Contractor Verified Lists.
43 RCNY § 20-03
in effect§ 20-03 Contractor Verified Lists.
a. Purpose. At the outset of the City's Ida recovery process, homeowners reported that it was difficult to identify contractors willing and able to conduct necessary storm-related repairs. Accordingly, HRO has three Verified Lists ("VLs"), one each for (a) DCWP-licensed home improvement contractors, (b) DOB-licensed electricians, and (c) DOB-licensed plumbers (together, the "VL Contractors") able and willing to prioritize providing assistance to Ida-impacted homeowners.
b. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Applicant. "Applicant" means a contractor applying to be admitted to a Verified List ("VL") established pursuant to this section.
Contractor. Unless otherwise specified, "contractor" means a home improvement contractor, plumber or electrician.
Electrician. "Electrician" means a master electrician licensed by the New York City Department of Buildings pursuant to Subchapter 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 27 of the Administrative Code.
Home improvement contractor. "Home improvement contractor" means a home improvement contractor licensed by the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection pursuant to Subchapter 22 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Administrative Code.
Plumber. "Plumber" means a master plumber licensed by the New York City Department of Buildings pursuant to Article 408 of Chapter 4 of Title 28 of the Administrative Code.
VL Contractor. "VL Contractor" means a contractor admitted to a Verified List ("VL") established pursuant to this section.
c. VL Contractor Eligibility. To be eligible to be admitted to a VL, a contractor must meet the following requirements:
1. Be a licensed home improvement contractor, plumber, or electrician;
2. Have and maintain all required business and trade licenses and registrations;
3. Provide services in Staten Island, the Bronx, Queens, and/or Brooklyn;
4. Not be subject to any debarments or investigations by DOI; and
5. In the case of a contractor registered in the City's contracting portal, PASSPort, have no outstanding negative performance evaluations or debarments listed in PASSPort or the City's prior system of record, Vendex.
d. VL Contractor Certifications. To join a VL, an eligible contractor must certify that they will:
1. Promptly address any questions and provide any documents upon request from DOB, DOI, and/or HRO;
2. Undertake and complete no fewer than three Ida-related home repair projects;
3. Respond to any inquiry from an Ida-impacted homeowner within 24 hours of receiving such inquiry;
4. Obtain any permits necessary to complete the homeowner's scope of work within 24 hours of signing a contract with the homeowner;
5. Complete the scope of work, including obtaining all necessary permit approvals and/or sign-offs, within 3 months of the date that the contract was signed by both parties; and
6. Certify to HRO that the completed scope of work for the contract in question included repair of Ida-related damage.
e. VL Contractor Selection Criteria.
1. Eligible contractors, as described in subdivision c of this section, who make the certifications required by subdivision d of this section, shall be admitted to the VLs in the order in which their applications to participate are received by DOB until each VL contains at least 50 contractors. An eligible contractor who seeks to challenge their failure to be admitted to a VL may bring such challenge only by following the issue resolution procedures described in 43 RCNY § 20-05.
2. HRO may add more eligible applicants to the VLs if, in its discretion, it believes the VLs require additional contractors to serve their purpose.
f. City Payments to VL Contractors.
1. Once an eligible contractor is accepted to a VL, such VL Contractor may apply for a $2,500 registration payment. As a condition of receiving such registration payment, such VL Contractor must submit three signed contracts for repairing three Ida-damaged properties, together with a certification that the work performed under these contracts was for Ida-related damage, to verify they undertook Ida-related work. HRO may waive the requirement that a VL Contractor repair three Ida-damaged properties as a condition of receiving the registration payment based upon a consideration of the total number of storm-damaged properties in the borough(s) in which the VL Contractor typically operates and the complexity of the repairs of the Ida-damaged properties that the VL Contractor undertook. Should HRO fail to waive such requirement, HRO may require the VL Contractor to return the $2,500 registration payment it received from the City if such VL Contractor does not complete three projects as required pursuant to subdivision d of this section.
2. For each signed contract and certification that the work performed under such contract was for Ida-related damage and was completed, a VL Contractor will be paid a $1,000 completion fee for each contract that required obtaining a permit from DOB and a $500 completion fee for each contract that did not require obtaining a permit from DOB.
3. The maximum amount that a VL Contractor may receive from the City pursuant to this section is $20,000.
g. Funding Priority. The payments described in subdivision f of this section are subject to the availability of funding.
h. Verification. HRO may seek additional verification of any certification that a VL Contractor submits, including but not limited to determining whether the building or dwelling unit in question was damaged by Hurricane Ida and whether the work completed repaired damage from Hurricane Ida. Such verification may include but not be limited to site visits, review of receipts, and homeowner interviews.
i. Voluntary Withdrawal. A VL Contractor may ask to be withdrawn from a VL at any time. The City will remove such contractor from the VL when the City updates such VL.
j. Compliance.
1. A VL Contractor may be removed from a VL if at any time HRO determines that such contractor or its staff has:
A. Made a false certification or statement to any City, state, or federal entity;
B. Committed or been arrested for fraud or another crime of moral turpitude;
C. Failed to comply with any of the requirements set forth in 43 RCNY § 20-03(c) or (d); or
D. Behaved in an abusive manner, whether verbally, physically, or in writing, to a homeowner, City employee, or City contractor.
2. A VL Contractor who was removed from a VL will be required to return their registration and/or completion payments to the City. A VL Contractor may challenge a removal determination only by following the issue resolution procedures described in 43 RCNY § 20-05.
k. Homeowner and VL Contractor Responsibility for Repairs. The VLs are intended solely to provide homeowners with access to contractors willing to dedicate a portion of their capacity to serving them. Homeowners and VL Contractors are responsible for:
1. Determining the scope of work to be performed;
2. Negotiating the VL Contractor's payment schedule and the method of payment;
3. Obtaining any necessary permits and obtaining all needed inspections, approvals and sign-offs in connection with permitted work; and
4. Resolving any disputes between the homeowner and the VL Contractor.
(Added City Record 6/1/2022, eff. 6/1/2022 and City Record 8/12/2022, eff. 9/11/2022)
Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-134168Fetched: 10/24/2026