Bill Text: NY S01405 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to home improvement contract provisions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-11-25 - SIGNED CHAP.550 [S01405 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S01405-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1405 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to roofing contract provisions The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 770 of the general business law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows: 3 8. "Roofing contractor" means a person, firm or corporation, including 4 but not limited to, a person that is a nonresident roofing contractor, 5 independent contractor, day laborer or subcontractor engaged in the 6 business of roofing, gutter, downspout or siding services for a fee or 7 who offers to engage in or solicits roofing-related services, including 8 construction, installation, renovation, repair, maintenance, alteration 9 or waterproofing. This definition shall not include a person engaged in 10 the demolition of a structure or the cleanup of construction waste and 11 debris that contains roofing material, nor a person engaged in building 12 a new home or housing development. "Roofing contractor" shall not 13 include: 14 (a) an owner or farm property owner who physically performs, or has 15 employees who perform repairing, remodeling, altering, converting, or 16 modernizing of, or adding to, their own dwelling or another structure 17 located on the property owned by the person without the assistance of a 18 roofing contractor. 19 (b) any authorized employee or representative of the United States 20 government, the state of New York, or any political subdivision perform- 21 ing the repairing, remodeling, altering, converting, or modernizing of, 22 or adding to, government property. 23 § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 771-b 24 to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06490-01-9S. 1405 2 1 § 771-b. Responsibilities of roofing contractors. 1. Every roofing 2 contractor shall enter into a written contract with an owner pursuant to 3 all of the provisions of section seven hundred seventy-one of this arti- 4 cle before engaging in the business of roofing, gutter, downspout or 5 siding services for such owner. In addition, the contract entered into 6 under this section shall contain the name of the insurer, type of insur- 7 ance coverage as required by subdivision nine of this section, and the 8 insurance policy limits obtained by the roofing contractor. 9 2. A roofing contractor shall not advertise or promise to pay or 10 rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement 11 to the sale of goods or services. As used in this section, a promise to 12 pay or rebate includes granting any allowance or offering any discount 13 against the fees to be charged or paying the insured or any person 14 directly or indirectly associated with the property any form of compen- 15 sation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee, or other item 16 of monetary value for any reason. 17 3. An owner who has entered into a written contract with a roofing 18 contractor to provide goods or services to be paid under a property and 19 casualty insurance policy may cancel the contract prior to midnight on 20 the third business day after the insured party has received written 21 notice from the insurer that all or any part of the claim or contract is 22 not a covered loss under the insurance policy. Cancellation occurs when 23 written notice of cancellation is given to the roofing contractor. 24 Notice of cancellation, if given by registered or certified mail, shall 25 be deemed given when deposited in a mailbox properly addressed and post- 26 age prepaid. Notice of cancellation shall be sufficient if it indicates 27 the intention of the owner not to be bound. Notwithstanding the forego- 28 ing, this subdivision shall not apply to a transaction in which the 29 owner has initiated the contact and the roofing contract is needed to 30 meet a bona fide emergency of the owner, and the owner furnishes the 31 roofing contractor with a separate dated and signed personal statement 32 in the owner's handwriting describing the situation requiring immediate 33 remedy and expressly acknowledging and waiving the right to cancel the 34 roofing contract within three business days. For the purposes of this 35 subdivision the term "owner" shall mean an owner or any representative 36 of an owner. 37 4. Within ten days after a contract referred to in subdivision three 38 of this section has been cancelled, the roofing contractor shall tender 39 to the owner any payments, partial payments, or deposits made and any 40 note or other evidence of indebtedness. If, however, the roofing 41 contractor has performed any emergency services, acknowledged by the 42 owner in writing to be necessary to prevent damage to the premises, the 43 roofing contractor shall be entitled to the reasonable value of such 44 services. Any provision in a contract referred to in this subdivision 45 that requires the payment of any fee for anything except emergency 46 services shall not be enforceable against the owner who has cancelled a 47 contract pursuant to this section. 48 5. A roofing contractor shall not require an owner to provide a depos- 49 it for the work and materials. A roofing contractor shall not mandate 50 that a particular form of payment be made in order to commence perform- 51 ance of the home improvement. A roofing contractor may invoice for 52 payment of the materials portion of the project upon delivery of the 53 materials to the owner of the property. The material cost must be 54 disclosed to the property owner in writing in advance of payment. A 55 roofing contractor may invoice the remainder of the project upon 56 successful completion of all contracted work.S. 1405 3 1 6. A roofing contractor shall not abandon, or fail to perform, without 2 justification, any roofing contract, nor shall the roofing contractor 3 deviate from or disregard plans or specifications in any material 4 respect without the consent of the owner. A roofing contractor shall 5 abide by the applicable building code for the jurisdiction where the 6 residential property is located. 7 7. A roofing contractor shall not fail to pay for materials or 8 services rendered in connection with a roofing contract where the 9 contractor has received sufficient funds as payment for the particular 10 contract for which the services or material were rendered or purchased. 11 8. A roofing contractor shall not perform the reporting, adjusting, or 12 negotiating a claim on behalf of the owner and shall not receive compen- 13 sation for the referral to any entity that reports, adjusts or negoti- 14 ates a claim on behalf of an owner. Nothing herein prevents a roofing 15 contractor from communicating with an insurance company representative 16 and sharing his or her technical knowledge when the insurer initiates 17 the communication. 18 9. (a) A roofing contractor shall provide to the owner adequate proof 19 of insurance of the types and amounts set forth in this subdivision: 20 (1) A certificate of workers' compensation covering all employees of 21 the roofing contractor. If the roofing contractor does not have any 22 employees, then the contractor must provide a certificate of attestation 23 exemption (CE-200) form from the workers' compensation board; and 24 (2) Certificates of general liability and property damage insurance in 25 the amount of one hundred thousand dollars per person, three hundred 26 thousand dollars per occurrence, bodily injury; and fifty thousand 27 dollars for each occurrence and aggregate, property damage. 28 (b) The insurance requirements set forth in this subdivision shall 29 apply to roofing contracts performed in all political subdivisions that 30 do not contain any insurance requirements for such contracts. 31 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 32 it shall have become a law.