The State of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has announced procedures for contractors interested in participating in the New Jersey Homeowner Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation, and Mitigation (RREM) Program. A “Request for Interest” (RFI) was released on June 6, 2013, outlining the steps contractors will have to take in order to be admitted to a Qualified Contractor Pool (QCP).

On June 17, 2013, the DCA released a “Request for Qualifications” (RFQ) that allows contractors to submit their names officially for selection; completion of the RFI Response Form will provide contractors with the most immediate access to the RFQ, but non-completion of the RFI Response Form does not exclude contractors from submitting the RFQ. Following the RFQ, contractors must attend a mandatory pre-response meeting (see Page 4 of PDF in above link).

The DCA established this program to assist with recovery efforts following Superstorm Sandy. Under RREM, up to $150,000 will be made available per affected home for rehabilitation, reconstruction, and/or elevation of the home. Funding for RREM is the result of a $1.83 billion allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The nine counties eligible for the RREM Program are Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union. The DCA selected URS Corporation as the Program Manager for RREM along with Secondary Managers Shaw Environmental, Inc., and Gilbane Building Company.

These managing contractors will make selections for the QCP based on submissions of interested contractors’ RFQ forms. Contractors must be listed on the QCP in order to participate in the RREM Program. Once the list is complete, the Program Managers will provide an estimated cost of repair for each home and assign a contractor to one or more projects. The assigned contractor “will be working from a program-approved set of home plans” and must abide by all local, state, and federal laws, guidelines, and regulations.

In addition, RREM is a cost-reimbursement program. Consequently, contractors must fund their work for up to 30 days after an approved draw request. Draw requests will only be accepted at the 33%, 66%, and 100% completion periods of a project. Although the contractor must be in the QCP in order to work with RREM homeowners, the builder will not have a contract with the State of New Jersey, the DCA, or the Program Managers. They will, however, sign a Construction Agreement, “similar to other single-family construction agreements.”