HPD Pre-Qualified List

Who this applies to

Housing repair contractors -- general construction, plumbing, heating, electrical, lead, asbestos, roofing, masonry, demolition -- willing to work in all five boroughs.

What you have to do

Enroll in PASSPort first, then send HPD one notarized application covering the list or lists you want, with your references, licenses, financials and insurance.

What firms get wrong

Getting on the list is not getting work. Every job goes to at least eight list firms picked at random, the lowest good bid wins, and ignoring an invitation counts as a no-bid. The firms that get steady work answer fast and price tight.

The three lists

• Emergency Repair Program. Repairs for the most hazardous (“Class C”) housing violations, Health Department orders and other conditions owners did not fix in time.
• Demolition. Emergency and non-emergency demolition after the Buildings Department declares an emergency. You need a surety affidavit showing at least $1,000,000 in bonding capacity, Business Integrity Commission registration for construction and demolition debris, and DOB registration with a demolition endorsement.
• Tenant Interim Lease and Alternative Enforcement. Repairs in City-owned buildings run by tenant associations, and in severely distressed buildings where HPD steps in when the owner will not. This list is for NYC-certified M/WBEs (certified by the City’s Department of Small Business Services), a joint venture in which certified M/WBEs carry at least 25% of the profit or loss, or a firm that agrees to subcontract at least 50% of every job to a certified M/WBE. A firm still in City certification can apply with SBS’s letter saying the process has begun. Firms on this list are invited into SBS’s Construction Mentorship Program.

How a job gets handed out

For each job, HPD picks at least eight firms from the list at random by computer and awards to the lowest bidder that meets the requirements. Bids are either a firm fixed price or time and materials: your hourly rates plus no more than 10% for overhead and profit. A bid cannot be pulled for five days after you send it. If you do not answer an invitation, HPD counts it as a no-bid.

What you need before you apply

• PASSPort enrollment and SAM.gov registration. To get paid you also need to be in the City’s Payee Information Portal.
• At least one year in business, with no delinquent taxes, liens or active government exclusions.
• References from three separate clients for comparable jobs in New York City finished in the past 12 months, three per list if you apply to more than one. HPD may use your PASSPort performance evaluations instead.
• Your latest financial statements (balance sheet and income statement), your IRS 147C letter and your business certificate or incorporation papers.
• Licenses for your trade: the City’s Home Improvement Contractor license for general construction (not demolition), and EPA lead-safe Renovator Firm certification. HPD says most of its repair jobs require it by federal law and it only sends those jobs to certified firms. Mold work needs the State Labor Department mold license, and asbestos work needs State Labor and City DEP certifications.
• Insurance: general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate naming the City as additional insured, workers’ compensation and disability on State forms (ACORD certificates are not accepted), and commercial auto of $500,000. Carriers must be rated A-/VII or better.
• A workers’ compensation experience modification rate of 1.20 or less, with three years of history.
• A business phone that is answered or takes messages, a company email address and a dedicated fax line.

After you apply

HPD checks your references and clearances, including a Department of Investigation name check. Applicants in trades that need no license, and lead applicants, sit a technical interview. Everyone attends an online pre-award conference on equal employment, labor standards, subcontracting and fair housing, then an orientation where you hand over your insurance papers. HPD lists approved firms in a public online directory with name, address, phone, email and M/WBE status unless you tell it not to.

What the work is like

• An optional 24-hour program: saying yes means starting work within two hours of a call, day or night.
• Tell HPD within 24 hours of starting and two working days before you expect to finish. Skipping either can cost you payment.
• Invoice within 30 days of finishing. No partial payments unless HPD agrees in writing, and the City’s prompt-payment rules apply. You may not go to the building owner for payment.
• Late completion costs $100 a day, and each re-inspection after rejected work costs $100.
• Prevailing wage applies to work over $1,500, and federal Davis-Bacon rates to construction over $2,000 in buildings with eight or more units. Certified payroll goes in weekly.
• You arrange access to occupied apartments yourself: two in-person tries no more than 72 hours apart plus a call, email or note. If you still cannot get in, you can bill a service charge of $100 to $300 depending on the trade and the job size.