Home Improvement Regulation: In an effort to strengthen the protections afforded consumers against wrongful acts by home improvement contractors, the Pennsylvania legislature recently enacted the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act.
The Act, which will become effective as of July 1, 2009, imposes stringent requirements on individuals or entities engaging in any form of home improvement. They are similar to those implemented in other states. Under the Act, “home improvement” is broadly defined and includes any repair, replacement, remodeling, demolition, removal, renovation, installation, alteration, construction or other improvement for which the total contract price exceeds $500. However, the Act does not apply to the construction of a new home or to the sale of goods or materials, where the seller does not perform actual work on the home.
The new law requires that all Pennsylvania home improvement contractors register with its Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Office of the Attorney General. The contractor’s registration number then must be included in every advertisement, estimate, proposal or contract for home improvement. Contractors must also maintain liability insurance in the minimum amount of $50,000. In addition, they must disclose in the registration application if they have ever been convicted of a criminal offense, fraud or theft related to a home improvement transaction crime. Contractors are also required to disclose if they have ever filed for bankruptcy or if they have had a judgment entered against them in connection with a home improvement transaction within the previous 10 years.
In addition, the Act contains strict requirements regarding the form and content of home improvement contracts. Under the Act, all home improvement contracts must be in writing, and also as mentioned above, must contain the contractor’s registration number. The Act mandates certain items be included in the agreement. For instance, though without limitation, the agreement needs to be signed by both the contractor and the customer; it needs to include required statutory notices; the contract must provide a mailing address for the contractor (this cannot be a PO Box); and provide an outline of information relating to any subcontractor that will be used on the project. Moreover, the contract must also include a description of the work to be performed, the materials to be used and a set of specifications that cannot be changed without a written change order signed by the consumer. It must also specify the approximate start and completion dates for the work and the total sales price due under the contract. Moreover, the contract must contain the toll-free number of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection, as well as a provision allowing the consumer to rescind the contract within 3 business days. Moreover, where the contract price exceeds $1000, the contract must not provide for any deposits in excess of 1/3 of the total contract price. Finally, the Act specifies other language that cannot be included in the agreement. If these provisions are nevertheless included in the agreement, it could void it entirely, and prevent a contractor for being able to enforce it (i.e., collect money owed to the contractor for work performed).
Any violation of the Act by a home improvement contractor will also constitute a violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. As a result, consumers have the potential to recover treble damages (or three times the amount of the consumer’s actual damages) and attorneys’ fees from a contractor found to be in violation of the Act. This means that regardless of the quality of work performed, a contractor could find himself liable for a violation of the Act for failing to have a compliant agreement. Even a technical violation would suffice to make a contractor liable under the Act. For example, an argument could be made that if the contractor’s customer agreement did not include each and every one of the required elements, or did not include verbatim the statutory language set forth for the required notices, the contractor would be liable for violating the Act, even if unintentionally. It could be responsible for treble (triple) damages as a result.
In light of the potential for huge recoveries against them, contractors should be extremely careful in drafting their home improvement contracts. Any individual or entity engaging in any form of home repair or improvement should consult an attorney in order to ensure that they are in compliance with the Act’s detailed requirements.
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