This week's question: I have a small business of kitchen and bath remodeling. Unfortunately, my license expired a while back and I have been too busy, despite the recession, to get it renewed. Since my business is so small, can I get along without a contractor's license for a little while? Can I just have the homeowners sign a waiver after I point out everything to them? I am bidding on a job right now and it may work out quite well for me.
/s/Bill B., Almaden Valley
Dear Bill- You might want to give your idea a second thought, Bill. I do not think that is a very good idea and may well be illegal in that most if not all building contractors need a license issued by the State of California, unless they are exempt.
It might be a good place to start if you go online and bring up your favorite search engine. Then enter "California State Contractor License Board" in the search box and hit "go". I did just that with Google and in .3 seconds there were 443,000 references available. In case you are not set up to use the internet, you might have a family member, friend, or relative help you.
There is a wealth of information available online and the California Contractors State License Board serves a very important function in our society. Homeowners can check the license status of contractors and contractors can obtain a great deal of useful information to help them get their work done with a proper license. Although I did not review all of those 443,000 entries, I would hazard a guess that none of them authorized a waiver like you asked about. In other words, the homeowner cannot excuse your not having an active, current, valid, license.
A recent court case pointed out the importance of a valid license very clearly. The case is called "White v. Cridlebaugh" and it was decided July 29, 2009, by the Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District. The case arose in Kern County. In that case, the contractor was found by the court to have no valid license when the work was done. The court ruled that not only was the contractor forbidden to collect the balance due on his mechanic's lien of $13,561.62, the contractor was ordered to refund $84,621 previously paid to the contractor for labor and materials.
This was obviously a harsh result, but that's the law. In other words, the Court of Appeal held that the unlicensed contractor could not even recover the cost of his labor, services, and materials of over $84,000 in connection with the unlicensed work. He was ordered to pay it back to the homeowner because he did not have a valid state license when the work was done. The Court of Appeal also stated that licensing requirements and the penalties for violating those requirements are designed to protect the public from incompetent or dishonest providers of building and construction services. You can read the "White v. Cridlebaugh" case for yourself by going to your favorite search engine and entering the name of the case in the search box.
As always, you will want to read this case in consultation with your attorney who is your best guide as to how this case may or may not apply to your particular situation. I personally like to head for the Court of Appeal web site so as to avoid all of the distracting advertising and other material.
If I were you, Bill, I would take a little time out of my busy schedule and get that license up to date! Right away. Good luck with that process. I am sure you will find the time well spent. Not having a valid license at all times could be fatal to your business.
/s/Donald J. DeVries, Almaden Valley
Donald J. DeVries is an attorney practicing law in the Almaden Valley. Past Almaden Times articles since 1986 can be accessed through his web site: www.almadenvalleylawyers.com. If you would like him to answer your question in his next Almaden Times column, you can reach him by email at don@almadenvalleylawyers.com, with "Almaden Times" in the subject line, fax at (408)268-6502, telephone at (408)268-9500, or mail at DeVries & Horowitz, 6475 Camden Avenue, Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95120. Your matters are personal and private, so of course, he will not disclose your identity or any details about your situation. Mr. DeVries writes this column to provide you with general information about important legal matters affecting California residents-not to give you legal advice about your specific matter. No attorney-client relationship is created by these articles. The law is complex and constantly changing and varies from state to state. So you should consult an attorney before taking any action that would affect your personal or business matters.
