Trenton – In an effort to crack down on bad actors, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee advanced legislation sponsored by Senator Gordon Johnson which would regulate home improvement and home elevation contractors.
“Current laws are failing to protect homeowners from the growing number of incompetent and fraudulent home improvement contractors. Unfortunately, when businesses fail to complete work, or do a poor job, residents have little to no recourse to get their money back or prevent it from happening again,” said Senator Johnson (D-Bergen). “This legislation will hold contractors accountable, allowing people to feel more confident in who they are hiring, and giving greater credibility to the honest contractors we have here in New Jersey.”
The bill, S-1890, would create a professional board to regulate home improvement and home elevation contractors and establish a licensure process to allow for greater state oversight of this largely unregulated industry.
Under the bill, contractors who complete jobs that are less than $1,500 each with less than $25,000 annual aggregate total would not have to be licensed. However, they would still be required to abide by the other provisions of the bill pertaining to insurance requirements and liability protections.
The bill was released from committee by a vote of 7-0.