In all states in this country, people doing improvements for a person typically exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) are required to have a contractor’s license issued by the state where the work of improvement is being made.
In order for a person to obtain a contractor’s license in a given state, approved courses by the state’s administrative entity overseeing contractors must be taken. The entity is typically the given state’s contractor’s licensing board overseeing the licensing of its contractors in order to protect the general public.
Once the courses are taken, the person seeking a contractor’s license must take a state approved examination and must pass it. Once passed, the applicable state contractor’s license is issued after payment of the applicable fee.
Unlicensed contractors
If the work of improvement is done by a person not having a contractor’s license, most states prevent that person from bringing a lawsuit to collect for the services and materials given. The varying state statutes on this subject are designed to protect the public at large from unlicensed contractors.
The end result is that a homeowner can receive improvements and materials from an unlicensed contractor and he or she would not be legally obligated to pay.
What are some of the common causes of action
Typical causes of action that a homeowner can bring against a home contractor (licensed or not) for a work of improvement are usually controlled by the written contract assuming one is in existence. The written contract controls the obligations owed to the homeowner by the licensed contractor and vice versa in the absence of conflicting state law as to the scope of work to be performed, agreed upon materials to be installed and whether any product installed (such as windows or doors) have a manufacturer’s warranty coming with it.
Different claims and causes of action that a homeowner could bring against the contractor depends essentially upon the factual progress of the work of improvement such as delays, defective construction, invalid mechanic’s liens, improper charges, and failure to obtain required permits, inspections and certificates of improvement.
In general, the typical causes of action from a home construction contract against a licensed home contractor are: 1. breach of contract (failure of the contractor to honor the terms of the agreement), 2. breach of implied and express warranties of fitness (many states hold contractors to a standard that the work of improvement meets industry standards and code), 3. a petition to remove an invalid lien (sometimes a contractor records a lien on the homeowner’s property to secure payment for services/materials and there are defects with the lien procedurally) , 4. negligence (the work performed by the contractor does not meet industry standards in the construction arena), 5. strict liability for defective construction (sometimes states have statutes holding that the failure of the contractor to perform work under accepted industry standards amounts to liability no matter the reasons given by the contractor), 6. fraud (the contractor misrepresented what was to be done for the amount paid), 7. indemnity (when the homeowner pays mechanic’s liens of subcontractors that should have been paid by the general contractor), 8. common counts (monies expended by the homeowner on behalf of the contractor).
The above pertain to defects with the subject structure. If a person is injured through defective construction by the contractor or subcontractor a personal injury cause of action can be brought for negligence or strict liability for defective construction by the injured person.
Construction defect cases are complicated and require experts to prove a homeowner’s claim against the person performing the work of improvement that was improperly done. Given the need for experts at trial and the complicated nature of a construction defect case where destructive testing (opening up walls of a home for example) is required, and proving the failure of the work of improvement not meeting industry standards or current building code or regulations, an experienced lawyer in this field to pursue any lawsuit is a must.