critical building issues.

In addition to renovating every apartment with new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, windows, and other amenities, the PACT program will address building-wide issues that impact your health and safety. These include heat and hot water outages, elevator outages, leaks, mold, pests, lead-based paint, deteriorated facades and roofs, and other challenges.

The PACT partner will work to improve residents' quality of life.

Through security upgrades, social services, and enforcement of house rules, the PACT program will address concerns about safety and cleanliness to create a higher standard of living.

The PACT partners will meet or exceed ADA requirements.

PACT projects meet or exceed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements by ensuring that at least 7% of apartments are accessible for residents with mobility impairments and 4% of apartments accommodate hearing and visual impairments. Apartments can also be adapted to meet specific resident needs, such as making it possible for seniors to age in place.

The PACT program will create jobs for NYCHA residents.

The PACT partner is required to set aside 25% of all labor hours for NYCHA residents seeking employment in construction or property management.