I don't know if this topic should be here or in another section, but I was just wondering what the other guys in the state of Pennsylvania are doing about the new Act 132 rules and having to register with the state and having contracts for anything over $500. Our local paper had an article in about over the weekend and we got a call from a good friend who is also a competitor asking if we knew anything. We do general excavating, but if I read the laws correctly we still need to register. A little confusing, just wondering what you other guys are doing about it and if you know any places to get more info or help other than the Attorney general's site. I probably spent an hour there already today. Thanks in advance, Scott.
What is the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act? The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act ("HICPA") was adopted by Pennsylvania's General Assembly in October, 2008, and signed by the Governor as Act 132 of 2008. The law establishes a mandatory registration program for contractors who offer or perform home improvements in Pennsylvania. The statute also establishes minimum insurance requirements for contractors; requires contractors to provide their registration number in their ads and contracts; establishes required contract terms for home improvement contracts; prohibits unfair business practices; and creates a criminal penalty for home improvement fraud. What is a home improvement? Home improvement includes all of the following activities when they are done in connection with land or a portion of the land adjacent to a private residence or a building or a portion of the building which is used or designed to be used as a private residence for which the total cash price of all work agreed upon between the contractor and owner is more than $500: http://www.plna.com/content/?/government/sb-100-contractor-registration/who-must-register http://www.plna.com/content/?/government/sb-100-contractor-registration Good luck with that.
Well, the way I read it, if you're doing only commercial/government work, or if your residential work is only on new construction, then you wouldn't need to register. On the other hand, if you're working, even only occasionally as a subcontractor to somebody who is doing work on people's existing homes, and you bill more thn $5,000 a year for that stuff, you need to be registered. You may never even talk to a homeowner, let alone sign a contract with one, and any given job you do might never be over $500, but if you do a bunch of little residential "home improvement" jobs that total more than 5 grand, you must be registered. Does that agree with what you're thinking? And thanks, amunderdog, for the links.
Who must register under the law? Anyone who owns or operates a home improvement business or who offers, performs, or agrees to perform home improvements in Pennsylvania must register with the Office of Attorney General unless they fall within two exceptions: small contractors (less than $5,000 of work in a calendar year) and large retailers (net worth or more than $50 million). All contractors, including self-employed contractors and sole proprietorships, subcontractors and independent contractors, and corporations, partnerships and all other types of business entities must be registered, unless they fall into the two exemptions above. My take on it is that if you do less than $5000 or more than $50m of work or a landscape contractor involved in soft landscaping you are exempt.everyone else has to sign up.We should have something like that here in the emerald isle. Stock
Yes, but it seems a bit more complicated than that. From the site amunderdog linked to: Now, I'll do more than $5,000 worth of work, but most of it will be in new construction. I don't know whether I'll do more than $5,000 worth of work for a "home improvement" customer or customers in any given year. I usually don't, although some years I have. I wouldn't want to turn down something because I failed to register.
What is the reg fee? maybe one should err on the side of caution and register then one has a number if required, also how long before the insurance companies also request a reg number before they issue a quote .
That's what I'm thinking. Fifty bucks to register. And one of the things they want on your registration is proof that you do have insurance, so one would think that the insurance companies wouldn't be able to put their particular cart before that particular horse, but you never know.... :beatsme
Talk to your to your local PBA (PA Building Association) chapter president. Our local PBA did a presentation and it cleared up alot of things.
So when it comes down to it, is excavating "home improvement"? Most of my stuff has been agricultural, commercial, or forestry related. Looked at several residental jobs, but the jobs haven't came thru yet.
Yes, excavating is considered home improvement according to the Attorney General. As long as the home owner is the one paying you then is is considered home improvement. But if you are a sub-contractor then you would not have to registered. This is what the PBA has told me.