2009 Connecticut Code
Title 20 Professional and Occupational Licensing, Certification, Title Protection and Registration. Examining Boards
Chapter 400 Home Improvement Contractors
Sec. 20-429. Required contract provisions. Negative option provisions prohibited. Contract considered home solicitation sale. Contractor-financed contract. Recovery of payment for work performed.

      Sec. 20-429. Required contract provisions. Negative option provisions prohibited. Contract considered home solicitation sale. Contractor-financed contract. Recovery of payment for work performed. (a) No home improvement contract shall be valid or enforceable against an owner unless it: (1) Is in writing, (2) is signed by the owner and the contractor, (3) contains the entire agreement between the owner and the contractor, (4) contains the date of the transaction, (5) contains the name and address of the contractor and the contractor's registration number, (6) contains a notice of the owner's cancellation rights in accordance with the provisions of chapter 740, (7) contains a starting date and completion date, and (8) is entered into by a registered salesman or registered contractor. Each change in the terms and conditions of a contract shall be in writing and shall be signed by the owner and contractor, except that the commissioner may, by regulation, dispense with the necessity for complying with the requirement that each change in a home improvement contract shall be in writing and signed by the owner and contractor.

      (b) No home improvement contract shall be valid if it includes any provision obligating the owner to instruct the home improvement contractor, by a date determined by such contractor, that periodic home improvements are not to be performed unless it also includes a provision requiring the contractor to remind the owner of that obligation by means of a card or letter mailed to the owner and postmarked not earlier than twenty days, and not later than ten days, prior to such date.

      (c) The contractor shall provide and deliver to the owner, without charge, a completed copy of the home improvement contract at the time such contract is executed.

      (d) The commissioner may, by regulation, require the inclusion of additional contractual provisions.

      (e) Each home improvement contract entered into shall be considered a home solicitation sale pursuant to chapter 740 and shall be subject to the requirements of said chapter regardless of the location of the transaction or of the signing of the contract. Each home improvement contract in which the owner agrees to repay the contractor an amount loaned or advanced to the owner by the contractor for the purposes of paying for the goods and services provided in such contract, or which contains a finance charge, (1) shall set forth the information required to be disclosed pursuant to the Truth-in-Lending Act, sections 36a-675 to 36a-685, inclusive, (2) shall allow the owner to pay off in advance the full amount due and obtain a partial refund of any unearned finance charge, and (3) may contain a finance charge set at a rate of not more than the rate allowed for loans pursuant to section 37-4. As used in this subsection, "finance charge" means the amount in excess of the cash price for goods and services under the home improvement contract to be paid by the owner for the privilege of paying the contract price in installments over a period of time.

      (f) Nothing in this section shall preclude a contractor who has complied with subdivisions (1), (2), (6), (7) and (8) of subsection (a) of this section from the recovery of payment for work performed based on the reasonable value of services which were requested by the owner, provided the court determines that it would be inequitable to deny such recovery.

      (P.A. 79-606, S. 12, 14; P.A. 86-94, S. 1; P.A. 88-269, S. 9; 88-364, S. 108, 123; P.A. 91-325, S. 3; P.A. 93-215, S. 1; P.A. 01-155, S. 1; P.A. 06-73, S. 14.)

      History: P.A. 86-94 inserted new Subsec. (b) providing that no home improvement contract shall be valid if it includes a provision obligating the owner to instruct the contractor by a certain date that work is not to be performed, relettering former Subsecs. as necessary; P.A. 88-269 expanded Subsec. (a) to include eight required provisions and added Subsec. (e) providing that the contracts are to be considered home solicitation sales; P.A. 88-364 corrected an incorrect reference to the statutory location of the cancellation rights in P.A. 88-269; P.A. 91-325 amended Subsec. (a) by authorizing commissioner to dispense with the necessity for complying with the requirement that each change in a home improvement contract be in writing and signed by the owner and contractor; P.A. 93-215 added Subsec. (f) re contractor's right to recover payment for work performed; P.A. 01-155 amended Subsec. (e) by adding provisions re contracts financed by loan or advance from the contractor; P.A. 06-73 amended Subsec. (a)(5) to require contract to contain the contractor's registration number, effective May 30, 2006.

      See Sec. 1-2a re construing of references to "United States mail" or "postmark" to include references to any delivery service designated by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to Section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor to the code, as amended, and to any date recorded or marked as described in said Section 7502 by a designated delivery service and construing of "registered or certified mail" to include any equivalent designated by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to said Section 7502.

      Is not construed to apply doctrine of full performance. 200 C. 713. Cited. 209 C. 185. Cited. 215 C. 316; Id., 336; Id., 345. Absent proof of bad faith on part of homeowner, statute does not permit recovery in quasi-contract by contractor who fails to comply with requirement for written contract. Id., 350. Cited. 224 C. 231. Sec. 20-427 et seq. cited. Id. Cited. Id., 240. Cited. 237 C. 123.

      Cited. 18 CA 581. Cited. 20 CA 625. Cited. 24 CA 223. Cited. 27 CA 162. Cited. 33 CA 294. Cited. 35 CA 253. Cited. 38 CA 420. Cited. 40 CA 351. Cited. 43 CA 184. Requirement that a consumer is fully notified and understands his or her right to cancel a contract is central to Home Improvement Act. Home improvement contract violated requirements of the act because contract and cancellation form did not have a transaction date. 72 CA 53.

      Subsec. (a):

      Bad faith exception to enforcement of provisions discussed. 224 C. 231. Cited. 232 C. 666. Provisions of statute mandatory but strict compliance not required and contract valid even though two copies of cancellation notice not attached to contract and cancellation date not noted. 247 C. 218. Court rejected plaintiffs' argument that, because language of subsec. mandates that all changes to a home improvement contract must be signed by both owner and contractor in order to be valid and enforceable, arbitration award based on five change orders that were not signed by owner were a manifest disregard of the law. 279 C. 300.

      Cited. 18 CA 463. Cited. 31 CA 682. Subdiv. (6) cited. Id., 294. Subdiv. (7) cited. Id. Subdiv. (1) cited. 45 CA 586. Because the contract in this case consists of two separate documents, the documents read together constitute a contract that satisfies section's requirements. 69 CA 136.

      Complete absence of a written contract that complies with Home Improvement Act, or at the very least a written and signed memorialization of changes in the terms and conditions of the original contract, as required by this subsec. cannot be deemed "minor and highly technical" deviation from the act. 48 CS 248.

      Subsec. (e):

      Cited. 232 C. 666, 680.

      Subsec. (f):

      If court determines that requirements of Subsec. are met, it may award damages under a theory of unjust enrichment even if all requirements of the Home Improvement Act are not met. 103 CA 566.