Summary of NYCHA’s FY26 Annual Plan

The FY 2026 Draft Annual Plan shows progress in ongoing initiatives and introduces significant strategic shifts, most notably in how residents are selected for apartments. The changes are categorized below from minor updates to major policy transformations.

Small Updates: These changes reflect routine annual updates, statistical adjustments, and minor clarifications.

• Housing Inventory: The number of Public Housing (PH) units decreased from 156,865 in the FY25 plan to 152,926 in the FY26 plan, while Section 8 vouchers increased from 102,022 to 107,979, reflecting ongoing conversions.
• Financial Resources: The total planned resources for the fiscal year increased from $5.96 billion in the FY25 plan to $6.23 billion in the FY26 plan. This includes changes in federal grants and projected rental income.  
• Flat Rents: The flat rent schedule was updated to reflect FY 2025 Fair Market Rents, resulting in a slight increase. For example, a studio apartment's flat rent increased from $1,909 to $1,925.
• Resident Police Officer (RPO) Program: The number of RPOs housed in NYCHA developments decreased from six to five.  

Significant Changes: These represent more significant updates in program execution, progress, and policy details.

• Section 8 Search Time: The standard voucher term was extended from 120 days to 180 days (including an automatic 60-day extension).
• Designated Housing Plan: The FY 2026 plan introduces a new Draft Designated Housing Plan for elderly-only developments, seeking a five-year designation instead of the previous two-year extensions. This change aims to provide more long-term stability for these properties.
  • This change was required by HUD because the total number of units in the plan has decreased by more than 10% since the original 1999 approval of 9,849 units. This reduction is primarily due to developments being converted to Section 8 through programs like PACT. As of May 1, 2025, the new proposed plan encompasses 7,378 units in 31 elderly-only developments and 11 elderly-only buildings across all five boroughs. The breakdown of these units is:
    • 1,396 studio apartments
    • 5,788 one-bedroom apartments
    • 194 two-bedroom apartments
  • A significant portion of the designated elderly-only housing is also slated for conversion to Section 8. As of May 2025, 2,599 of the 7,378 units (35%) proposed for elderly-only designation are also scheduled to be converted. This number may increase as more developments vote to join the NYC Public Housing Preservation Trust or are identified for PACT conversion. For example, Bronx River Addition (Bronx) is a 226-unit elderly-only development is scheduled to be converted through the Trust; East 152nd Street-Courtlandt Avenue (Bronx) is a 130-unit elderly-only development scheduled for a PACT conversion; and Chelsea Addition (Manhattan) has a 96-unit elderly-only building, which is part of the massive Fulton-Elliott-Chelsea redevelopment plan scheduled to be converted through PACT.
• Progress on HUD Agreement Pillars: The FY 2026 Executive Summary provides updated statistics on key compliance areas:
  • Lead-Based Paint: As of April 1, 2025, NYCHA completed lead abatements in 13,041 units, a significant increase from the 6,540 units reported in the prior plan. PACT partners abated 3,606 units, up from 2,381.
  • Mold: OMAR’s specialized teams have addressed thousands of additional work orders. Operation Mold Clean Up completed 89% of its identified work orders in the FY25 plan, which increased to 90% (32,919 out of 36,489) in the FY26 plan.  
  • Elevators: By April 2025, 197 elevators had completed replacement construction, a substantial increase from the 102 completed elevators reported a year prior.  
  • Waste Management: As of April 2025, 453 interior compactors have been replaced, up from 292 in the previous year's report.  
• PACT Updates: The program has now closed on over $7 billion in financing for capital repairs across more than 25,000 apartments, up from $5.2 billion across 20,000 apartments in the FY25 plan. Though, when given a vote, most residents choose to either stay with Section 9 or convert through the Preservation Trust.
• Preservation Trust Updates: The FY 2026 plan details the results of resident votes at several developments, with Nostrand Houses, Bronx River Addition, Coney Island (Site 1B)/Unity Towers, and Hylan Houses voting to join the Trust.
• Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA): The FY 2026 plan clarifies that HUD has delayed the implementation deadline for most HOTMA provisions until at least July 1, 2025, providing a more concrete timeline than the previous plan.
  • HUD notice (PIH Notice 2024-38) published on December 17, 2024 requires NYCHA to comply with specific HOTMA provisions on a staggered timeline:
    • Provisions with a July 1, 2025, Compliance Deadline:
      • Income Exclusions: Changes to how certain types of income are excluded from calculations.
      • Certain Definitions: Updates to the definitions of terms used in income and asset calculations.
      • De Minimis Errors: A new policy regarding small, unintentional errors in income calculation
    • Provisions Already Implemented:
      • The phaseout of the Earned Income Disregard (EID) benefit, which concluded on December 31, 2023.
      • The use of the new HUD-9886-A consent form for the release of information.  
      • For all other HOTMA provisions not specified in the notice, NYCHA clarified that HUD plans to issue further guidance on the compliance deadline at a later date. Read the specifics of HOTMA’s provisions here.

Transformational Changes: These changes fundamentally alter major NYCHA policies and operations.

• Tenant Selection and Assignment Plan (TSAP) Overhaul: This is the most significant change in the FY 2026 plan. NYCHA proposes a complete overhaul of its public housing selection process to simplify priorities and balance the needs of various groups. The old system is a complex four-tier system with a five-group rotational cycle for most applicants and transfers. The proposed new system is a more streamlined three-tier system. The three tiers are as follows:

Tier 1: Highest-priority relocations for uninhabitable conditions (T0-A).  

Tier 2: Relocations for modernization and tenants' right to return (T0-B, T0-C, T0-D).  

Tier 3: A seven-group rotational cycle for all other applicants and transfers, giving weighted priority to key groups.

When there is no applicant or transfer with the highest priorities, who gets to move in next is dictated by a 7-group rotation. The rotation slots are as follows:

Slots 1 and 2: Emergency Transfers (T0-ET), which includes victims under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Intimidated Witnesses/Victims.

Slots 3 and 4: Reasonable Accomodation Transfers (T0-RA).

Slot 5: All Other Applicants and Transfers (this consolidates remaining Need-Based and Working Family applicants with all non-emergency transfers).

Slot 6: City Agency-Referred Working-Family Applicants (W0).

Slot 7: City Agency-Referred Need-Based Applicants (N0).

There are two key takeaways from this change.

With all the low-priority transfers and applications getting a slot in the rotation, there is now a more direct and predictable path for those who otherwise would wait much longer behind high-priority categories.

Second, the FY 2026 plan proposes restricting all new public housing applicants to borough-wide waiting lists only, eliminating the option to select specific developments. This is intended to streamline the process, increase efficiency, and provide applicants with more housing opportunities within a broader area.  

In the past CSS along with Legal Aid has put out joint comments regarding the Annual Plan. There has been limited change to any of the issues raised in the comments submitted for the last two annual plan public comment periods.

We asked for changes to Grievance Procedures & Criminal History Screening:

Specifically, CSS/LAS repeatedly urged NYCHA to eliminate "unnecessarily severe policies," including the drug felony arrest trespass rule, the use of permanent exclusions, and overly punitive terminations. We advocated for a "housing first" model for residents with substance abuse issues instead of punitive measures and requested the adoption of changes to make hearing officers more impartial. We also asked NYCHA to only use criminal histories in public housing eligibility screening to the extent required by law, mirroring the Section 8 program's policy.  

The FY 2026 Draft Plan indicates no revisions to the Grievance Procedures section. The public housing eligibility section continues to list "Criminal or Drug-related activity" as a screening factor beyond what is federally required, unlike the Section 8 program, which limits this screening "only to the extent required by law or regulation." The critiques regarding punitive policies were not addressed.  

We asked for changes regarding Lead Abatement:

Specifically, we called NYCHA's noncompliance with remediation requirements "unacceptable" and stated that the 2039 abatement goal would mean "almost a decade more of poisoning NYCHA residents." We urged NYCHA to hasten the timeline and allow oversight from the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).  

There have been some significant actions taken as the 2039 abatement goal remains, but the FY 2026 plan reports a significant acceleration in remediation efforts. The number of completed abatements more than doubled from 6,540 to 13,041 in one year. Progress in the PACT program is also noted. However, the plan does not mention collaboration with DOHMH to hasten the overall timeline or the suggestion of allowing HPD oversight. This is a point of improvement, but it cannot be overstated how egregious it is for the 2039 timeline to still be in place. 

We called for alteration to the Section 8 Waiting List Preferences:

Following the reopening of the Section 8 waitlist, CSS/LAS strongly urged NYCHA to revise its preferences to give the highest priority to homeless households residing in New York City, including those not in the DHS shelter system. We proposed a detailed four-tier preference system with homelessness at the top.

The FY 2026 plan retains the exact same preference list for Section 8 vouchers as the FY 2025 plan. The top priorities are "Homeless referrals from New York City (NYC) agencies" and "Victim of Domestic Violence," followed by transfers for public housing residents and then mobility-impaired individuals. We continue to request that NYCHA broaden the homelessness preference and reorder the entire priority scheme.

We submitted comments regarding Policing and Safety:

Specifically, we expressed concern about the reliance on the NYPD Housing Bureau, citing resident complaints of harassment, "stop and frisks" under the Mayor's Action Plan (MAP), and privacy violations from vertical patrols. We asked NYCHA to end NYPD involvement in lease enforcement and to discontinue the Resident Police Officer (RPO) program.

The "Safety and Crime Prevention / VAWA" section of the FY 2026 plan is identical to past versions. It continues to state that NYCHA "works closely with the New York City Police Department's Housing Bureau" and refers to the NYPD's Strategic Plan as a supporting document. The plan does not mention any re-evaluation of strategies like MAP or vertical patrols. The RPO program, while reduced by one officer, remains active.  

We commented on the Plans for Fulton, Elliott, Chelsea (FEC) Demolition:

CSS/LAS have consistently found that the process for which NYCHA arrived at a plan for the full demolition plan for FEC was unacceptable. We’ve called it a "bait and switch" and questioned the validity of the resident survey that supported it. We’ve raised numerous concerns throughout the process, yet the FY 2026 plan reaffirms the demolition and redevelopment plan for FEC without answers to basic questions regarding details of the plan. There is an updated timeline in the annual plan, stating the NYCHA Board approved the Master Development Agreement in October 2024 and that a financial closing for the first new buildings is expected in late 2025. The plan reiterates NYCHA's narrative about the resident survey and proposed benefits, without addressing the specific critiques raised by the advocates.   

We requested more Transparency and Access to Documents from NYCHA:

NYCHA has made one significant move for transparency by finally returning PACT-converted developments to its Development Databook data. However, we’ve made extensive requests for increased transparency, listing specific documents on multiple occasions. These requests have been ignored. The specific list is as follows:

• The return of PACT-related documents that were once on NYCA’s site, including:
  • Housing Stability and Retention Guidelines
  • NYCHA’s PACT Asset Management Reporting Requirements
  • NYCHA Design Guidelines for the Rehabilitation of Residential Buildings
  • NYCHA Memo RE: Mold and Moisture Control at PACT Sites
  • NYCHA Memo RE: Testing, Assessment, and Abatement of Lead-Based Paint at PACT Sites
  • “Resident Priorities” Booklets
  • HDC Eviction Questionnaire
  • Underwriting Guidelines
  • Waste Management Handover Guide
  • Cost Action Reports
  • PACT Grievance Procedure
  • PACT Rehabilitation Scope of Work Guidance
• We also requested that the following information is published by NYCHA for each converted site:
  • PACT Capital Needs Assessment (PACT CNA) that conversion plans are based on
  • A breakdown of units converted through Section 18 vs RAD/PACT; and Criteria used to justify the Section 18 application
  • Details of cost test (if applicable)
  • Financial details, including:
    • The amount of third-party equity that is expected to be provided by the project team and the source.
    • Estimated project members’ Returns on Equity (ROE) (annually, and 5-10 years after the construction is finished).
    • Estimation of the Net Present Value (NPV) of the development team’s cash flows 5-, 10-, and 20-years post completion.
    • State, local, or federal subsidies and/or tax incentives used in the project.
    • Funds raised via NYC HDC bonds, including the Housing Impact Bond Program.
    • Cash flow for NYCHA post conversion, by way of the development fee, annual admin fee percentage of cash flow after debt service etc. and expected use of those funds.
    • Loan type, principle, and interest rates.
    • A breakdown of the scope of work by upfront rehabilitation, initial deposit into replacement reserves, and ongoing deposits to replacement reserves.
  • Other documents and transparency measures:
    • Posting of the latest SEMAP and PHAS results on the NYCHA website.
    • Development relocation plans and agreements
    • Letters of assurance
    • Disposition agreements
    • List of limited liability corporations (LLCs) formed by NYCHA
    • Providing eviction data for both Section 8 and Section 9 households in a usable format (excel workbook, comma separated values file, etc.)
    • Any ground leases

Furthermore, the "Supporting Documents Available for Local Review" section in the FY 2026 plan is nearly identical to prior versions. It states that documents are available for review by contacting NYCHA's central office but does not commit to posting the requested PACT financial data, relocation plans, or other documents on its public website. The latest SEMAP and PHAS results are listed as "Available for Local Review" but are not published within the plan itself or guaranteed to be posted online.  

Issues Covered

Affordable Housing