What Every Florida Contractor Needs to Have in Their Contracts

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:

1. Not putting their license number on their estimates, contracts, invoices or other documents they provide to homeowners as required by Florida Statute.
2. Not including the lien warning required by Florida Statute 713.015, Florida Statutes
3. Not including the Notice of Construction Defects required by Chapter 558 of the Florida Statutes
4. 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.