[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 25, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 25CFR256.17]

[Page 712-713]
 
                            TITLE 25--INDIANS
 
     CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 256--HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 256.17  What will the servicing housing office do to identify what work is to be done on my dwelling?

    (a) First, a trained and qualified representative of your servicing 
housing office must visit your dwelling to identify what improvements or 
repairs are to be done under the Housing Improvement Program. The 
representative must ensure that flood, National Environmental Protection 
Act (NEPA) and earthquake requirements are met.
    (b) Second, based on the list of improvements or repairs to be done, 
the representative must estimate the total cost of improvements or 
repairs to your dwelling. Cost estimates must be based on locally 
available services and product costs, or other regional-based, industry-
recognized cost data, such as that provided by the MEANs or MARSHALL 
SWIFT. If the dwelling is located in Alaska, documented, reasonable, 
substantiated freight costs, in accordance with Federal Property 
Management Regulations (FPMR 101-40), not to exceed 100 percent of the 
cost of materials, can be added to the cost of the project.
    (c) Third, the representative must determine which Housing 
Improvement Program category the improvements to your dwelling meet, 
based on the estimated cost of improvements or repairs. If the estimated 
cost to repair your dwelling is more than $35,000, the representative 
must approve your dwelling for replacement or refer you to another 
source for housing. The other source does not have to be for a 
replacement home; it may be for government-subsidized rental units or 
other sources for standard housing.
    (d) Fourth, the representative must develop a detailed, written 
report, also called ``bid specifications'' that identifies what and how 
the improvement, repair, or construction work is to be accomplished at 
the dwelling.
    (1) When the work includes new construction, the ``bid 
specifications'' will be supplemented with a set of construction plans. 
The plans must not exceed the occupancy and square footage criteria 
identified in Sec. 256.7. The plans

[[Page 713]]

must be sufficiently detailed to provide complete instructions to the 
builder for the purpose of construction.
    (2) ``Bid Specifications'' are also used to inform potential bidders 
of what work is to be done.