The Penalty of Acquiring Unlicensed Contractors in Los Angeles

| Thursday, January 12, 2012
By Maria Lopez


It's vital that you know that selecting an unlicensed contractor is absolutely illegal in California. Individuals contracting in California without their certificate will face a big fee of $5,000, or may end up spending six months in jail. In addition, the consumer could also fulfill time in jail for hiring an unlicensed contractor. The California state law mandates all construction jobs that cost $500 or more for work and materials should be handled by a licensed contractor. There are several reasons why it's not a great idea to hire unlicensed contractors in Los Angeles.

Reasons Why You Shouldn't Hire Unlicensed Contractors in Los Angeles

If at any time an unlicensed contractor gets injured on your premises, they have the authority to sue you. Majority of these illegal contractors have no coverage by insurance. The best thing about these contractors is that they come at a cheaper price; however there also comes a potential risk. The risk aspect is that if a worker that's employed by an unlicensed contractor gets hurt on the job; the property owner could be responsible, which will better their insurance rates.

Another reason why it's not good to hire an unlicensed contractor is because they do terrible work. There have been complaints from folks that the contractors would benefit from the property owners, but they would barely perform any work. For example, a family hired a contractor to rework their property. The task was to be accomplished within a year. However, two years had gone by and the job was certainly not finished. There were sections in the house that still had damaged walls and ceilings, along with construction gear left inside the house. The workers never came back which caused the family to employ another contractor. Sometimes ads that offer extremely inexpensive estimates can be a little sketchy. At most cases a full payment upfront might be needed when it comes to these low-cost rates. It's best advised to never go for these offers because there have been incidents where individuals have been scammed. For example, an unlicensed contractor may demand the money upfront and never show up in your doorway again. It's simple to find unlicensed contractors in Los Angeles. Their goal is to make use of the cheapest means to market themselves, which could be from a newspaper ad, as well as business cards that are left inside shops. It's also important that a licensed contractor should have their license from the same state of where the work is to be done.

How to Get a Licensed Contractor in Los Angeles

You should ensure that you do your research when hiring a licensed contractor. It's better to be secure than sorry as the charges can be severe in the end. A great way of employing a licensed contractor is by getting in touch with previous customers that can edify you to them. It's also encouraged to have an legal professional evaluate the documents before signing the agreements. It's also recommended to have an attorney review the documents before signing the agreements.




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