Deposit refundsPennsylvania rules
Certified mailReturn receipt
A Pennsylvania contractor must refund a deposit within 10 days of a certified-mail request once a job is more than 45 days past its start date
If no substantial work has been done 45 days after the starting date in your contract, you can ask for your money back by certified mail. Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act then gives the contractor ten days to refund it.
In the example, the refund falls due 60 days after the contract's start date
Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act sets a refund deadline for a job that never starts. Once more than 45 days have passed since the starting date in the written contract, and no substantial portion of the work has been done, you can ask for your money back in a letter sent by certified mail. The contractor then has ten days to refund the amount paid, counted from the day it signs the return receipt or refuses the letter.
The rule is section 9(2) of the act, 73 P.S. § 517.9, and the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection enforces it. The text described here is the act as the General Assembly posted it on October 21, 2026.
What the act says
The 45 days count from a starting date the contract has to name
The refund rule depends on a date the contract has to contain. Section 7(a)(6) says no home improvement contract is valid or enforceable against an owner unless it gives the approximate starting date and completion date. The 45 days in section 9(2) run from that starting date, so a contract with a vague start ("spring") leaves you with no clear day to count from.
The refund turns on a date in the contract and a letter sent by certified mail
| Provision | What it says |
|---|---|
| § 7(a)(6) | The contract must give the approximate starting date and completion date |
| § 9(2)(ii) | More than 45 days must have passed since the starting date in the written contract |
| § 9(2)(i) | No substantial portion of the contracted work has been performed when the homeowner asks |
| § 9(2) | The request is in writing and sent by certified mail with a return receipt |
| § 9(2) | The contractor must refund the amount paid within ten days of signing the return receipt or of refusing the letter at its last known address |
| § 9(5) | A contractor may not abandon or fail to perform a contract without justification. Nonpayment or another breach by the owner counts as justification |
| § 10 | A violation of the act is a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law |
Both conditions have to hold when you send the letter. The act does not define "substantial portion," so a contractor who has dropped off a dumpster or pulled a permit may argue the work has begun. The refund covers "the amount paid for a home improvement," in the act's words, which takes in the deposit and any money advanced for special-order materials, the custom items made for your job that a contractor cannot return.
The act also covers a contractor who will not accept the letter. If the contractor refuses the letter sent to its last known address, the ten days start from the refusal. Section 4(c) of the act requires a registered contractor to report a change of address to the Attorney General within 30 days, so the address on its registration is a sensible place to send the letter, along with the address on the contract.
A worked example on a $36,000 job
A start date of April 5 puts the refund deadline at June 4
This example uses round numbers and dates in 2027 and is not drawn from any real job. A homeowner signs a $36,000 contract on March 1, 2027, to remodel a bathroom and a laundry room. The contract lists a starting date of Monday, April 5, 2027, and the homeowner pays a $12,000 deposit, which is one-third of the price and the most the act allows on a job over $5,000 with no special-order materials. Our article on the one-third deposit cap explains that limit.
April 5 passes with no crew. By Thursday, May 20, 45 days have elapsed. On Friday, May 21, the 46th day, the homeowner mails a dated letter by certified mail with a return receipt, asking for the $12,000 back. The contractor signs for it on Tuesday, May 25. Ten days later, Friday, June 4, is the last day to refund the deposit under section 9(2).
The refund comes due 60 days after the start date, on Friday, June 4, 2027
| Calendar mark | Step | Date | Days after start date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start date in the contract | Mon, Apr 5, 2027 | 0 | |
| 45 days have passed | Thu, May 20, 2027 | 45 | |
| Homeowner mails the certified-mail request | Fri, May 21, 2027 | 46 | |
| Contractor signs the return receipt | Tue, May 25, 2027 | 50 | |
| Last day to refund the $12,000 deposit | Fri, Jun 4, 2027 | 60 |
If the deadline passes
On a $12,000 deposit, a court may award as much as $36,000
If the contractor misses June 4, it has committed a prohibited act under section 9. Section 10 makes any violation of the act a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Section 9.2 of that law lets a person who loses money to an unlawful practice sue for actual damages or $100, whichever is greater. A court may, at its discretion, award up to three times the actual damages, which on the $12,000 deposit would be as much as $36,000, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees.
Three times the deposit is the most a court may award, at its discretion
When it becomes a crime
With intent to defraud, keeping more than $2,000 is a felony
Section 8 of the act defines home improvement fraud. One form, in section 8(a)(2), covers a person who takes an advance payment, fails to do the work when the contract specifies, and fails to return the payment, when the person acts with intent to defraud. The section allows for force majeure, meaning events outside anyone's control, an unforeseen labor strike, or an extension you agreed to. The grade of the offense depends on the amount kept and on the homeowner's age, and the maximum sentences come from Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes.
Keeping more than $2,000 from a homeowner 60 or older carries up to 10 years
| Payment kept | Grade of the offense | Maximum prison term | Maximum fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 or less or cannot be determined | Misdemeanor of the first degree | 5 years | $10,000 |
| More than $2,000 | Felony of the third degree | 7 years | $15,000 |
| More than $2,000 and the homeowner is 60 or older | Felony of the second degree | 10 years | $25,000 |
| Second or later offense at any amount | Felony of the second degree | 10 years | $25,000 |
Section 1101 also allows a fine equal to double the offender's gain when that is higher. A court may revoke or suspend the contractor's registration as part of the sentence. District attorneys can bring the charge, and the Attorney General can bring it when the conduct crosses county or state lines. A homeowner recovers the money through the refund request and, if needed, a civil claim.
What to do when a job stalls
Send the letter once 45 days pass with no substantial work
Before you sign, read the starting date line. Ask for a calendar date, and keep a copy of the signed contract, which the act says the contractor must give you at signing at no charge. Check the registration number on the Attorney General's contractor search or at 1-888-520-6680, and note the address it lists.
Once 45 days have passed with no substantial work, write a short letter. Give:
- the contract date
- the starting date it lists
- the amount you paid and the date you paid it
- a statement that no substantial work has been done
- a request for a refund under 73 P.S. § 517.9(2)
Send it by certified mail with a return receipt, keep the receipt and a copy of the letter, and photograph the site that day.
If the ten days pass, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General's office. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 1515, a magisterial district judge, the local judge who hears small claims in Montgomery County, can hear a civil claim of up to $12,000, not counting interest and costs. A lawyer can tell you whether to file there or in a higher court. The guides on what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor and on change orders and payment schedules cover the rest of the contract. If the stalled job is a roof, Conshy Roofers covers hiring a roofer.
Caveats
A new starting date in writing resets the 45-day count
This is general information about the act, not legal advice for a particular contract. Whether work counts as substantial, whether a delay was justified and how a court counts the days are questions for a lawyer or the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Section 9(2) and section 8(a)(2) both depend on the contract. A change order or a written agreement that moves the starting date resets the count, and section 9(5) treats nonpayment or another breach by the owner as justification for a contractor's failure to perform.
The act covers a private residence, which it defines as a single-family house, a building of no more than two units, or a single condominium or co-op unit. A person who owns three or more homes in Pennsylvania counts as an owner only for a primary residence and homes used for personal recreation. New home construction and emergency work fall outside the act.
Five bills that would amend the act were listed on the General Assembly's page for it on October 21, 2026. Four were in committee, and SB 1324, which would change the sections on contracts and fraud among others, had last been laid on the table in the Senate on June 25, 2026. None had been enacted.