§ 771-B — Responsibilities of roofing contractors

§ 771-b. Responsibilities of roofing contractors. 1. Every roofing\ncontractor shall enter into a written contract with an owner pursuant to\nall of the provisions of section seven hundred seventy-one of this\narticle before engaging in the business of roofing, gutter, downspout or\nsiding services for such owner. In addition, the contract entered into\nunder this section shall contain the name of the insurer, type of\ninsurance coverage as required by subdivision nine of this section, and\nthe insurance policy limits obtained by the roofing contractor.\n 2. A roofing contractor shall not advertise or promise to pay or\nrebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement\nto the sale of goods or services. As used in this section, a promise to\npay or rebate includes granting any allowance or offering any discount\nagainst the fees to be charged or paying the insured or any person\ndirectly or indirectly associated with the property any form of\ncompensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee, or other\nitem of monetary value for any reason.\n 3. An owner who has entered into a written contract with a roofing\ncontractor to provide goods or services to be paid under a property and\ncasualty insurance policy may cancel the contract prior to midnight on\nthe third business day after the insured party has received written\nnotice from the insurer that all or any part of the claim or contract is\nnot a covered loss under the insurance policy. Cancellation occurs when\nwritten notice of cancellation is given to the roofing contractor.\nNotice of cancellation, if given by registered or certified mail, shall\nbe deemed given when deposited in a mailbox properly addressed and\npostage prepaid. Notice of cancellation shall be sufficient if it\nindicates the intention of the owner not to be bound. Notwithstanding\nthe foregoing, this subdivision shall not apply to a transaction in\nwhich the owner has initiated the contact and the roofing contract is\nneeded to meet a bona fide emergency of the owner, and the owner\nfurnishes the roofing contractor with a separate dated and signed\npersonal statement in the owner's handwriting describing the situation\nrequiring immediate remedy and expressly acknowledging and waiving the\nright to cancel the roofing contract within three business days. For the\npurposes of this subdivision the term "owner" shall mean an owner or any\nrepresentative of an owner.\n 4. Within ten days after a contract referred to in subdivision three\nof this section has been cancelled, the roofing contractor shall tender\nto the owner any payments, partial payments, or deposits made and any\nnote or other evidence of indebtedness. If, however, the roofing\ncontractor has performed any emergency services, acknowledged by the\nowner in writing to be necessary to prevent damage to the premises, the\nroofing contractor shall be entitled to the reasonable value of such\nservices. Any provision in a contract referred to in this subdivision\nthat requires the payment of any fee for anything except emergency\nservices shall not be enforceable against the owner who has cancelled a\ncontract pursuant to this section.\n 5. A roofing contractor shall not require an owner to provide a\ndeposit for the work and materials. A roofing contractor shall not\nmandate that a particular form of payment be made in order to commence\nperformance of the home improvement. A roofing contractor may invoice\nfor payment of the materials portion of the project upon delivery of the\nmaterials to the owner of the property. The material cost must be\ndisclosed to the property owner in writing in advance of payment. A\nroofing contractor may invoice the remainder of the project upon\nsuccessful completion of all contracted work.\n 6. A roofing contractor shall not abandon, or fail to perform, without\njustification, any roofing contract, nor shall the roofing contractor\ndeviate from or disregard plans or specifications in any material\nrespect without the consent of the owner. A roofing contractor shall\nabide by the applicable building code for the jurisdiction where the\nresidential property is located.\n 7. A roofing contractor shall not fail to pay for materials or\nservices rendered in connection with a roofing contract where the\ncontractor has received sufficient funds as payment for the particular\ncontract for which the services or material were rendered or purchased.\n 8. A roofing contractor shall not perform the reporting, adjusting, or\nnegotiating a claim on behalf of the owner and shall not receive\ncompensation for the referral to any entity that reports, adjusts or\nnegotiates a claim on behalf of an owner. Nothing herein prevents a\nroofing contractor from communicating with an insurance company\nrepresentative and sharing his or her technical knowledge when the\ninsurer initiates the communication.\n 9. (a) A roofing contractor shall provide to the owner adequate proof\nof insurance of the types and amounts set forth in this subdivision:\n (1) A certificate of workers' compensation covering all employees of\nthe roofing contractor. If the roofing contractor does not have any\nemployees, then the contractor must provide a certificate of attestation\nexemption (CE-200) form from the workers' compensation board; and\n (2) Certificates of general liability and property damage insurance in\nthe amount of one hundred thousand dollars per person, three hundred\nthousand dollars per occurrence, bodily injury; and fifty thousand\ndollars for each occurrence and aggregate, property damage.\n (b) The insurance requirements set forth in this subdivision shall\napply to roofing contracts performed in all political subdivisions that\ndo not contain any insurance requirements for such contracts.\n