Over the years, I have reviewed many estimates and contracts from various types of contractors and homeowners. In most cases, I have found that the contractor did not include several items required by Florida law to be in their estimates or contracts. These are:
- Not putting their license number on their estimates, contracts, invoices or other documents they provide to homeowners as required by Florida Statute.
- Not including the lien warning required by Florida Statute 713.015, Florida Statutes
- Not including the Notice of Construction Defects required by Chapter 558 of the Florida Statutes
- Not including the Construction Industry Recovery Fund notice required by Florida Statute Section 489.1425, Florida Statutes.
Failure to include the required provisions can result in a contractor being fined by the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB). Equally important, if an owner files a complaint with the CILB or files a law suit, the owner will be able to show the court, the Contractor does not follow the law in its contracting practices. If so, you will already have a strike against you before the Board can begin to investigate the complaint.
Equally important, failure to comply with some of the above provisions can result in a fine, being placed on probation or suspension of a contractor’s license. For example, Failure to include a license number in an advertisement can result in a fine between $250.00 and $1,000.00 for a first violation.
If you need assistance with a construction contract or similar matter, feel free to contact Mason Williams or Ed Kinberg. You can also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for even more information.
