Consumers -- About New Home Construction Contracts
About New Home Construction
Under the New Home Construction Act, anyone engaged in new home building or offering new home construction services must have a valid certificate of registration from the Department of Consumer Protection. The registration certificate is needed before a building permit may be issued.
A new home is defined as a new, single family dwelling, a new two-family unit, or a new condominium unit. Some exceptions are:
- Homeowners applying for their own home construction
- Real estate agents engaging in work under Chapter 392 of the Connecticut General Statutes
- Mobile home dealers and/or licenses covered under Chapter 412 of the Connecticut General Statutes
- Persons holding a professional or occupational license, registration or certificate, provided said person engages in said work for which said person is licensed, registered and certified
- New home construction contractors who engage in one or more contracts related to the same new home with an aggregate value of less than $3,500
- New home construction salespeople need not be registered
A registered home improvement contractor who also builds new homes needs both registrations.
If a consumer is acting as his or her own general contractor for the purpose of building their own home, each contractor not holding a specific trade license for the work they perform must be registered as a new home contractor, when they enter into a contract with the consumer. This means that all framers, foundation workers, sheetrockers, carpet installers, etc. must be registered new home contractors.
About New Home Construction Contracts
In every contract with a consumer, a new home construction contractor must include a provision advising the consumer that he or she may be contacted by the contractor’s prospective customers about the quality and timeliness of the contractor’s new home construction work. The consumer may advise the contractor in writing upon execution of the contract that he or she does not wish to be contacted.
The written notice shall be in capital letters, no less than ten-point boldface type, and may include a statement in substantially the form below.
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NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION NOTICE
A CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION AS A NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR DOES NOT REPRESENT IN ANY MANNER THAT THE CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION ENDORSES THE QUALITY OF THE CONTRACTOR’S NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION WORK OR THE CONTRACTOR’S COMPETENCY TO ENGAGE IN NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION.
ACCORDINGLY, YOU ARE ADVISED TO:
1) REQUEST FROM THE CONTRACTOR A LIST OF CONSUMERS OF THE LAST 12 NEW HOMES BUILT TO COMPLETION BY THE CONTRACTOR DURING THE PREVIOUS 24 MONTHS, OR IF THE CONTRACTOR HAS NOT CONSTRUCTED AT LEAST 12 NEW HOMES TO COMPLETION DURING THE PRIOR 24 MONTHS, THEN A LIST OF ALL CONSUMERS FOR WHOM THE CONTRACTOR HAS CONSTRUCTED A NEW HOME TO COMPLETION DURING THE PREVIOUS 24 MONTHS.
2) CONTACT SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS ON THE LIST TO DISCUSS THE QUALITY AND TIMELINESS OF THE CONTRACTOR’S NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION WORK, AND
3) CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION TO VERIFY THE REGISTRATION INFORMATION PRESENTED BY THE CONTRACTOR AND TO ASCERTAIN THE CONTRACTOR’S COMPLAINT HISTORY WITH THE DEPARTMENT.
1) REQUEST FROM THE CONTRACTOR A LIST OF CONSUMERS OF THE LAST 12 NEW HOMES BUILT TO COMPLETION BY THE CONTRACTOR DURING THE PREVIOUS 24 MONTHS, OR IF THE CONTRACTOR HAS NOT CONSTRUCTED AT LEAST 12 NEW HOMES TO COMPLETION DURING THE PRIOR 24 MONTHS, THEN A LIST OF ALL CONSUMERS FOR WHOM THE CONTRACTOR HAS CONSTRUCTED A NEW HOME TO COMPLETION DURING THE PREVIOUS 24 MONTHS.
2) CONTACT SEVERAL INDIVIDUALS ON THE LIST TO DISCUSS THE QUALITY AND TIMELINESS OF THE CONTRACTOR’S NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION WORK, AND
3) CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION TO VERIFY THE REGISTRATION INFORMATION PRESENTED BY THE CONTRACTOR AND TO ASCERTAIN THE CONTRACTOR’S COMPLAINT HISTORY WITH THE DEPARTMENT.
IN ADDITION, YOU ARE ADVISED TO DISCUSS WITH THE NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR:
1) WHETHER THE CONTRACTOR HAS A CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICY AND IF SO, THE IDENTITY OF THE PERSON DESIGNATED TO ASSIST YOU IN RESOLVING ANY COMPLAINT ABOUT THE CONTRACTOR’S WORK;
2) WHETHER THE CONTRACTOR WILL HOLD YOU HARMLESS FOR WORK PERFORMED BY ANY CONTRACTOR HIRED BY THE CONTRACTOR; AND
3) THE INSTALLATION OF AN AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEM.
1) WHETHER THE CONTRACTOR HAS A CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICY AND IF SO, THE IDENTITY OF THE PERSON DESIGNATED TO ASSIST YOU IN RESOLVING ANY COMPLAINT ABOUT THE CONTRACTOR’S WORK;
2) WHETHER THE CONTRACTOR WILL HOLD YOU HARMLESS FOR WORK PERFORMED BY ANY CONTRACTOR HIRED BY THE CONTRACTOR; AND
3) THE INSTALLATION OF AN AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEM.
THIS NOTICE DOES NOT CONTAIN AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF THE INQUIRIES YOU SHOULD MAKE BEFORE CONTRACTING WITH A NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO ASSIST YOU IN YOUR SELECTION OF A NEW HOME CONTRACTOR MAY BE OBTAINED BY CONTACTING THE CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION.