Pennsylvania lets you give up the three-day right to cancel emergency repairs only by signing a 4-by-6-inch card after a written estimate

A homeowner in Pennsylvania who signs a home improvement contract normally has three business days to cancel it. Section 7 of the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law allows one way to give that right up: an emergency work authorization, signed when the homeowner has called the contractor about a bona fide emergency at the house. The law, as amended in 2004, requires a written estimate of the total cost first, and the authorization has to be a preprinted card at least 4 by 6 inches with its wording in 10-point boldface type.

7(j.1)The card applies only when all three conditions hold, starting at $25

Section 7(j.1) sets three conditions, and all three must hold. The price of the goods or services is $25 or more. The homeowner contacted the contractor, so a contractor who knocks on the door after a storm cannot use the card. The work is needed to remedy a bona fide emergency on the homeowner's residential property.

Section 7(n) defines a bona fide emergency as a condition that makes the house uninhabitable or could make it so. The law names conditions that significantly affect the heating, electrical, plumbing or ventilation system, the roof or the outer walls, and says the list is not complete.

The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, the 2008 law that governs most remodeling contracts, leaves emergency work under section 7 out of its definition of a home improvement, and its section 7(b) excepts the same work from the three-day right. The Attorney General's office says in its answers on the act that this exception covers only emergencies that meet the section 7 criteria, and that the contractor has to get the emergency waiver in each case.

7(j.1)(3)One printed line on the card gives up the three-day right

The statute prints the card's wording. It names the date of the transaction and the seller, and it authorizes the seller to start the goods or services needed to remedy the emergency. The homeowner agrees to pay in full for the work provided. The line that gives up the right reads:

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"You agree not to exercise the rights afforded you by the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law to cancel the contract within three business days from the above date."

Card wording, section 7(j.1)(3)(ii)

The homeowner then confirms that the attached estimate accurately describes the work, and dates and signs the card.

Section 7(j.2) adds three rules about money. The written estimate has to state the total cost, including any service call fee, and has to come before the work. If the work done costs more than the estimate, the contractor needs a further written authorization from the homeowner for the added work. A contractor may charge a service call fee for diagnosing the problem even if no repair follows, but has to tell the homeowner right away whether a fee applies.

7(o)Shutting off the gas, water or power needs no card

A contractor answering an emergency call may take immediate preliminary steps without the card. Section 7(o) limits those to steps needed to remove a clear and immediate danger of death or serious bodily injury, such as shutting off gas, oil, sewage, water or electric service. Any other repair work is outside that definition. The contractor may charge for those first steps without a written authorization.

ExampleThe $800 found behind the wall needs its own signature

This example uses round numbers and is not drawn from any real job. On a January night a pipe bursts in the basement of a Conshohocken twin and water is running across the floor. The homeowner calls a plumber, who says on the phone that the service call fee is $200.

The plumber arrives and shuts off the water main. That is an immediate preliminary step, so no card is needed yet. Before repairing anything, the plumber writes an estimate of $1,500 for the whole job, including the $200 fee. The homeowner signs the card with the estimate attached, and the work starts at once.

Behind the wall the plumber finds a second split section that adds $800. Under section 7(j.2) the plumber has to stop and get the homeowner's written authorization for the added work before doing it. The final bill of $2,300 should match the estimate plus the signed addition.

The repair may also need a permit. Under 34 Pa. Code § 403.62(b), part of the Uniform Construction Code, an emergency repair or replacement of equipment can go ahead without a permit if the application reaches the building code official within 3 business days. Our guide to permits and inspections in Conshohocken lists the local offices.

16 CFR 429The federal rule asks for a handwritten statement in place of a printed card

The Federal Trade Commission's cooling-off rule, 16 CFR Part 429, also gives a three-day right to cancel many sales made at the buyer's home, and it has its own emergency exception. It too requires that the buyer started the contact. In place of a printed card, the buyer gives the seller a separate statement, dated, signed and written in the buyer's own hand, that describes the emergency and waives the right to cancel. The rule's section 429.2 says the commission does not mean to preempt every state law that grants a right to cancel. How the two forms fit together on one job could not be verified from these sources.

Before you signAsk for the fee on the phone and read the total before work starts

If the job grows, sign for the added amount only after you see it in writing. A card signed for a burst pipe covers the work needed to fix that emergency. For a larger remodel that follows, such as new drywall and flooring in the basement, expect a regular contract with the three-day notice, the deposit cap and the other terms in our guide to what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor. The three-day right to cancel explains the notice. Roof leaks have their own article on Conshy Roofers.

Section 7What the law requires, from the $25 threshold to the service call fee

Caveats