Home improvement contract requirements: subcontractors.

Senator Niello’s measure places prime contractors at the center of accountability for completing home improvement projects, while preserving the ability to discipline subcontractors and home improvement salespersons for violations of the Contractors State License Law.

To operationalize this shift, the bill requires that a home improvement contract clearly disclose whether a subcontractor will be used, and if so, include a disclaimer stating that a list of subcontractors will be provided upon request with the subcontractors’ names, contact information, license numbers, and classifications; the same disclaimer must appear on each change order. It also provides that if a contract contemplates joint control, the contractor may not hold a financial or other interest in that joint arrangement. In addition, the contract content framework is expanded to specify required elements such as the contractor’s identifying information, the presence of a home improvement heading, a bolded notice about delivering a fully executed copy before work begins, the contract price and any finance charge, a detailed description of the project and materials (with swimming pool specifics where applicable), downpayment disclosures including a capped amount, a stated schedule of progress payments, and clear notes on commencement and completion timelines, along with a comprehensive note about extra work and change orders.

The bill also codifies extensive notices and consumer protections within the contract, including notices about liability insurance, workers’ compensation, mechanics liens and Preliminary Notices, and information about the Contractors State License Board. It mandates cancellation rights at three days for general contracts, five days for senior citizens, and seven days for contracts tied to repair or restoration following declared emergencies, each with detachable, language-consistent cancellation forms and guidelines for refunds and return of goods. The form requirements stress typography and language consistency, and require notices to be in the same language used in the oral sales presentation.

Implementation hinges on a cross-bill mechanism that ties the amendments to Section 7159 to enactment and sequencing with a companion measure; the amendments would become operative only if both measures are enacted and effective by a specified date and SB 517 is enacted after the companion, otherwise the changes do not take effect. Enforcement remains within the existing Contractors State License Law framework, with discipline for contract violations applying to the prime contractor as well as subcontractors and salespersons, and without a separate new appropriation specified. The combined effect is to increase contractual transparency, expand subcontractor disclosures, and align disciplinary accountability with the project’s ultimate fulfillment, while preserving the current regulatory architecture and its due process protections.