2022 New York Laws
GBS - General Business
Article 36-A - Home Improvement Contracts
771-B - Responsibilities of Roofing Contractors.

§  771-b.  Responsibilities  of  roofing contractors. 1. Every roofing
contractor shall enter into a written contract with an owner pursuant to
all of the provisions of  section  seven  hundred  seventy-one  of  this
article before engaging in the business of roofing, gutter, downspout or
siding  services  for such owner. In addition, the contract entered into
under this section shall contain  the  name  of  the  insurer,  type  of
insurance  coverage as required by subdivision nine of this section, and
the insurance policy limits obtained by the roofing contractor.
  2. A roofing contractor shall not  advertise  or  promise  to  pay  or
rebate  all  or any portion of any insurance deductible as an inducement
to the sale of goods or services. As used in this section, a promise  to
pay  or  rebate includes granting any allowance or offering any discount
against the fees to be charged or  paying  the  insured  or  any  person
directly  or  indirectly  associated  with  the  property  any  form  of
compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee, or other
item of monetary value for any reason.
  3. An owner who has entered into a written  contract  with  a  roofing
contractor  to provide goods or services to be paid under a property and
casualty insurance policy may cancel the contract prior to  midnight  on
the  third  business  day  after  the insured party has received written
notice from the insurer that all or any part of the claim or contract is
not a covered loss under the insurance policy. Cancellation occurs  when
written  notice  of  cancellation  is  given  to the roofing contractor.
Notice of cancellation, if given by registered or certified mail,  shall
be  deemed  given  when  deposited  in  a mailbox properly addressed and
postage prepaid. Notice  of  cancellation  shall  be  sufficient  if  it
indicates  the  intention  of the owner not to be bound. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, this subdivision shall not  apply  to  a  transaction  in
which  the  owner  has initiated the contact and the roofing contract is
needed to meet a bona  fide  emergency  of  the  owner,  and  the  owner
furnishes  the  roofing  contractor  with  a  separate  dated and signed
personal statement in the owner's handwriting describing  the  situation
requiring  immediate  remedy and expressly acknowledging and waiving the
right to cancel the roofing contract within three business days. For the
purposes of this subdivision the term "owner" shall mean an owner or any
representative of an owner.
  4. Within ten days after a contract referred to in  subdivision  three
of  this section has been cancelled, the roofing contractor shall tender
to the owner any payments, partial payments, or deposits  made  and  any
note  or  other  evidence  of  indebtedness.  If,  however,  the roofing
contractor has performed any emergency  services,  acknowledged  by  the
owner  in writing to be necessary to prevent damage to the premises, the
roofing contractor shall be entitled to the  reasonable  value  of  such
services.    Any provision in a contract referred to in this subdivision
that requires the payment of  any  fee  for  anything  except  emergency
services  shall not be enforceable against the owner who has cancelled a
contract pursuant to this section.
  5. A roofing contractor shall  not  require  an  owner  to  provide  a
deposit  for  the  work  and  materials.  A roofing contractor shall not
mandate that a particular form of payment be made in order  to  commence
performance  of  the  home improvement. A roofing contractor may invoice
for payment of the materials portion of the project upon delivery of the
materials to the owner of  the  property.  The  material  cost  must  be
disclosed  to  the  property  owner  in writing in advance of payment. A
roofing contractor  may  invoice  the  remainder  of  the  project  upon
successful completion of all contracted work.
  6. A roofing contractor shall not abandon, or fail to perform, without
justification,  any  roofing  contract, nor shall the roofing contractor

deviate from or  disregard  plans  or  specifications  in  any  material
respect  without  the  consent  of the owner. A roofing contractor shall
abide by the applicable building code for  the  jurisdiction  where  the
residential property is located.
  7.  A  roofing  contractor  shall  not  fail  to  pay for materials or
services rendered in  connection  with  a  roofing  contract  where  the
contractor  has  received sufficient funds as payment for the particular
contract for which the services or material were rendered or purchased.
  8. A roofing contractor shall not perform the reporting, adjusting, or
negotiating a claim on  behalf  of  the  owner  and  shall  not  receive
compensation  for  the  referral  to any entity that reports, adjusts or
negotiates a claim on behalf of an  owner.  Nothing  herein  prevents  a
roofing   contractor   from  communicating  with  an  insurance  company
representative and sharing his  or  her  technical  knowledge  when  the
insurer initiates the communication.
  9.  (a) A roofing contractor shall provide to the owner adequate proof
of insurance of the types and amounts set forth in this subdivision:
  (1) A certificate of workers' compensation covering all  employees  of
the  roofing  contractor.  If  the  roofing contractor does not have any
employees, then the contractor must provide a certificate of attestation
exemption (CE-200) form from the workers' compensation board; and
  (2) Certificates of general liability and property damage insurance in
the amount of one hundred thousand dollars  per  person,  three  hundred
thousand  dollars  per  occurrence,  bodily  injury;  and fifty thousand
dollars for each occurrence and aggregate, property damage.
  (b) The insurance requirements set forth  in  this  subdivision  shall
apply  to roofing contracts performed in all political subdivisions that
do not contain any insurance requirements for such contracts.