
The Issue
With an estimated $78.3 billion deficit in capital needs, NYCHA has been developing a series of programs to bring in new investment and management improvements to public housing. The most prominent program is PACT (Permanent Affordability Commitment Together), NYC’s version of the federal RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration) program. More recently, the State has also created a public entity, the Public Housing Preservation Trust, as an alternative vehicle for conversion to Project-Based Section 8.
The conversions to Project-Based Section 8 represent a crucial opportunity to bring in new capital and new management for public housing residents. But the conversion from Section 9 housing can be controversial: fear about the involvement of private companies, and a lack of trust from elected officials, community organizations, and public housing residents could stall the program. If the Section 8 model is to be expanded or replicated, it will be important to demonstrate the improvements this public-private partnership can deliver for residents’ lives.
CHPC's Vision
In 2019, CHPC published a study about the vast improvements made in London’s public housing conditions over the last three decades. Pivotal to the success of England’s public housing transformation was the elevation of residents’ role in all decision-making around the “regeneration” of its public housing. Residents were given a menu of program options to choose from to improve their homes. They selected developers, general contractors, and architects. They worked in partnership with affordable housing providers and housing authorities to develop viable scopes for renovations or redevelopments, and to create and implement new property management plans. Residents were treated as the clients for property managers and architects for their new homes, and given final votes on plans.
Through this best-practices research, CHPC uncovered many reasons why the elevation of the role of residents in the planning for regeneration projects was beneficial for new public-private partnerships, including:
Following these studies, CHPC has been focused on bringing insights from the UK experience to New York City. Since 2021, we have seen extraordinary progress in the implementation of resident decision-making for public housing residents going through the PACT program, driven significantly by our ongoing research.
CHPC’s continued work on this topic is focused on supporting NYCHA, resident leaders, and the affordable housing industry to further implement the systems and processes needed for effective resident partnership in renovation planning and property management.
This report is part of a CHPC initiative to learn about how England’s public housing conditions were radically improved, by pairing the expertise of residents with the resources of the affordable housing industry, and how these principles can be applied in New York City.
Utilizing Seven National Tenant Engagement Standards from the UK, CHPC has developed a toolkit of options for how public housing residents could productively participate in property management after a PACT conversion.