Full Text of HB2643 101st General Assembly
HB2643eng 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning business.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Home Repair and Remodeling Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Section 20 and adding Section 22 as follows:
| 6 | | (815 ILCS 513/20)
| 7 | | Sec. 20. Consumer rights brochure.
| 8 | | (a) For any contract over $1,000, any
person engaging in | 9 | | the business
of home repair and remodeling shall provide to its | 10 | | customers a copy of the
"Home Repair: Know Your Consumer | 11 | | Rights" pamphlet prior to the execution of any
home repair and | 12 | | remodeling contract. The consumer shall sign and date an
| 13 | | acknowledgment form entitled "Consumer Rights Acknowledgment | 14 | | Form" that states:
"I, the homeowner, have received from the | 15 | | contractor a copy of the pamphlet
entitled 'Home Repair: Know | 16 | | Your Consumer Rights.'" The contractor or his or
her | 17 | | representative shall also sign and date the acknowledgment | 18 | | form, which
includes the name and address of the home repair | 19 | | and remodeling business. The
acknowledgment form shall be in | 20 | | duplicate and incorporated into the pamphlet.
The original | 21 | | acknowledgment form shall be retained by the contractor and the
| 22 | | duplicate copy shall be retained within the pamphlet by the | 23 | | consumer.
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| 1 | | (b) For any contract for $1,000 or under, any person | 2 | | engaging in the
business
of home repair and remodeling shall | 3 | | provide to its customers a copy of the
"Home Repair: Know Your | 4 | | Consumer Rights" pamphlet. No written acknowledgment
of | 5 | | receipt of the pamphlet is required for a contract of $1,000 or | 6 | | under.
| 7 | | (c) The
pamphlet must be a separate
document, in at least | 8 | | 12 point type, and in legible ink. The pamphlet shall
read as | 9 | | follows:
| 10 | | "HOME REPAIR: KNOW YOUR CONSUMER RIGHTS
| 11 | | As you plan for your home repair/improvement project, it is | 12 | | important to
ask the right questions in order to protect your | 13 | | investment. The tips in this
fact sheet should allow you to | 14 | | protect yourself and minimize the possibility
that a | 15 | | misunderstanding may occur.
| 16 | | AVOIDING HOME REPAIR FRAUD
| 17 | | Please use extreme caution when confronted with the following | 18 | | warning signs of
a potential scam:
| 19 | | (1) Door-to-door salespersons with no local connections | 20 | | who offer to do
home repair work for substantially less than | 21 | | the market price.
| 22 | | (2) Solicitations for repair work from a company that lists |
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| 1 | | only a
telephone number or a post-office box number to contact, | 2 | | particularly if it is
an
out-of-state company.
| 3 | | (3) Contractors who fail to provide customers references | 4 | | when requested.
| 5 | | (4) Persons offering to inspect your home for free. Do not | 6 | | admit anyone
into your home unless he or she can present | 7 | | authentic identification
establishing his or her business | 8 | | status. When in doubt, do not hesitate to
call the
worker's | 9 | | employer to verify his or her identity.
| 10 | | (5) Contractors demanding cash payment for a job or who ask | 11 | | you to make a
check payable to a person other than the owner or | 12 | | company name.
| 13 | | (6) Offers from a contractor to drive you to the bank to | 14 | | withdraw funds to
pay for the work.
| 15 | | CONTRACTS
| 16 | | (1) Get all estimates in writing.
| 17 | | (2) Do not be induced into signing a contract by | 18 | | high-pressure sales
tactics.
| 19 | | (3) Never sign a contract with blank spaces or one you do | 20 | | not fully
understand. If you are taking out a loan to finance | 21 | | the work, do not sign the
contract before your lender approves | 22 | | the loan.
| 23 | | (4) Remember, you have 3 business days (or 15 full business | 24 | | days if you are age 65 or older) from the time you sign your
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| 1 | | contract
to cancel any contract if the sale is made at your | 2 | | home. The contractor cannot
deprive you of this right by | 3 | | initiating work, selling your contract to a
lender, or any | 4 | | other tactic.
| 5 | | (5) If the contractor does business under a name other than | 6 | | the
contractor's
real name, the business must either be | 7 | | incorporated or registered under the
Assumed Business Name Act. | 8 | | Check with the Secretary of State to see if the
business is
| 9 | | incorporated or with the county clerk to see if the business | 10 | | has registered
under the Assumed Business Name Act.
| 11 | | (6) Homeowners should check with local and county units of | 12 | | government to
determine if permits or inspections are required.
| 13 | | (7) Determine whether the contractor will guarantee his or | 14 | | her work and
products.
| 15 | | (8) Determine whether the contractor has the proper | 16 | | insurance.
| 17 | | (9) Do not sign a certificate of completion or make final | 18 | | payment until
the
work is done to your satisfaction.
| 19 | | (10) Before you pay your contractor, understand that the | 20 | | Mechanics Lien Act requires that you shall request and the | 21 | | contractor shall give you a signed and notarized written | 22 | | statement (known as a "Sworn Statement") that lists all the | 23 | | persons or companies your contractor hired to work on your | 24 | | home, their addresses along with the amounts about to be paid, | 25 | | and the total amount owed after the payment to those persons or | 26 | | companies. |
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| 1 | | Suppliers and subcontractors have a right to file a lien | 2 | | against your home if they do not get paid for their labor or | 3 | | materials. To protect yourself against liens, you should demand | 4 | | that your contractor provide you with a Sworn Statement before | 5 | | you pay the contractor. You should also obtain lien waivers | 6 | | from all contractors and subcontractors if appropriate. You | 7 | | should consult with an attorney to learn more about your rights | 8 | | and obligations under the Mechanics Lien Act. | 9 | | Disclaimer: The contents of this paragraph are required to | 10 | | be placed in the pamphlet for consumer guidance and information | 11 | | only. The contents of this paragraph are not substantive | 12 | | enforceable provisions of the Home Repair and Remodeling Act | 13 | | and are not intended to affect the substantive law of the | 14 | | Mechanics Lien Act.
| 15 | | BASIC TERMS TO BE INCLUDED IN A CONTRACT
| 16 | | (1) Contractor's full name, address, and telephone number. | 17 | | Illinois law
requires that
persons selling home repair and | 18 | | improvement services provide their customers
with notice of any | 19 | | change to their business name or address that comes about
prior | 20 | | to the agreed dates for beginning or completing the work.
| 21 | | (2) A description of the work to be performed.
| 22 | | (3) Starting and estimated completion dates.
| 23 | | (4) Total cost of work to be performed.
| 24 | | (5) Schedule and method of payment, including down payment, |
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| 1 | | subsequent
payments, and final payment.
| 2 | | (6) A provision stating the grounds for termination of the | 3 | | contract by
either party. However, the homeowner must pay the | 4 | | contractor for work
completed. If the contractor fails to | 5 | | commence or complete work within the
contracted time period, | 6 | | the homeowner may cancel and may be entitled to a
refund of any | 7 | | down payment
or other payments made towards the work, upon | 8 | | written demand by certified mail.
| 9 | | (7) A provision stating the grounds for termination of the | 10 | | contract if you are notified by your insurer that all or any | 11 | | part of the claim or contract is not a covered loss under the | 12 | | insurance policy, you may cancel the contract by mailing or | 13 | | delivering written notice to (name of contractor) at (address | 14 | | of contractor's place of business) at any time prior to the | 15 | | earlier of midnight on the fifth business day after you have | 16 | | received such notice from your insurer or the thirtieth | 17 | | business day after receipt of a properly executed proof of loss | 18 | | by the insurer from the insured. If you cancel, any payments | 19 | | made by you under the contract will be returned to you within | 20 | | 10 business days following receipt by the contractor of your | 21 | | cancellation notice. If, however, the contractor has provided | 22 | | any goods or services related to a catastrophe, acknowledged | 23 | | and agreed to by the insured homeowner in writing to be | 24 | | necessary to prevent damage to the premises, the contractor is | 25 | | entitled to the reasonable value of such goods and services. | 26 | | Homeowners should obtain a copy of the signed contract and |
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| 1 | | keep it in a safe
place for reference as needed.
| 2 | | To file a complaint against a roofing contractor, contact | 3 | | the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional | 4 | | Regulation at 312-814-6910 or file a complaint directly on its | 5 | | website.
| 6 | | IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE BEEN DEFRAUDED OR YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
| 7 | | If you think you have been defrauded by a contractor or | 8 | | have any questions,
please bring
it to the attention of your | 9 | | State's Attorney or the Illinois Attorney General's
Office.
| 10 | | Attorney General Toll-Free Numbers
| 11 | | Carbondale (800) 243-0607
| 12 | | Springfield (800) 243-0618
| 13 | | Chicago (800) 386-5438".
| 14 | | (Source: P.A. 100-670, eff. 1-1-19 .)
| 15 | | (815 ILCS 513/22 new) | 16 | | Sec. 22. Senior citizen; right of cancellation. A person | 17 | | age 65 or older who purchases home repair or remodeling | 18 | | services may cancel any contract with a person engaged in home | 19 | | repair or remodeling by notifying that person within 15 full | 20 | | business days following the day on which the contract was | 21 | | signed if the agreement for the home repair or remodeling was | 22 | | made at the home of the purchaser.
| 23 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 24 | | becoming law.
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