Courtesy of
North Suburban Builders Association
3442 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act of Pennsylvania
Effective July 1, 2009
The following summary is a brief overview of some of the main components
of the Act as provided by Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General Jesse Harvey.
North Suburban Builders Association and Jesse Harvey, Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney
General, can not be held responsible for any mistakes in the material contained
below.
It is strongly recommended that you refer to the entire law at www.attorneygeneral.gov/hic.aspx.
Who must
register:
- Anyone who
owns or operates a home improvement business or who offers, performs, or agrees
to perform home improvements
- All contractors,
including self-employed contractors and sole proprietorships, subcontractors
and independent contractors, and corporations, partnerships and all other
types of business entities
What information
is required to register:
- Contact information
for the applicant
- Information
on any partners, officer, managers, and other parties with an interest in
the business for corporations an business entities
- Information
on other contractor licenses and registrations held by the applicant
- A description
of the applicant's business
- Background
disclosures, including information on prior bankruptcies and criminal pleas
or convictions
- Insurance policy
information showing at least $50,000 of personal injury liability insurance,
and $50,000 of property damage coverage
- Non-refundable
application fee of $50.00
Displaying
your Registration Number
- Include and
display your registration number in all advertisements, estimates, & proposals
Example: PA123
Note: This
number is not required to be displayed on sponsorships, events, teams, promotional
clothing, pens, pencils, notepads or similar items
Contract
Requirements
Contracts must:
- be in writing
and include the contractor's registration number
- be signed by
the owner and contractor or contractor's agent
- be the entire
agreement between the parties
- include the
date of transaction
- contain name,
address, and phone number (no p.o. boxes)
- contain approximate
starting date and completion date
- contain a description
of work performed and materials to be used
- identify total
sales price
- include the
amount of down payment and any other money for special order materials
- include the
name, address, and telephone number of all subcontractors known at the time
of signing contract
- include the
amount of insurance coverage maintained at signing
- include the
Office of the Attorney General's toll free number: 1-888-520-6680
- include the
notice of the Right of Rescission (see details below)
- comply with
section 201-7 of the Consumer Protection Law (see below)
Right
of Rescission
The Consumer
Protection Act, Section 201, mandates the following language be added to each
contract and must be placed "... in immediate proximity to
the space reserved in the contract for the signature of the buyer or on the
front page of the receipt if a contract is not used and in bold face type
of a minimum size of ten points, a statement in substantially the following
form:
“You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to
midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. See
the attached notice of cancellation form for an explanation of this right.”
This informs consumers
that they may cancel the contract without penalty regardless of where the contract
was signed within three business days of the date of signing
Consumer
Protection Law (section 201-7)
Arbitration
Clauses
- Text must be
in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
- Text must be
in 12 pt. bold font on a Separate Page
- Clause must
contain separate signature line for each party
- Must be assented
to by the parties
- Must state
whether the arbitration decision can be appealed
- Must state
whether the facts, related documents and decision are confidential
Voidable
Clauses
A contract
may become null and void if it contains:
- A hold harmless
clause
- A waiver of
Federal, State, or Local health, life, safety, or building code requirements
- A confession
of judgment clause
- A waiver of
right to a jury trial in action brought by or against the owner
- Assignment
of owner's wages to the contractor
- An agreement
of the owner to not assert any claim or defense
- A provision
that the contractor shall be awarded attorney fees & costs
- A release of
liability for acts committed by the contractor in the collection of any payments
or repossession of any goods
- A waiver of
any rights under this Act
- An automatic
or recurring renewal of any provisions of the agreement
Downpayments
For a home
improvement contract in which the total price is more than $1000, a contractor
cannot receive a deposit in excess of:
(a) one-third
of the home improvement contract price; or
(b) one-third
of the home improvement contract price plus the cost of special order materials
that have been ordered
For more information on this law, including a Frequently Asked Questions section
and Registration information, please go to http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/hic.aspx
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