5.1.4 Defining Construction Activities

A. “New construction” and “substantial rehabilitation” describe the scope of work proposed for an entire property and invoke requirements that apply to the whole loan transaction.

B. For work less than substantial rehabilitation, the scope of work must be itemized as individual work tasks, each described and labeled with a Class of Work. For example, in a single building, there may be some work items identified as “Repairs” and others that are “Level 2 Alterations.” In other cases, a property with multiple buildings may need “Level 1 Alterations” in some buildings while other buildings need “Level 3 Alterations.” The total scope of work in such properties is composed of many work items, each labeled with the appropriate Class of Work.

C. Therefore, a Class of Work (i.e., Repair, Level 1, 2 or 3 Alterations) describes an individual work item or a group of closely related work items. Class of Work is not applied to the property as a whole or used to label an entire loan transaction. The following steps are required for properly labeling work items with Class of Work:

MAP Guide, March 2021 Go to beginning of Chapter 5

Bookmarked Version Go to Acronym and Abbreviation List, Glossary, Index

Chapter 5 Page 5-3

To return to this page after clicking a link, press ALT + Back Arrow

Chapter 5 Architectural and Construction Analysis 5.1 Eligible Construction Activities

Go to Table of Contents

1. Describe the proposed work as distinct, separate work items, where each item describes a set of construction activities that are similar or related in character and scope.

   • For example, the construction activities of removing aged windows, installing new flashing, inserting new window units, patching up siding and repainting may all be described as “replacement of existing windows” as a single work item.

• An individual work item should not be too broad or include multiple Classes of Work, such as using “kitchen remodeling” to describe replacing the cabinets (Level 1 Alteration) as well as reconfiguring the space by removing existing walls and extending the countertop space to increase the kitchen area (Level 2 Alterations).

• An individual work item must be distinct and described in sufficient detail for accurate estimation and inspection during construction.

2. Each work item listed in Critical or Non-Critical Repairs (per Appendix 5, Section A.5.7.2) describes an individual task (commonly referred to as a “repair item”) and should be labeled with the applicable Class of Work, i.e., as a Repair, Level 1, 2, or 3 Alteration.

   • For example, “replacement of existing windows” with windows of the same size in the existing openings should be classified as Level 1 Alteration.

• In the case of the “kitchen remodeling” example cited above, such work should be described in two separate work items, such as: 1) “relocate partition walls to modify existing kitchen layout” as one work item labeled Level 2 Alteration; and, 2) “replace existing kitchen cabinets” as a separate Level 1 Alteration.

3. Professional services and documentation required are to be based on the Class of Work of individual work items.

4. The Lender will review and confirm for HUD the Class of Work for each work item recommended by the Needs Assessor.