By Shauna Krause, President, Capitol Services, Inc.
If your worker ‘subverts’ the truth about his licensing are you ‘generally’ in trouble? There’s no place like ‘homeowner’s association’, I enlighten a contractor on a solar question and prevent an ‘alteration’ that would get another nothing but ‘rejection’…
Q: Does California have a requirement for General Contractors to ensure subcontractor licensing? We’ve recently become aware that a handful of states (Arkansas, Louisiana, etc.) have specific penalties against GC’s who hire subs who turn out to be unlicensed—I’m wondering if California does as well.
A: The CSLB would certainly frown on General Contractors who hire an unlicensed subcontractor however I am unable to find an actual “law” in the regulations that requires that they must ensure a subcontractor is licensed.
You could argue if a General does hire an unlicensed subcontractor for work which requires a license, technically that “subcontractor” is now the General Contractor’s employee. The CSLB also has the authority to cite the “subcontractor” for doing contracting work without a license. I don’t see that the General Contractor would receive any specific penalty besides the liability that comes with hiring unlicensed contractors, but bottom line, hiring unlicensed contractors/subcontractors is not a good idea!
Q: Does the California Law on Home Improvement contracts (Bus. & Prof. C. 7159) apply to contracts between a contractor and a Home Owner’s Association (HOA)?
A: The way I read the law, no, it would not apply. 7159(b) states that a home improvement contract is an agreement between a "contractor and an owner or between a contractor and a tenant". Since an HOA is not an owner or a tenant, it doesn't seem to apply.
Q: As you probably are aware, as of January 1, 2019, the CSLB has a requirement that all contractors installing solar energy systems provide a consumer with a disclosure document. Do we need to provide the customer with the actual form provided by the CSLB? Or would it be okay to just include that same language within our contract?
A: I don’t believe it matters whether you use the CSLB’s actual form or create it yourself, however, it must be printed in boldface 16-point font on either the front or cover page of the Solar Energy contract. Since 16-point font takes up a whole page, and being that it must be in the front, there is no reason not to use the form the CSLB has already created. Q: We received our Contractor’s License renewal in the mail and I’m realizing that the Officers listed on the license are not completely accurate. Two of the individuals have left the company and have been replaced. Is it okay to strike out two of the names showing on the form? A: No, the CSLB will reject the renewal if you alter it. You will need to file disassociation notices for the two people who are no longer with the company. If you want to list the new people on the license, you will want to file Applications for Adding Personnel.
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