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I believe courts will come down on the side of contractors this time, and for a very practical reason. The threat of an award of attorney fees keeps most disputes out of court – freeing up court calendars for more productive work. When you bid the plans and specs, you're agreeing to complete work as defined in those plans and specs – even if your estimate omits something essential to the job. Bidding the plans is routine on the largest construction projects. PennDOT won't even look at a contractor's estimate.
Contractors governed by HICPA have obligations to comply with the Act throughout the home improvement process, starting with their advertising, and ranging from their contract and deposit requirements, to their obligations to complete the project. Once registered, a contractor will have to display its registration number on any advertisement, contract, estimate, or proposal presented to the consumer. Even an advertisement painted onto the side of a company van or truck must have the registration number included with it. Consumers will be able to verify if a contractor is registered by calling a telephone number maintained by the Office of the Attorney General. A consumer can demand repayment of the amount paid for home improvement services if 45 days have passed since the contractual start date and no portion of the contract has been substantially performed.
City of Pittsburgh Rental Properties Must Now Be Registered
Contact The Kim Law Firm today for a consultation. The names of any subcontractors working on the site. The following article is informational only and not intended as legal advice. Speak with a licensed attorney about your own specific situation. In Shafer Electric v. Mantia, 67 A.3d 8 (Pa. Super 2013) the Superior Court followed Durst and held that a reading of the wording of the statute led to an absurd result which violated general principles of PA law. In this case, this panel of the Superior Court based its decision on statutory construction.
Prior to 2009, consumers could bring suit against home improvement contracts under several common law theories, including breach of contract or fraud. Nothing specifically dealt with the numerous so called home improvement contractors who misrepresented themselves as professionals or experts. HICPA imposes a monetary threshold and only governs contracts for which the total cash price of all work agreed upon between the contractor and owner is more than $500. Further, the services must fall within HICPA’s definition of “home improvement,” which includes several categories of services such as repairs, replacements, demolition, removal, renovation and modernization. Further, home improvements extend beyond the home itself, such as the construction improvement of swimming pools, porches, decks, driveways and fences.
What must be in a home improvement contract?
We envision a world where no one in construction loses a night’s sleep over payment. Reprinted with permission from theWinter 2022 Edition of Network Magazine© 2022 All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.
HICPA requires affected contractors to register with the Office of the Attorney General. Individuals and businesses that meet the HICPA definition of “contractors” are required to register with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. Contractors who do not register with the Office of the Attorney General by July 1, 2009 are prohibited from offering or providing home improvements until they comply.
Practice Areas
These contracts must include certain notices about the contractor, including information about the contractor’s registration number and insurance levels. HICPA also requires the inclusion of several other provisions that do not ordinarily appear in home improvement contracts, such as a notice with the telephone number for the Office of the Attorney General where consumers can confirm the contractor’s registration. This is the homeowner’s potential sword against a home improvement contractor that violates one of HICPA’s prohibitions. In Pennsylvania, consumers are protected from being made the victim of a home contractor’s deceptive or fraudulent practices by the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act .
If there are subcontractors that are going to be working on the project, and are known at the time the contract is executed, their names, addresses, and phone numbers should be included as well. So, if you are performing any of the work described above on property deemed a “private residence,” then read on to learn all the essential provisions in your home improvement contracts. If the contract fails to comply with HICPA’s requirements, it is invalid and unenforceable against the homeowner. On the on hand, these requirements are the homeowner’s shield to a potentially fraudulent claim by a contractor.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania home improvement contractors should consult with their legal counsel before July 1, 2009 to ensure that they are in compliance with the Act prior to its effective date. Residential and restoration contractors in Pennsylvania should ensure that their contracts meet all of these requirements. Failure to comply with these requirements could lead the contractor to liability under home improvement fraud. In Pennsylvania, contractors working on residential projects need to be aware of the Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. This Act has a fair amount of rules and requirements that must be followed on home improvement projects, specifically when it comes to the terms of their contracts.
A list of subcontractors, each with a phone number and street address (no P.O. Box). HICPA also prohibits misrepresentations regarding the contractor’s identity. Receiving an advance payment and failing to perform. Violation of HICPA can carry both criminal and civil penalties. Home Improvement Fraud is punishable as Felony of the Third degree if the amount exceeds $2,000.00 and as a Misdemeanor of the First Degree, if the amount involved is less than $2,000.00. At the start of the pandemic many contractors were dealing with shutdown orders and reduced staffing requirements, which led to...
HICPA imposes strict requirements on home improvement contracts and contractors; provides additional protections to consumer homeowners; and imposes potentially steep penalties against home improvement contractors who fail to comply. HICPA can be both a sword and a shield for the consumer homeowner hiring someone to conduct a home improvement. While HICPA aims to protect consumer homeowners from bad-acting contractors, contractors who are well-versed in HICPA’s requirements can avoid its pitfalls, avoid harsh penalties, and go into projects with confidence knowing their contracts are compliant. Changes are almost inevitable in construction. Most boilerplate construction contracts require that changes be done on a time and material basis -- usually with little or no markup.
There are a few situations in which HICPA doesn’t apply to a home improvement contract. For instance, this statute doesn’t cover contractors who failed to make at least $5,000 for home improvements in the previous taxable year. HICPA also doesn’t apply to new construction of a home or to the conversion of a commercial building into a residential structure. Finally, HICPA excludes transactions related to the sale of appliances. HICPA’s protections also extend to more than a person’s residence. In fact, this state law also applies to construction done on swimming pools, porches, driveways, garages, patios, fences, and sheds.
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