Contract clausesPennsylvania rulesStatute as posted October 25, 2026
Pennsylvania lets a homeowner void a home improvement contract that contains any of ten clauses, from confession of judgment to attorney fees
Pennsylvania lets a homeowner void a home improvement contract that holds any of ten clauses, including a jury waiver and an attorney-fee clause.
10clauses on the section 7(e) list are in forceThe act numbers eleven items, and item 5 is marked reserved.
Section 7(e), item by item
Any one of these ten clauses makes the contract voidable by the owner
- 7(E)(1)Hold harmless clauseThe owner agrees not to hold the contractor responsible for losses or injuries tied to the work.
- 7(E)(2)Waiver of building code requirementsThe owner gives up federal, state or local health, life, safety or building code requirements.
- 7(E)(3)Confession of judgmentThe owner agrees in advance that the contractor can get a court judgment without a lawsuit or hearing.
- 7(E)(4)Jury waiverThe owner gives up a jury trial in any case brought by or against the owner.
- 7(E)(5)ReservedThe act marks this item reserved, so it lists no clause.
- 7(E)(6)Wage assignmentThe owner assigns wages or other pay for services to cover the bill.
- 7(E)(7)No claims or defensesThe owner agrees not to raise any claim or defense arising out of the contract.
- 7(E)(8)Attorney fees for the contractorThe contractor is to be awarded attorney fees and costs.
- 7(E)(9)Collection and repossession releaseThe owner releases the contractor from liability for its conduct in collecting payment or repossessing goods.
- 7(E)(10)Waiver of the actThe owner gives up any right the act provides.
- 7(E)(11)Automatic renewal without safeguardsA term renews on its own unless the contract offers a mailed opt-out and the contractor sends a renewal notice.
Section 7(e) of Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, 73 P.S. § 517.7, lists ten kinds of contract clauses that let the homeowner void the whole contract. The list includes a hold harmless clause, a confession of judgment, a jury waiver and a provision that the contractor will be awarded attorney fees. The act’s text, as posted by the General Assembly on October 25, 2026, puts the rule in one sentence: “If a home improvement contract contains any of the following clauses, the home improvement contract shall be voidable by the owner.”
What section 7(e) lists
Ten of the eleven numbered items are in force, and each one reaches the whole contract
Section 7(e) gives that choice to the owner. The act numbers eleven items, and item 5 is marked reserved, so ten are in force. The list at the top of this page paraphrases each one.
Some of these terms are trade or legal shorthand.
Item 11 applies only when a contract renews on its own, as a yearly service or maintenance plan might. The act allows automatic renewal if the contract sets out a way to opt out by first-class mail, postmarked at least three business days before the renewal, and discloses that procedure clearly. The contractor also has to mail you a notice of the renewal and of your right to cancel it, between 20 and 10 days before the renewal date. A renewal term that lacks any of those makes the contract voidable.
Item 11 asks for a renewal notice mailed 20 to 10 days before an automatic renewal
Arbitration clauses follow a separate rule
An arbitration clause has to meet all seven format rules in section 7(d)
Section 7(d) allows an arbitration clause in a home improvement contract, but only in a set format. A clause that misses any requirement in the table below can be declared void by the court on a motion from either side, filed before the arbitration begins.
| Rule | Requirement | What section 7(d) asks for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Type | The text of the clause is in capital letters |
| 2 | Size and weight | 12-point boldface type |
| 3 | Placement | On a separate page from the rest of the contract |
| 4 | Assent lines | A separate line for each party to show agreement |
| 5 | Signatures and date | Both parties sign and date it on the day the contract is signed |
| 6 | Appeal | Says whether the decision is binding or can be appealed to the court of common pleas |
| 7 | Confidentiality | Says whether the facts, documents and decision are confidential |
Under this rule the court sets aside only the arbitration clause, and the rest of the contract stands. The act also leaves a court free to set an arbitration clause aside on any other ground Pennsylvania law allows.
A failed arbitration clause is set aside alone, while a section 7(e) clause lets the owner void every page
A worked example
In an invented $40,000 contract, six clauses on pages 2 through 6 would each make it voidable
This example uses round numbers and invented contract language, and it is not drawn from any real job. A homeowner in a Conshohocken twin gets an eight-page contract for a $40,000 kitchen remodel. Reading it page by page against section 7, they mark six clauses that appear on the section 7(e) list and an arbitration clause printed in small type on the signature page.
- A clause on the section 7(e) list: the contract is voidable by the owner
- An arbitration clause that misses section 7(d): the clause can be declared void
Under the act, any one of the six clauses on pages 2 through 6 would be enough to make the contract voidable. The arbitration clause on page 8 fails section 7(d) twice: it sits on the signature page instead of a page of its own, and it is not in 12-point bold capitals.
| Page | Example clause | What the act calls it | Section | Effect under the act |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Owner will hold Contractor harmless from any claim arising from the work | Hold harmless clause | 7(e)(1) | Contract voidable by the owner |
| 3 | Owner may ask Contractor to leave out code-required smoke alarms | Waiver of building code requirements | 7(e)(2) | Contract voidable by the owner |
| 4 | Owner authorizes any attorney to confess judgment against Owner for the unpaid balance | Confession of judgment | 7(e)(3) | Contract voidable by the owner |
| 4 | Owner will pay Contractor's attorney fees and costs of collection | Attorney fees for the contractor | 7(e)(8) | Contract voidable by the owner |
| 5 | Both parties waive a jury trial | Jury waiver | 7(e)(4) | Contract voidable by the owner |
| 6 | The $500 yearly maintenance plan renews automatically | Automatic renewal without the required opt-out and notice | 7(e)(11) | Contract voidable by the owner |
| 8 | Disputes go to binding arbitration (in small type on the signature page) | Arbitration clause that misses the format rules | 7(d) | Clause void on a motion filed before arbitration starts |
After a contract is voided
Section 7(g) lets a contractor that met section 7(a) recover the reasonable value of the work
The act does not spell out what follows once an owner voids a contract. Section 7(g) protects the contractor in one case. A contractor that met the contract requirements of section 7(a) can still recover the reasonable value of work the owner asked for, if a court finds it would be inequitable to deny payment.
Whether voiding a contract partway through a job changes what you owe for work already done, and by how much, is a question for a lawyer.
Section 10 of the act treats any violation of the act as a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, the state’s general consumer protection statute. It also says the act takes away none of the owner’s rights under that law.
What to check before you sign
Search the whole contract for five phrases before you sign
- hold harmless
- indemnify
- confess judgment
- waive
- attorney fees
Read the whole contract, including the terms in small print on the back or at the end. Look for the words “hold harmless,” “indemnify,” “confess judgment,” “waive” and “attorney fees,” and compare each clause you find with the list at the top of this page.
Ask the contractor to strike any of these clauses before you sign, with both of you initialing each strike, or to send a revised contract. Keep a complete copy. Section 7(c) requires the contractor to hand you one, with all its notices, at no charge when you sign.
While you have the contract in hand, check the rest of section 7(a): the contractor’s registration number, a street address, start and completion dates, the total price, the deposit and the insurance amounts. You can confirm a registration with the Attorney General’s office at 1-888-520-6680, the toll-free number every contract must list. Our guide to what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor walks through each of those terms, and our article on the deposit cap covers the down payment. For a roof, see Conshy Roofers.
If a contractor relies on one of these clauses against you, as with a confession of judgment filed in court, ask a lawyer promptly. You can also file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office, online or on a printed form.
Caveats
The act covers work of more than $500 at a private residence
This is general information about the act, not legal advice about a particular contract. Whether a given clause falls into one of the ten categories, and what voiding the contract would mean for money already paid or owed, are questions for a lawyer.
The act covers work of more than $500 at 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. New home construction falls outside it. 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, so a landlord may fall outside the act on rentals.
Contracts from home improvement retailers with a net worth over $50 million follow section 7(f), which applies the same section 7(d) and 7(e) rules.
The statute described here is the text posted by the General Assembly on October 25, 2026. That day the General Assembly’s page for the act listed five bills of the 2025-2026 session that would amend it.