PA 06-73—sSB 172

General Law Committee

AN ACT CONCERNING HOMEOWNERS, HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTORS AND NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS

SUMMARY: This act revises the disclosures that a new home contractor must make to prospective customers. Among other things, existing law requires a contractor to advise customers to ask for a list of the consumers of the last 12 new homes the contractor built to completion during the previous 24 months or, if the contractor has not completed 12 new homes during this period, a list of all consumers for whom he has built a new home to completion during the previous 24 months. The act instead simply requires the contractor to advise customers to request a list of the consumers of the new homes built to completion by the contractor during the previous 24 months.

In addition, the act requires home improvement contractors to include their registration numbers in their contracts with homeowners. Existing law requires home improvement contracts to include certain elements for it to be enforceable against a homeowner in court.

Finally, the act makes numerous technical changes to the new home construction contractor law.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

BACKGROUND

Home Improvement Contracts

For a home improvement contract to be valid and enforceable against a homeowner, a court must determine that it would be inequitable to deny recovery and the contract must (1) be written, (2) be signed by both the contractor and homeowner, (3) include a notice of a consumer's three-day right to rescind the contract after signing it, (4) include a start and completion date, and (5) be between a registered contractor or salesman and a homeowner. The law also requires all change orders to be written and signed by both parties (CGS § 20-429).

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