NYC PACE Financing (Property Assessed Clean Energy)

Administered by: New York City PACE program, with statewide program support from the Energy Improvement Corporation (EIC) through Energize NY PACE Status: Active in 2026 for commercial and large multifamily; not currently available for 1-4 family residential in New York Verified: May 27, 2026 against Energize NY PACE program site Source quality: Primary

What it is

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing is a long-term loan for energy improvements that is secured by a special assessment on the property's tax bill. The owner repays the loan through the property tax assessment over a term of typically 5 to 30 years. If the property sells before the loan is paid off, the remaining balance transfers to the next owner with the property.

In New York City, PACE serves commercial and large multifamily buildings. It does not serve 1-4 family residential properties. Residential PACE has been paused or restricted in New York and most other states because of consumer-protection concerns that arose in early residential PACE programs in California and Florida — concerns about door-to-door sales, undisclosed lien priorities, and difficulty refinancing or selling the underlying home.

If you own a single-family home, a brownstone you live in, or a 2-4 unit building in NYC, this page is unlikely to apply to you. The right page is NYSERDA Residential Financing, which is the active residential-loan path in New York. The rest of this page describes how PACE works for the audience it actually serves.

Who qualifies

Commercial property owners in any of the five NYC boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island.
Multifamily property owners of buildings with five or more units, including market-rate rentals, rent-stabilized buildings (with separate review), affordable housing properties, and qualifying mixed-use buildings.
Co-op and condo boards acting on behalf of a building. PACE is one of the most common funding sources for Local Law 97 capital retrofits in this category.
Nonprofit and institutional owners of qualifying buildings, where the property is on the tax rolls.
1-4 family residential is not eligible. Owner-occupied small buildings should look at NYSERDA residential financing instead.
The mortgage holder on the property must consent in writing to the PACE assessment because the assessment establishes a senior lien position.

What you get

Loan term: typically 5 to 30 years, sized to the useful life of the financed equipment.
Interest rate: fixed for the life of the assessment. The rate depends on market conditions at origination and the size of the project; the program does not publish a single posted rate.
Coverage: energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, electrification, and resiliency measures. Local Law 97 compliance projects are explicitly eligible.
Repayment: the assessment appears as a line item on the property tax bill and is paid alongside regular property tax payments.
Transferability: the assessment runs with the property. If the building sells, the remaining balance passes to the new owner unless the parties negotiate a payoff at closing.
Specific financing rates and origination fees are not posted on the program overview page. The Energy Improvement Corporation publishes a financing-application portal that produces a project-specific quote.

How to apply

Confirm the property is a commercial or 5-or-more-unit residential building. PACE in NYC is not available for 1-4 family.
Develop a scope of work with an energy assessment that documents projected savings. For buildings in Local Law 97 scope, the scope typically aligns with the building's emissions-reduction plan.
Engage a PACE capital provider. The Energy Improvement Corporation maintains a list of approved capital providers; a co-op or condo board can also bring its own lender if that lender is willing to originate under the PACE program rules.
Obtain written consent from the existing mortgage holder. This is the step that delays or kills the largest share of PACE applications.
Apply through the Energize NY PACE application portal or the NYC-specific intake handled by the program administrator.
After approval, the assessment is recorded against the property and the capital provider funds the project.
Repayment begins with the next property tax cycle.

How this stacks with other programs

PACE is the financing layer. Rebates from utilities and state programs reduce the project cost, and PACE finances what is left.

Local Law 97 compliance retrofits. This is the single largest use case for PACE in NYC. A co-op or condo board facing emissions penalties under compliance period two often pairs Con Edison custom incentives, NYS Clean Heat heat pump rebates, and PACE financing on the same project. Rebates pay down the capital cost; PACE finances the residual over 20 to 30 years.
NYC Accelerator. The Accelerator's large-buildings track routinely refers eligible buildings to PACE as the financing piece of an Accelerator-developed retrofit plan.
Commercial solar with NY-Sun. PACE can finance the post-rebate balance of a commercial solar install. Residential PACE is not available for residential solar; the residential path uses NYSERDA financing.
Comparison with NYSERDA Residential Financing. NYSERDA residential financing covers single-family and small multifamily up to four units. It is unsecured or secured against the loan property, not the tax assessment. It is the correct path for the audience that PACE does not serve.

What to ask your contractor

A co-op or condo board working with a contractor on a PACE-financed retrofit:

Is your bid scoped to a project that PACE will fund, including the measurement and verification documentation the program requires?
Are you familiar with the Local Law 97 emissions-reduction modeling needed to defend the PACE eligibility memo?
What rebates are already netted in your bid, and what rebates will the building file separately to bring down the PACE-financed amount?
Can you provide references from prior PACE-funded projects of similar size and building type?
For a heat pump conversion or electrification scope, are you on the Clean Heat-approved contractor list so the rebate piece does not fall out?

Common pitfalls

Assuming PACE is a homeowner option. It is not, in NYC, for 1-4 family. A homeowner shopping for a loan to fund solar or a heat pump install should look at NYSERDA Residential Financing or a conventional home-equity product, not PACE.
Underestimating the mortgage-consent step. The mortgage holder's written consent is required because PACE creates a senior lien. Lenders sometimes refuse outright. Buildings that begin a PACE application without confirming consent often spend months on a deal that does not close.
Treating the assessment as a normal loan at resale. PACE assessments run with the property. A buyer's lender may insist that the assessment be paid off at closing as a condition of the new mortgage. Sellers should confirm payoff economics before listing.
Mis-sizing the term to equipment life. A 30-year PACE term on a piece of equipment with a 15-year useful life leaves the building paying for assets that have already been replaced. Match the term to the equipment.
Confusing the city PACE program with state Energize NY PACE. Both are active in NYC. The application path differs slightly by project location and project type. The Energy Improvement Corporation can route the project to the correct intake.

Important dates

PACE in NYC is open year-round. There is no annual application window. The financing close timeline is driven by mortgage-consent turnaround and project diligence, typically several months from initial application to funding. Buildings facing Local Law 97 compliance period two limits in 2030 should begin PACE applications by 2027-2028 to leave time for design, financing close, and construction.

Source

Energize NY PACE program site, Energy Improvement Corporation (retrieved May 27, 2026)
NYC Department of Buildings PACE program information (retrieved May 27, 2026; PACE referenced as a Local Law 97 financing tool)
Energy Improvement Corporation organizational page (retrieved May 27, 2026)

NYSERB.com is an independent research site. It is not affiliated with the Energy Improvement Corporation, the New York City PACE program, the City of New York, the State of New York, or any utility. Verify all program details, financing terms, and lien implications directly with the program administrator and with independent legal counsel before making any financial decision.

Verified against www.energizeny.org, accelerator.nyc on May 27, 2026.