NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7531
SPONSOR: Buttenschon TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the general business law, in relation
to roofing contract provisions
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill is intended to curtail the practice of unscrupulous persons
posing as legitimate roofing contractors offering repair or remodeling
services but either perform substandard work that must be done again or
never even perform the services. These persons frequently referred to as
"storm chasers", often descend on an area after a catastrophic wind/hail
storm or any natural disaster.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Amend General Business Law section 770 by adding a new subdi-
vision 8 to define a "roofing contractor" and ,1.-iclude as exemptions
from the law's provisions residential owners and farmers who perform
their own roofing rovement work and any federal, state or municipal
employees performing roofing work.
Section 2. Amend the General Business Law by adding a new section 771-b
to outline the requirements and responsibilities of roofing contractors.
More specifically, this new section would contain the following
provisions:
*Require a roofing contractor to enter into a written contract with a
property owner before engaging in roof repair services, this contract
must follow all of the requirements set forth in the law for a home
improvement contractor.
*A new subdivision 2 shall prohibit roofing contractors from advertising
or promising to pay or rebate any or all of an insurance deductible as
an inducement to the sale of any goods or services.
*Subdivision 3 provides a homeowner the right to cancel a roofing
improvement contract within three business days after notice from their
insurer that the claim for repairs has been denied in whole or part.
*Subdivision 4 stipulates that an owner shall not be responsible for any
payments after the contract has been cancelled except for work done
before cancellation. This right would not apply to emergency repairs
where the work was initiated by the owner to meet a bona Me emergency of
the owner and the roofing contractor is entitled to the reasonable value
of such repairs.
*Subdivision 5 prohibits a roofing contractor from requiring a deposit
and allows a roofing contractor to invoice for materials upon delivery
to the property owner.
*Subdivision 6 prohibits a roofing contractor from abandoning or failing
to perform, without justification, a roofing improvement contract it has
entered into, nor can the contractor materially deviate from or disre-
gard the plans or specifications for the work.
*Subdivision 7 stipulates that a roofing contractor shall not fail to
pay for materials or services rendered when the contractor has received
sufficient funds as payment for the contract applicable to those materi-
als and services.
*Subdivision 8 bars a roofing contractor from performing any reporting,
adjusting or negotiating of a claim for the owner, nor can the contrac-
tor receive compensation for a referral to an entity that performs such
claim services.
*Subdivision 9 implements minimum insurance requirements for roofing
contractors. These requirements would only apply to roofing improvement
contracts performed in political subdivisions that do not contain any
insurance requirements for roofing contracts. The roofing contractor
would have to provide a valid certificate of workers' compensation
insurance coverage (or if a sole proprietor a certificate of exemption),
a certificate of general liability and property damage insurance with
limits of at least $100,000 per person/$300,000 per occurrence for bodi-
ly injury and at least $50,000 each occurrence and aggregate for proper-
ty damage.
Section 3. Effective date is 180 days after enactment.
JUSTIFICATION:
While the vast majority of roofing contractors are honest and scrupulous
business persons, there is a very small group of people who purport to
be legitimate contractors but are actually con artists. These illegit-
imate groups of people are commonly known as "storm chasers" who often
come into an area right after a natural disaster promising to quickly
and efficiently restore the roofs of people who have suffered damage and
loss from the disaster. Storm chasers end up either performing extremely
substandard work or do not even perform the work. These con artists will
often walk door to door in a neighborhood and use high-pressure sales
tactics to compel consumers into signing roof repair contracts. A
particular target for storm chasers is the elderly, especially those who
have paid off their mortgage because if the mortgage is not paid off
then the insurer must include the mortgage holder (usually a bank) on
the check.
In sum, this proposed legislation would establish a prohibition on roof-
ing contractors advertising or promising to pay or rebate all or any
part of an insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of any
goods or services. The measure allows a residential property owner to
cancel a roofing contract within 3 business days after receiving notice
from the owner's insurer that the claim has been denied in whole or in
part. Within 10 days after cancellation, the roofing contractor is
required to return any payments made by the insured and note or evidence
of indebtedness. The roofing contractor would be entitled to compen-
sation for their work on emergency repairs.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018: A3246-B/S3897-B
2015-2016: A7339-A/S5126-A
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 180 days after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7531
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BUTTENSCHON -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Consumer Affairs and 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.
LBD06490-01-9
A. 7531 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.
A. 7531 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.
