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Section 2: Allowable Moving Expenses - Non-residential

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Overview

When moving on an actual-cost basis, consider the following items and conditions as eligible moving expenses if determined to be reasonable and necessary.

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Personalty

Costs, including packing and unpacking, for moving personalty lawfully located on the site from which it is moved.

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Transportation

Costs incurred for moving a displaced person or personal property a distance of not more than 50 miles, unless TxDOT determines that relocation beyond 50 miles is justified. Requests for moves exceeding 50 miles must have prior approval from the ROW PD Manager.

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Labor and Materials

Costs for packing, crating, unpacking and uncrating of the personal property.

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Removal and Reinstallation

Costs for disconnecting, dismantling, removing, reassembling, and reinstalling displaced machinery, equipment, other personalty, and substitute personalty, including:

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  • connection to available nearby utilities (from the property line);
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  • modifications to personalty necessary to adapt it to the replacement structure, the replacement site, or the utilities at the replacement site;
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  • modifications necessary to adapt utilities at the replacement site to the personalty; and
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  • modifications to real property, at the replacement site, necessary to permit the reinstalled personalty to function properly and according to code.

Such costs are not applicable to items classified as real property, acquired in the acquisition process, and retained by the owner. Reasonable and necessary will remain the determining criteria for all eligible costs.

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Storage

Prior to the move, the ROW PD Manager may approve requests for personalty storage. The necessity for such storage must be documented in the project files. The duration of storage approved by the ROW PD Manager should be for a reasonable and necessary amount of time, not to exceed 12 months. Costs for personalty storage exceeding 12 months require approval by the ROW Program Office. Costs for storing personalty on the remainder of real property being acquired are not eligible. The same exclusion applies to costs for storing personalty on other property owned or leased by the displacee or a member of his/her family.

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Professional Services - Studies Related to the Replacement Location

Reasonable and necessary expenses incurred prior to the purchase or lease of the replacement site to determine its suitability for the displaced person’s business, farm or NPO are eligible for reimbursement, as moving expenses. This includes, but is not limited to soil testing, feasibility and marketing studies (excluding any fees or commissions directly related to the purchase or lease of the replacement site). Professional services attributable to “reestablishment” or “searching expenses” will only be eligible for reimbursement as part of the total eligible claim amount under State and Federal law.

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Professional Services - Professional Move Planner Service

Professional services, such as those provided by a move planner, may be reimbursed if TxDOT determines them to be an actual, reasonable, and necessary move expenses for the following:

For TxDOT to determine whether a move planner is required, TxDOT must be afforded the following:

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  • conduct an interview with the displacee business, farm, or non-profit;
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  • access the subject site for inspection purposes; and
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  • review the proposed scope of work identifying the qualifications of the move planner and outlining specific tasks related to planning the personal property move (“Scope of Work”).

TxDOT's approval for all move planners shall be granted on the basis of a well-defined scope of work and estimated costs. The scope of work, cost estimates, and mandatory requirements must be provided to TxDOT for review and approval prior to any work being done by the move planner and prior to the start of the move. Any revisions to the pre-approved scope of work and cost estimate must be approved by the ROW PD Manager prior to the displacee incurring further costs. Failure to do so may limit eligible claims for move planner services to the original amount approved by TxDOT.

Failure to obtain pre-approval by TxDOT of a move planner may result in the denial of future claims for reimbursement of move planner expenses.

TxDOT reserves the right to decline approval of any move planner based on unacceptable past performance.

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Scope of Work Requirements

All persons considered for relocation assistance professional services must submit a detailed scope of work with:

When developing the scope of work, note that conceptual building or site layouts intended for construction/reconstruction at the replacement site (not directly attributable to the reinstallation of the moved or substitute personal property) are not considered eligible move costs or related expenses. In addition, the preparation of claims, activities related to the appraisal and/or acquisition of the subject property, reestablishment tasks, and representing the displacee before TxDOT are not eligible expenses from a move planner.

TxDOT shall determine the eligibility, reasonableness, and necessity of all claims, as well as provide additional advisory services related to the move. As a result, the displacee shall provide required access to TxDOT to evaluate the claims. Any bids provided by a move planner as the basis for a move claim must be accompanied by a preapproved inventory and scope of work. The identical preapproved scope and inventory shall be provided to the professionals utilized by TxDOT when obtaining additional bids for comparison purposes.

The following are mandatory qualifications of the Professional Move Planner:

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  • Five years of experience with a TxDOT approved ROWAPS; or
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  • Experience providing moving services to at least two like-type enterprises under guidelines of the Uniform Act. Project and contact information must be provided for the entity monitoring for Uniform Relocation Act Compliance to verify quality of work and understanding of the Uniform Act.

If the proposed move planner is a ROWAPS vendor, they may not be employed on the project where the proposed move planner services will be rendered.

NOTE: If services to be provided are strictly “technical” in regards to the displaced personal property, the above qualifications will be limited to the provider demonstrating a thorough knowledge of the tasks performed.

If the mandatory qualifications have been met and approved, the reimbursable hourly rate will be approved based on the standard criteria tiers shown in Table 14-1.

Anchor: #i1002916Table 14-1: Standard Criteria Tiers

Tier

Rate

Criteria

Tier 1

$150 per hour
  • 1-20 relocations with Uniform Act experience; and
  • All experience must be within the past 5 years

Tier 2

$175 per hour
  • 21-50 relocations with Uniform Act experience; and
  • At minimum, 3 like-type1 completed relocations that can be confirmed, by TxDOT, through contacting references; and
  • All experience must be within the last 10 years

Tier 3

$200 per hour
  • 50 or more relocations with Uniform Act experience; and
  • At minimum, 3 like-type1 completed relocations on a TxDOT project that can be confirmed, by TxDOT, utilizing the ROW CSJ and Parcel ID provided; and
  • All experience must be within the past 15 years

1 Like-type relocations must be the same in nature, characteristics and difficulty are subject to TxDOT's determination.



Once approved, a meeting will be scheduled by TxDOT to discuss conditions of the agreement and criteria requirements for reimbursement. All documentation of qualifications shall be maintained in TxDOT’s files.

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Criteria for Move Planner Reimbursement Eligibility

The following criteria should be used by TxDOT in reviewing the move planner invoices in determining eligibility for reimbursement under the Uniform Act, specifically 49 CFR Section 24.301. If the displacee is claiming that these expenses are eligible under a different provision of the Uniform Act, the displacee should identify the applicable section of the Uniform Act and TxDOT will analyze whether the expenses could be eligible under that provision.

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  • The displacee is eligible for reimbursement of professional services performed prior to the purchase or lease to determine its suitability for the displaced business operation, including but not limited to soil testing, feasibility, and marketing studies (excluding any fees or commissions directly related to the purchase or lease of such site). The move planner must provide qualifications to perform such tasks to be eligible expenses.
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  • If an activity requires additional consultants to provide professional services, the reimbursement approved for the task will be for the consultant with primary expertise (e.g. hiring a mover to pack, transport and unpack - the mover's fee is reimbursable; whereas, the move planner's time would be limited to the required inventory preparation, mutually agreed upon development of the scope of services for bidders, and securing or developing the bids required from the displacee for a negotiated self-move, where applicable).
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  • Representing the displacee to TxDOT or its representatives is not an eligible move-related professional service and is not reimbursable. If the move planner is acting as both a move planner and an advocate/representative for the displacee, only the pre-approved time spent as a move planner is eligible for reimbursement. If at any time, as determined by TxDOT, the two roles are in conflict toward a cooperative and timely completion of the relocation of the business, TxDOT reserves the right to withdraw the approval to proceed as a move planner. The displacee will be notified in writing of any changes to this approval.
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  • Preparing claims is not an eligible professional service. TxDOT provides advisory services related to the Uniform Act, which includes assistance with claim preparation and to answer questions related to eligibility and the documentation needed to maximize the financial benefits. Securing the components for claim documentation such as bids required of the displacee for negotiated self-moves and substitute personal property requests may be eligible move planner tasks.
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  • Documentation of the move planner activities provided for reimbursement must be specific regarding the task and time spent (For example - “phone call with X or reviewed email from Y” is not specific. Documentation should be detailed and include - Who was on the call? How did it relate to planning the move? What product was the end result?). Billings should include the back-up specific to the pre-approved scope of services being claimed rather than including documentation for non-approved or additional tasks.
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  • Only services provided by one of the move planner individuals approved by TxDOT are eligible for reimbursement. If a move planner task requires the effort of more than one employee, justification for additional support must be provided in the request for pre-approval or before such involvement takes place if unexpected. If the qualified move planner is an individual, hours for their supervisor to review their work are not eligible for reimbursement.
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  • The service provided must be within the scope of move planner activities to plan the move and installation of the personal property relocated to the replacement location to be eligible for reimbursement.
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  • Activity related to the preparation of the inventory list of personal property previously paid for by TxDOT is not approved for additional reimbursement.
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  • Not every task is complex enough to require a move planner. The move planner must be necessary and the expenditure reasonable for the task as determined by TxDOT.
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  • If portions of the submitted relocation claim were determined to be eligible, but other portions of the relocation claim were determined to be ineligible, TxDOT will deduct the applicable amount for the ineligible activity when processing the relocation claim.
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Move Planner Payments

All payments for the reimbursement for Move Planner work shall be made directly to the displacee unless authorized by a three-way agreement. It should be noted that any contract for professional services of a move planner is strictly between the displacee and the move planner and TxDOT is responsible only for reimbursing the displacee for such costs that are both eligible and adequately documented. TxDOT has no responsibility/liability for what the professional move planner does or how it is done.

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Insurance

Costs for insurance premiums covering loss or damage of personalty while in storage or transit are eligible expenses; however, the coverage amount must not exceed reasonable replacement value of the moved property.

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Losses in Moving

Reasonable replacement value of property lost, stolen, or damaged in the moving process (not through the fault or negligence of the displacee, displacee’s agent, or employees) are eligible expenses, when insurance covering such loss, theft, or damage is not readily available.

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Permits

Except for those eligible under Reestablishment Expenses - Nonresidential, costs for any licenses, permits, or certifications required of the displacee at the replacement site are eligible expenses. However, payment shall be based on the remaining useful life of any existing licenses, permits, or certifications.

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Signs

Costs for modification and re-lettering of signs; as well as costs for replacing stationery, business cards, affected promotional items, and other specifically addressed printed items on hand at the time of displacement made obsolete due to the move. Costs may also include reimbursement for the unused portion of any applicable advertising.

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Utilities

Costs for utility, telephone, and computer service transfer fees when such expenses are necessary to effect relocation. Refundable service deposits are not eligible. Eligible expenses also include connections to available nearby utilities from the ROW to improvements at the replacement site.

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Moving Estimates

Costs incurred by TxDOT for obtaining moving estimates, not to exceed two estimates per move. If the two estimates are incompatible, a third estimate may be obtained provided the need for such estimate is documented in TxDOT files.

In complex or unusual moves, when it is determined that advertising is the only means of securing estimates of the costs for packing, transporting, and unpacking, or for other necessary services, the advertising expense is eligible.

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Property Disposal Costs

Reasonable costs incurred while attempting to sell an item displaced by the project but not to be relocated.

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Impact Fees

Impact fees or one-time assessments for anticipated heavy utility usage, as determined necessary by TxDOT.

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Other Expenses

Costs not specifically listed as ineligible in Ineligible Expenses and determined by TxDOT to be reasonable and necessary. If it is determined that a contract can be transferred to the replacement location, certain fees, such as termination fees, will be ineligible.

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Low Value/High Bulk

When the personal property to be moved is of low value and high bulk, and the cost of moving the property would be disproportionate to its value, in the judgment of TxDOT, the allowable moving cost payment shall not exceed the lesser of:

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  • the amount which would be received if the property were sold at the site; or
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  • the replacement cost of a similar quantity delivered to the new business location.

Types of personal property that may fall under this option include, but are not limited to, stockpiled sand, gravel, minerals, metals and other like-type items as determined by TxDOT.

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