Pennsylvania rules | Conshy Contractor

Pennsylvania requires $50,000 in liability coverage from a home improvement contractor, and Conshohocken's registration form asks for at least $100,000

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 08:21:53 -0400

Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act requires a contractor to show at least $50,000 of liability insurance for personal injury and at least $50,000 for property damage caused by its work before the Attorney General’s office will register it. Conshohocken Borough’s residential contractor registration form, checked on October 31, 2026, asks for more: no less than $100,000 to $300,000 for bodily injury and no less than $100,000 each for property damage, public liability and products liability. Workers’ compensation, the insurance that pays an injured worker’s medical bills and lost wages, falls under a separate state law, which requires proof of it before a contractor gets a building permit.

What the state and the borough ask for

Section 4 of the act lists the proof of insurance a contractor must file to register, and section 7(a)(11) carries the same $50,000 figures into every home improvement contract. The contract has to say the contractor will keep that coverage and state the amount of coverage in force on the day you sign. A contractor that insures itself can attest to that instead, on forms the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection provides.

Conshohocken’s form adds three kinds of coverage the state law does not list. Products liability covers harm caused by something the contractor installed. Completed operations covers harm that shows up after the job is finished, such as a deck rail that gives way months later. The form also asks that each limit apply per occurrence and that the borough be named as the certificate holder, the party the insurer sends the certificate to.

Liability insurance minimums in Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act and on Conshohocken Borough's residential contractor registration form, checked October 31, 2026. A blank cell means the source lists no figure for that coverage.
Coverage	Pennsylvania registration minimum ($)	Conshohocken registration form minimum ($)	What the source says
Personal or bodily injury	50000	100000	State: personal injury liability of at least $50,000. Borough form: no less than $100,000 to $300,000 for bodily injury
Property damage	50000	100000	State: property damage caused by the contractor's work, at least $50,000. Borough form: no less than $100,000
Public liability		100000	Borough form only
Products liability		100000	Borough form only
Completed operations		50000	Borough form only, at least $50,000

Source: conshohockenpa.gov

The borough form waives its $90 fee for contractors registered with the Attorney General. It does not say whether the borough’s insurance figures still apply to them. The Attorney General’s FAQ adds that since July 1, 2009, municipalities cannot separately license or register home improvement contractors, apart from trade licensing standards already in effect on that date. If the difference matters for your job, ask Conshohocken’s Licenses and Inspections office at 610-828-1092 which figures it checks. The borough’s building permit application asks for the contractor’s borough license number and, when there is a written contract, a copy of it.

The Attorney General’s FAQ also notes that the required coverage is not related to contractor performance or the quality of work. The act’s coverage is for personal injury and for property damage caused by the work. A poorly built job is a contract question, which our guide to what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor covers.

Workers’ compensation and the permit

Section 302(e) of the Workers’ Compensation Act says a municipality must require a contractor to show proof of workers’ compensation insurance before it issues a building permit. A contractor with no employees can file an affidavit saying it does not employ anyone and is not required to carry the coverage. A permit issued on that affidavit has to state that the contractor may not employ anyone to do the permitted work. Plymouth Township’s residential code package lists a signed contract, workers’ compensation and liability insurance among the documents to submit when a contractor does the work.

The Department of Labor and Industry’s employer guide says that a sole proprietor or general partners with no other employees are exempt. So is an LLC whose only employees are its members. Every other employer has to insure, the department says, even for part-time workers or family members.

Two more parts of section 302 matter to an owner. When a municipality is named as certificate holder, the insurer has to notify it within three working days if the policy is cancelled or expires. Once the municipality learns that a contractor’s coverage was cancelled, it has to issue a stop-work order until coverage is restored. Under section 302(a), a contractor that hires a subcontractor is liable for compensation to the subcontractor’s workers unless the subcontractor has its own coverage, and section 302(d) bars subcontracting to a firm that has not shown proof of insurance.

A worked example

This example uses round numbers and an invented contractor, and it is not drawn from any real job. A homeowner in a Conshohocken twin signs a $40,000 bathroom remodel set to start November 16, 2026 and finish January 29, 2027. The contractor has two employees and hands over a certificate of insurance, a one-page summary from its insurer.

Worked example. An invented certificate of insurance for a $40,000 bathroom remodel, checked line by line against the contract, Pennsylvania law and Conshohocken's registration form. Not drawn from any real contractor.
Line on the example certificate	Example entry	Checked against	What the check shows
Liability limit per occurrence ($)	1000000	State minimums of $50,000 each and the borough form's $100,000 figures	Above every minimum
Liability policy period	March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027	Contract dates of November 16, 2026 to January 29, 2027	Covers the whole job
Workers' compensation policy period	January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026	Contract dates of November 16, 2026 to January 29, 2027	Ends about four weeks before the completion date
Certificate holder	Borough of Conshohocken	Section 302(e)(3) of the Workers' Compensation Act and the borough's registration form	Matches what the law and the form ask for
Insured name	Example Remodeling LLC	Name on the contract and on the state registration	Should match on all three

Source: conshohockenpa.gov

The liability limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence clears every figure in the table above, and the liability policy runs past the completion date. The workers’ compensation policy ends December 31, 2026, about four weeks before the job is due to finish. The certificate in hand shows workers’ compensation coverage only through December. A reasonable step is to ask for the renewal certificate when it is issued, before the final payment.

What to check before you sign

Compare the certificate with the contract. The insured name should match the business on the contract and on the state registration, and the coverage amounts should match what section 7(a)(11) has the contract state. Check the policy dates against the start and completion dates.

Look up the contractor’s registration on the Attorney General’s contractor search, which shows active registrations with their expiration dates, or call the toll-free line, 1-888-520-6680. Registrations last two years. The search results list no insurance details, so the certificate is where you see coverage. The act requires a contractor to update its registration information, including insurance, within 30 days of a change.

For workers’ compensation, Labor and Industry’s insurance search looks up policy coverage by company name. The department says the results come from databases kept by the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau, an organization outside state government, and that the bureau is not responsible for errors in them. To report an employer you believe is uninsured, the department’s Compliance Section is at 717-787-3567.

If you get the certificate from the insurer or the agent named on it, rather than from the contractor, you know the insurer issued it. Our guide to permits and inspections in Conshohocken covers the permit side, and Conshy Roofers covers hiring a roofer.

Caveats

This is general information. Whether a contractor’s policy would pay a particular claim, and how your homeowners policy would respond to an injury at your house, are questions for your insurance agent. A dispute over a contract term is a question for a lawyer.

The borough’s registration form carries no revision date, and how Licenses and Inspections applies it to contractors who hold a state registration could not be verified from the form alone. West Conshohocken, Plymouth and Whitemarsh may ask for different documents with a permit application. Their offices can say what they need. The state minimums are those in the act as posted by the General Assembly on October 31, 2026. The act’s information page that day listed HB 1148, HB 1928, HB 2016, SB 540 and SB 1324 among the bills that would amend it.

Pennsylvania lets a homeowner void a home improvement contract that contains any of ten clauses, from confession of judgment to attorney fees

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 08:32:43 -0400

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

Voidable means the contract stays in force unless the party given the choice decides to cancel it. A void contract never had legal force. 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 table paraphrases each one.

The clauses that make a home improvement contract voidable by the owner under section 7(e) of the act, as posted by the General Assembly on October 25, 2026. Item 5 is reserved. Paraphrased from the statute.
Section	Clause	What it does in plain terms
7(e)(1)	Hold harmless clause	The owner agrees not to hold the contractor responsible for losses or injuries tied to the work
7(e)(2)	Waiver of building code requirements	The owner gives up federal, state or local health, life, safety or building code requirements
7(e)(3)	Confession of judgment	The owner agrees in advance that the contractor can get a court judgment without a lawsuit or hearing
7(e)(4)	Jury waiver	The owner gives up a jury trial in any case brought by or against the owner
7(e)(6)	Wage assignment	The owner assigns wages or other pay for services to cover the bill
7(e)(7)	No claims or defenses	The owner agrees not to raise any claim or defense arising out of the contract
7(e)(8)	Attorney fees for the contractor	The contractor is to be awarded attorney fees and costs
7(e)(9)	Collection and repossession release	The owner releases the contractor from liability for its conduct in collecting payment or repossessing goods
7(e)(10)	Waiver of the act	The owner gives up any right the act provides
7(e)(11)	Automatic renewal without safeguards	A term renews on its own unless the contract offers a mailed opt-out and the contractor sends a renewal notice

Source: palegis.us

Some of these terms are trade or legal shorthand. A hold harmless clause has you agree not to hold the contractor responsible for losses or injuries tied to the work. A confession of judgment lets a creditor enter a court judgment against you without filing a lawsuit or giving you a hearing first. A wage assignment hands part of your paycheck to the contractor to cover the bill.

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.

Arbitration clauses follow a separate rule

Arbitration means a neutral arbitrator, rather than a court, settles a dispute. 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. 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.

The format an arbitration clause in a home improvement contract must follow under section 7(d) of the act. Paraphrased from the statute.
Requirement	What section 7(d) asks for
Type	The text of the clause is in capital letters
Size and weight	12-point boldface type
Placement	On a separate page from the rest of the contract
Assent lines	A separate line for each party to show agreement
Signatures and date	Both parties sign and date it on the day the contract is signed
Appeal	Says whether the decision is binding or can be appealed to the court of common pleas
Confidentiality	Says whether the facts, documents and decision are confidential

Source: palegis.us

A worked example

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.

Worked example. Invented clauses in an eight-page, $40,000 kitchen remodel contract, matched to the act. Not drawn from any real contract.
Page	Example clause in a $40000 kitchen contract	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

Source: palegis.us

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.

After a contract is voided

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

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 table above.

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

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.

A sewer and heating company will pay $700,000 in restitution under a Pennsylvania Attorney General settlement that sets rules for its diagnoses

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 08:36:08 -0400

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on October 22, 2026, a settlement with Gillece Services, LP, Gillece Plumbing and Heating, Inc., Thomas Gillece Sr., Thomas Gillece Jr. and two former Gillece technicians. The consent order, filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, calls for $700,000 in consumer restitution, $50,000 in costs and $250,000 in suspended civil penalties. It resolves the office’s allegations that the company sold unnecessary sewer pipe replacements and used scare tactics to get homeowners to sign home improvement contracts. The order also sets rules for how the company diagnoses a sewer, a gas leak or a furnace before it sells the repair.

What the settlement pays

Restitution is money returned to customers. A suspended civil penalty is a fine the court holds back, which generally comes due only if the defendants break the order. The Attorney General’s office says customers eligible for restitution will be contacted by the office and do not need to do anything.

Most of the Gillece settlement goes back to customers

Amounts in the consent order, as announced by the Pennsylvania Attorney General on October 22, 2026

Suspended penalties are collected only under the terms of the order. Source: attorneygeneral.gov

The three money terms of the consent order, as stated in the Attorney General's announcement of October 22, 2026.
Part of the settlement	Amount in dollars
Consumer restitution	700000
Suspended civil penalties	250000
Costs paid to the Commonwealth	50000

Source: attorneygeneral.gov

The two former technicians named in the case, James F. Hackwelder and Joseph A. Nikoula, are barred from the plumbing industry for five years. The announcement adds that a settlement is not an admission that the law was violated.

What the office alleged

According to the Attorney General’s announcement, the company advertised a “$93 or Free Clog Crusher Special” to homeowners with sewer backups. Once technicians arrived, the office alleged, many customers were told the clog could not be cleared with a snake, the coiled cable plumbers feed into a drain, and could only be fixed by digging up the pipe. The lawsuit alleged that the lines could have been cleared without excavation, and that many customers were told of pipe defects that later turned out not to exist.

The office also alleged scare tactics: telling customers they had gas leaks or cracked heat exchangers, the furnace part that keeps combustion gases out of the house air. The announcement says those diagnoses were later discredited by third parties, including customers’ natural gas utilities. Other allegations covered shoddy work that did not match written warranties and failing to hand customers copies of their contracts and cancellation notices at the time of sale.

Some of the case was decided before the settlement. In August 2023 the same court ruled for the office on summary judgment, a decision a judge makes without a trial when the key facts are not in dispute. The announcement says the court found the company had failed to let customers cancel within three days, penalized customers who cancelled by entering their properties without permission, made false or misleading advertising claims, and misrepresented its flat-rate pricing. The orders from that ruling stay in effect, including one requiring the company to honor a customer’s spoken request to cancel.

What the company must do now

The new terms tie each kind of sale to a check that has to happen first. A sewer lateral is the pipe that runs from the house to the public sewer main, and hydro jetting cleans it with high-pressure water. NASSCO, the National Association of Sewer Service Companies, publishes standards for grading pipe defects. NATE, North American Technician Excellence, certifies heating and air conditioning technicians.

Conditions the consent order puts on Gillece sales, as summarized in the Attorney General's announcement of October 22, 2026. Paraphrased.
Diagnosis or sale	What the settlement requires before the sale
Sewer excavation or hydro jetting	Seller certified in NASSCO's Lateral Assessment Certification Program
Sewer pipe repair or replacement	Defects documented and severe enough under NASSCO defect standards
Sewer line that will not open	Several attempts with a snake and notice that the customer may get a second opinion
Gas leak	Generally confirmed by the customer's natural gas provider
Cracked heat exchanger or other dangerous condition	Confirmed by two NATE-certified Gillece technicians
HVAC service	Technicians NATE-certified and carbon monoxide meters calibrated on the manufacturer's schedule
Any contract	Copies of the contract and notices of cancellation given at signing
Advertising	No claims the company knows it cannot or will not honor

Source: attorneygeneral.gov

The company must also keep detailed records of the defects behind certain recommendations and give them to the office on request. Any nondisclosure agreement it has customers sign must let them speak to law enforcement.

The state law behind the case

Several of the terms repeat duties that Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act places on every contractor. The act covers repair and replacement work at a home when the total cash price is more than $500, which takes in most sewer replacements and furnace jobs. Section 10 makes a violation of the act a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, the state’s general consumer protection statute.

Provisions of the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act that bear on the allegations, from the text posted by the General Assembly on October 23, 2026. Paraphrased.
Provision	What it says
Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act section 2	Covers repair and replacement work at a private residence when the total cash price is more than $500
Section 7(b)	The person who signs may rescind the contract without penalty within three business days of signing
Section 7(c)	The contractor delivers a completed copy of the contract with all required notices at no charge when it is signed
Section 9(8)	No one may advertise a home improvement without intending to charge the price advertised or offered
Section 9(9)	No one may demand or receive payment before the contract is signed
Section 10	A violation of the act is a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law

Source: palegis.us

Section 7(c) puts the rule on contract copies plainly: the contractor “shall provide and deliver to the owner, without charge, a completed copy of the home improvement contract at the time the contract is executed which shall contain all required notices.”

What to do when a service call turns into a big repair

A drain call that ends with a quote to dig up the yard is the situation this case describes. Ask the technician to show you the defect, such as camera video of the pipe, and to put the diagnosis in writing on the estimate. You can get a second opinion before you sign anything, and the act bars a contractor from taking payment before the contract is signed.

If a technician says you have a gas leak, call your natural gas utility before you agree to a repair. The settlement requires this company to have the utility confirm a leak before it sells the work. For a cracked heat exchanger, ask to see it, and consider having a second technician look before you replace a furnace.

When you do sign, you should leave with a completed copy of the contract and two copies of the Notice of Cancellation. You then have three business days to cancel, as our article on the three-day right to cancel explains. A real emergency is handled differently, through the card described in our article on emergency work authorizations. Check any contractor’s registration with the Attorney General’s office at 1-888-520-6680, the number every home improvement contract must list, and see our guide on hiring a contractor in Pennsylvania. Complaints go to the office’s complaint page.

Caveats

The settlement terms here come from the Attorney General’s announcement. The consent order itself is posted as a scanned filing, and its full wording could not be verified for this article. The announcement does not say where the affected customers live or how many there are, so how many, if any, are in Montgomery County could not be verified. Restitution goes only to customers the office identifies as eligible.

The allegations that were settled were not decided by a court, and the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing. The findings from August 2023 are the court’s.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you think you paid for unnecessary work, ask the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection or a lawyer about your own contract.

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

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 08:37:29 -0400

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 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 provisions of the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act that govern a refund when a job does not start, as posted by the General Assembly on October 21, 2026. Paraphrased from the statute.
Provision	What it says
Section 7(a)(6)	The contract must give the approximate starting date and completion date
Section 9(2)(ii)	More than 45 days must have passed since the starting date in the written contract
Section 9(2)(i)	No substantial portion of the contracted work has been performed when the homeowner asks
Section 9(2)	The request is in writing and sent by certified mail with a return receipt
Section 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
Section 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
Section 10	A violation of the act is a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law

Source: palegis.us

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

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).

In the example, the refund falls due 60 days after the contract's start date

Worked example: days after a contract starting date of April 5, 2027, when the job never begins

Example with round numbers and assumed dates. The act counts days without saying whether weekends or holidays are excluded. Source: palegis.us

Worked example. A $36,000 contract with a $12,000 deposit and a starting date of April 5, 2027, where no work is done.
Step	Date	Days after start date
Start date in the contract	2027-04-05	0
45 days have passed	2027-05-20	45
Homeowner mails the certified-mail request	2027-05-21	46
Contractor signs the return receipt	2027-05-25	50
Last day to refund the $12000 deposit	2027-06-04	60

Source: palegis.us

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.

When it becomes a crime

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.

Grading of home improvement fraud for failing to return an advance payment, from section 8(c) of the act, with the maximum prison terms and fines in 18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101, 1103 and 1104.
Payment kept	Grade of the offense	Maximum prison term (years)	Maximum fine ($)
$2000 or less or cannot be determined	Misdemeanor of the first degree	5	$10,000
More than $2000	Felony of the third degree	7	$15,000
More than $2000 and the homeowner is 60 or older	Felony of the second degree	10	$25,000
Second or later offense at any amount	Felony of the second degree	10	$25,000

Source: palegis.us

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

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, and 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

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.

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

Mon, 19 Oct 2026 08:39:48 -0400

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.

When the card applies

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.

What section 7 of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law requires for an emergency work authorization, paraphrased from the text posted by the General Assembly on October 19, 2026.
Requirement	What the law says	Section
Who starts it	The buyer contacts the seller	UTPCPL 7(j.1)(1)(ii)
Price	Goods or services of $25 or more	UTPCPL 7(j.1)(1)(i)
Kind of problem	A bona fide emergency on the buyer's residential property	UTPCPL 7(j.1)(1)(iii) and 7(n)
Estimate first	Written estimate of the total cost including any service call fee before work starts	UTPCPL 7(j.2)
Card size	Preprinted card at least 4 by 6 inches	UTPCPL 7(j.1)(3)(i)
Type	At least 10-point boldface	UTPCPL 7(j.1)(3)(ii)
Card wording	Date of transaction; seller's name; authorization to proceed; agreement to pay; waiver of the three-day right; buyer's statement that the attached estimate is accurate	UTPCPL 7(j.1)(3)(ii)
Signature	Buyer signs and dates the card	UTPCPL 7(j.1)(3)(ii)
Cost goes over estimate	Seller must get further written authorization for the added work	UTPCPL 7(j.2)
Service call fee	Allowed whether or not more work follows; seller must say at once whether one applies	UTPCPL 7(j.2)

Source: palegis.us

What the card says

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: “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.” 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.

Work that 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.

A worked example

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.

Each increase over the estimate needs a new signature

Worked example: dollars the homeowner has authorized in writing at each step of an emergency pipe repair

Example with round numbers. The $200 service call fee is part of the $1,500 estimate. Source: palegis.us

Worked example. An emergency pipe repair under section 7 of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, step by step.
Step	What happens	Amount	Paper the homeowner should have
1. The call	Homeowner calls a plumber about a burst pipe; the plumber says on the call that a service call fee applies	$200	Note of the fee and the time of the call
2. Shutoff	Plumber shuts off the water main to stop the flooding	No card needed	None for this step
3. Estimate	Plumber writes an estimate for the total cost including the service call fee	$1,500	Written estimate
4. Card	Homeowner signs the emergency work authorization card with the estimate attached	$1,500	Signed 4-by-6-inch card and estimate
5. Added work	Plumber finds a second split pipe behind the wall	$800 more	New written authorization signed by the homeowner
6. Final bill	Total for the repair	$2,300	Card; estimate; added authorization; invoice

Source: palegis.us

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.

The federal rule

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.

The emergency exceptions in Pennsylvania's consumer protection law and the FTC cooling-off rule, paraphrased from the texts posted on October 19, 2026.
Point	Pennsylvania consumer protection law section 7	FTC cooling-off rule 16 CFR 429
Who must start the contact	The buyer	The buyer
What counts	A condition that makes or could make the home uninhabitable	A bona fide immediate personal emergency of the buyer
Form of the waiver	Preprinted card at least 4 by 6 inches in 10-point boldface	Separate dated and signed statement in the buyer's own handwriting
Price threshold	$25 or more	$25 or more at the buyer's home

Source: ecfr.gov

What to check before you sign the card

Ask about the service call fee on the phone, and write down the amount and the time of the call. Before anyone starts the repair, ask for the written estimate and read the total. Check that the card is a printed form, that it carries the seller’s name and today’s date, and that the estimate is attached. Keep a photo of both.

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.

Caveats

This is general information about the statutes, not legal advice for a particular job. Whether a condition counts as a bona fide emergency turns on the facts. If a contractor used the card for work that was not an emergency, or billed past the estimate without a new signature, ask a lawyer or the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. A note in the posted statute says the 2004 amendments apply to contracts signed on or after the amendment took effect. The texts described here are those posted by the General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Code and the eCFR on October 19, 2026.

Pennsylvania lets you cancel a home improvement contract within three business days of signing and requires a refund within ten

Sat, 17 Oct 2026 08:31:56 -0400

Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, at 73 P.S. § 517.7, lets the person who signs a home improvement contract cancel it without penalty within three business days of signing, wherever it was signed. Section 7 of the state’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law supplies the cancellation form contractors use and requires a refund of every payment within ten business days of a valid cancellation. On a contract signed Tuesday, November 24, 2026, two days before Thanksgiving, the last day to cancel under the federal definition of a business day is Saturday, November 28.

What the two laws say

The act calls the right rescission, which means undoing the contract as though it had never been signed. Section 7(b) grants it to anyone who signs a home improvement contract, except for emergency work, and section 7(a)(13) makes a contract unenforceable against the owner unless it includes a notice of the right.

The wording of that notice comes from section 7 of the consumer protection law. Next to the buyer’s signature line, in bold type of at least 10 points, the contract must carry a statement in substantially this form: “You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction.” Attached go two detachable copies of a form captioned “Notice of Cancellation,” each filled in with the seller’s name and business address, the date of the transaction and a deadline no earlier than the third business day after it.

The provisions that govern the right to cancel a home improvement contract in Pennsylvania, as posted by the General Assembly on October 17, 2026. Paraphrased from the statutes.
Provision	Law	What it requires
Section 7(b)	Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act	The person who signs may cancel without penalty within three business days of signing wherever the contract was signed
Section 7(a)(13)	Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act	The contract must include a notice of the right to cancel or it cannot be enforced against the owner
Section 7(c)	Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act	The contractor hands over a completed copy with all notices at signing at no charge
Section 7(b)(1)	Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law	A statement of the right in bold type of at least 10 points next to the buyer's signature line
Section 7(b)(2) and (c)	Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law	Two detachable copies of a form captioned Notice of Cancellation, filled in with the seller's name and address, the date of the transaction and the deadline
Section 7(e)	Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law	The three days do not start until the buyer has been told of the right and given the forms
Section 7(g)	Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law	Refund of all payments within ten business days of receiving a valid cancellation
Section 7(h)	Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law	No sale of the buyer's note to a finance company before midnight of the fifth business day after signing
Section 7(m)	Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law	A form that meets the Federal Trade Commission's rule counts as compliant

Source: palegis.us

Two provisions protect a homeowner who never got the form. Section 7(e) of the consumer protection law says the three days do not start until the buyer has been told of the right and given copies of the notice. The Attorney General’s office says in its answers on the act that a business has to provide the notice exactly as the law words it, and that a homeowner who was never told of the right may be able to void the whole contract even after the three days have passed.

Counting the three days

Neither the act nor section 7 of the consumer protection law defines a business day. The Federal Trade Commission’s cooling-off rule for sales made at home, 16 CFR Part 429, defines it as any calendar day except Sunday and federal holidays, so Saturday counts. Which definition a Pennsylvania court would apply to a home improvement contract could not be verified from these sources, so the example below uses the commission’s count and shows a weekday count beside it.

This example uses round numbers and is not drawn from any real job. A homeowner signs a $30,000 bathroom contract on Tuesday, November 24, 2026, and pays a $10,000 deposit, one-third of the price and the most the act allows on a job over $5,000, as our article on the deposit cap explains. Wednesday is the first business day. Thanksgiving, on Thursday, November 26, is a federal holiday and does not count. Friday is the second business day and Saturday the third, so the homeowner has until midnight on Saturday, November 28, to mail or deliver the notice. A count that skipped Saturdays would push the deadline to Monday, November 30.

Thanksgiving week leaves a homeowner until Saturday, November 28, to cancel

Worked example: business days counted after a contract signed Tuesday, November 24, 2026, under the FTC definition

Example. The FTC rule counts every day except Sundays and federal holidays. Pennsylvania's statutes do not define a business day. Source: ecfr.gov

Worked example. The FTC count includes Saturdays and leaves out Sundays and Thanksgiving. The weekday count leaves out Saturdays too.
Date	What the day is	Business days counted	Weekdays counted
Tue Nov 24	Contract signed	0	0
Wed Nov 25	Business day	1	1
Thu Nov 26	Thanksgiving (federal holiday)	1	1
Fri Nov 27	Business day	2	2
Sat Nov 28	Last day to cancel under the FTC count	3	2
Sun Nov 29	Sunday	3	2
Mon Nov 30	Last day under a weekday count	4	3

Source: ecfr.gov

The refund

Suppose the homeowner mails the signed form on Friday, November 27. Under section 7(a) of the consumer protection law, the cancellation takes effect when the notice goes into the mail, so it is on time even though the contractor receives it on Tuesday, December 1.

Section 7(g) then gives the contractor ten business days from receipt to refund all payments, return any negotiable instrument, meaning a check or promissory note the homeowner signed for the job, and end any security interest, a seller’s or lender’s legal claim on the homeowner’s property. Under the FTC count the $10,000 is due by Saturday, December 12. Under a weekday count it is due by Tuesday, December 15.

Worked example. The refund deadline on a contract signed Tuesday, November 24, 2026, and cancelled by mail on Friday, November 27.
Step	Date	What the law says
Contract signed and $10000 deposit paid	Tue Nov 24	The three days start once the homeowner has been told of the right and given both copies of the form
Homeowner mails the signed form	Fri Nov 27	The cancellation takes effect when the notice goes into the mail
Contractor receives the notice	Tue Dec 1	The ten business days for the refund count from receipt
Refund due under the FTC count	Sat Dec 12	Tenth business day after receipt, counting Saturdays
Refund due under a weekday count	Tue Dec 15	Tenth weekday after receipt

Source: palegis.us

If materials were delivered before the cancellation, the homeowner has to make them available at the house in substantially as good condition. Within the same ten business days the seller must say whether it will collect them, and a seller that does not collect them within 20 days of the notice forfeits them.

Emergency work

The one way to give up the right is an emergency work authorization, used when the homeowner calls the contractor about a bona fide emergency. Section 7(n) of the consumer protection law defines that as a condition that makes the house uninhabitable or could, such as a failed heating, electrical or plumbing system or damage to the roof or outer walls. The contractor gives a written estimate first, and the authorization is a preprinted card at least 4 by 6 inches. Signing it gives up the three-day right for that work, and the act treats such emergency work as outside its scope.

What to check before you sign

Look for the bold cancellation statement beside the signature line and for two copies of the Notice of Cancellation. Both copies should show the contractor’s name, a street address for its place of business, the date of the transaction and a deadline date. Check the deadline against a calendar, and make sure the transaction date on the contract is the day you sign.

If you decide to cancel, sign and date one copy of the form, or write your own notice, and mail or deliver it to the address on the form before midnight on the deadline. Because the cancellation counts from the day it goes into the mail, mail it at a post office counter and ask for a receipt that shows the date, such as certified mail. Keep the second copy and a photo of the one you sent.

Check the contractor’s registration number with the Attorney General’s office at 1-888-520-6680, the toll-free number every contract has to list. Our guide to what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor lists every term a contract must contain. For a roof, see Conshy Roofers.

Caveats

This is general information about the two laws, not legal advice for a particular contract. If a contractor refuses to honor a cancellation or to refund a deposit, ask a lawyer or the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The examples use the FTC definition of a business day. If your deadline falls on a Saturday or near a holiday, treat the earlier date as the deadline.

The act covers jobs over $500 at a single-family house, a building of no more than two units, or a single condominium or co-op unit. An owner of three or more Pennsylvania homes is covered only for a primary residence and homes used for personal recreation, so a landlord may fall outside the act on rentals.

The consumer protection law addresses goods delivered before a cancellation. For labor already done inside the three days, ask the bureau or a lawyer.

The statutes described here are the texts posted by the General Assembly on October 17, 2026, and the FTC rule is the eCFR text current as of October 15, 2026. Five bills that would amend the home improvement act were listed on the General Assembly’s page for the act on October 17, 2026.

On a $45,000 remodel, Pennsylvania law caps the deposit at $15,000 plus any special-order materials the contract names

Tue, 13 Oct 2026 08:43:01 -0400

Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act limits how much a contractor can take up front. On a contract with a total price over $5,000, the deposit may not be more than one-third of the price. When the written contract designates special-order materials, the cap rises by the cost of those materials. On a $45,000 kitchen remodel with no special orders, the most a contractor can collect as a deposit is $15,000. The rule is in section 9 of the act, codified at 73 P.S. § 517.9, and the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection enforces it.

What the act says

The cap sits in the act’s list of prohibited acts. Section 9(10) bars a contractor from receiving a deposit above one-third of the contract price on a job over $5,000, or above one-third of the price plus the cost of special-order materials that will be ordered, as designated in the written contract. Three other provisions work alongside it.

The provisions of the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act that govern a deposit, as posted by the General Assembly on October 13, 2026. Paraphrased from the statute.
Section of the act	What it provides
7(a)(9)	The contract lists the down payment and any amount advanced for special-order materials as separate figures
9(9)	No payment of any kind before the contract is signed
9(10)(i)	On a contract over $5,000 the deposit may not exceed one-third of the price, or one-third plus the cost of special-order materials designated in the contract
9(10)(ii)	The cap does not apply to a home improvement retailer that posts an irrevocable letter of credit with the bureau and uses registered, insured contractors
8(a)(6)	Misrepresenting an item as special-order material or misstating its cost is home improvement fraud

Source: palegis.us

The act defines special-order material narrowly. It has to be something that is not a stock item, is ordered from the factory or distributor and made or processed for your contract, and cannot be returned by the contractor for a refund or credit. Custom cabinets built to your kitchen’s measurements fit that definition. A faucet the supplier keeps on the shelf does not, even if the contractor buys it for your job.

The Attorney General’s office describes the same limit in its answers on the act. “Generally speaking a down payment of one-third of the total contract price or one-third plus the cost of special ordering materials is appropriate,” the office’s FAQ says.

A worked example on a $45,000 job

This example uses round numbers and is not drawn from any real job. A homeowner signs a $45,000 fixed-price contract to remodel a kitchen. One-third of the price is $15,000, and that is the deposit cap if the contract designates no special-order materials.

Now suppose the contract designates custom cabinets at $9,000 as special-order materials. The cap becomes $15,000 plus $9,000, or $24,000. If the contract also designates quartz countertops cut to the kitchen’s layout at $4,500, the cap is $28,500. The cost of the special orders is added to one-third of the full $45,000 price.

Designated special orders raise the cap on a $45,000 job from $15,000 to $28,500

Worked example: largest deposit Pennsylvania's home improvement act allows on a $45,000 contract, dollars

Example with round numbers. Cabinets at an assumed $9,000 and countertops at an assumed $4,500, each designated as special-order material in the contract. Source: palegis.us

Worked example. The maximum deposit is one-third of the $45,000 price plus the special-order materials the contract designates.
Scenario	One-third of price ($)	Special-order materials ($)	Maximum deposit ($)
No special orders	$15,000	$0	$15,000
Cabinets	$15,000	$9,000	$24,000
Cabinets and counters	$15,000	$13,500	$28,500

Source: palegis.us

Section 7(a)(9) also shapes how the contract reads. It has to state the down payment and any amount advanced for special-order materials, and list them separately. In the $24,000 case, a compliant contract would show something like a $15,000 down payment on one line and $9,000 for the cabinets on another, with the cabinets named.

The one-third limit scales with the price. Below $5,000 the act sets no deposit cap, though section 9(9) still bars any payment before the contract is signed, and any job over $500 needs a written contract.

Worked example. The cap is one-third of the contract price when the contract designates no special-order materials. It applies only to contracts over $5,000.
Contract price ($)	Deposit cap with no special orders ($)
$6,000	$2,000
$15,000	$5,000
$30,000	$10,000
$45,000	$15,000
$90,000	$30,000

Source: palegis.us

Retailers and fraud

Section 9(10)(ii) exempts a home improvement retailer from the cap if it posts an irrevocable letter of credit payable to the bureau, which is a bank’s promise to pay set amounts on the bureau’s demand. The amount is $100,000 per store, up to $2,000,000 for a retailer with several stores. The retailer must also make sure its installers are registered and carry the insurance the act requires. If you buy an installed job through a store and the store asks for more than one-third, ask whether it has posted that letter of credit. Under the act, a homeowner in a dispute with such a retailer can file a complaint with the bureau and ask for a draw on it.

The act treats a false special-order claim as a crime. Section 8(a)(6) makes it home improvement fraud to misrepresent an item as special-order material or to misrepresent its cost. When the amount involved is more than $2,000, the offense is a felony of the third degree. At $2,000 or less, it is a misdemeanor of the first degree. The grade goes one step higher when the victim is 60 or older.

What to check before you sign

Work out the cap yourself. Divide the contract price by three, then add only the items the contract names as special-order materials, each with its cost. If the deposit requested is higher, ask the contractor to bring it down or to show which items are special orders.

Test each special-order item against the definition. Ask whether it is made or cut for your house, and whether the contractor could return it for credit. A stock appliance, a standard toilet or a box of tile from the supplier’s warehouse would not qualify. Ask for a copy of the order once it is placed, so you can see the item and its price on the supplier’s paperwork.

Pay nothing before you sign. Check the contractor’s registration number on the Attorney General’s search or at 1-888-520-6680, the toll-free number every contract has to list. If the job never starts, section 9(2) requires a refund within ten days of a certified-mail request when more than 45 days have passed since the contract’s start date and no substantial part of the work has been done.

The act does not say how the rest of the price should be paid. The Attorney General’s office suggests negotiating payments as the work progresses, with a final payment at completion. Our guide to change orders and payment schedules lays out a schedule tied to inspections, and the guide to what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor lists every term a contract must contain. If the job is a roof, Conshy Roofers covers hiring a roofer.

Caveats

This is general information about the act, not legal advice for a particular contract. If a contractor has taken more than the cap or will not refund a deposit, ask a lawyer or the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The act covers home improvements 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. 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 with several properties may fall outside the act on the rentals. New home construction and emergency work are outside it too.

The act does not say how the cap applies when a change order raises the price after the deposit is paid, or which figure counts as the price on a time-and-materials contract. Our article on time-and-materials contracts covers the second question. Ask the bureau or a lawyer before you agree to a deposit in either case.

The text described here is the act as posted by the General Assembly on October 13, 2026. Five bills that would amend it were listed on the General Assembly’s page for the act that day, among them SB 1324, which would change the sections on home improvement contracts and fraud, among others. None had passed either chamber.

Pennsylvania caps a time-and-materials home improvement bill at 10% above the written estimate unless both sides sign a change order

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 08:37:59 -0400

A time-and-materials contract is one where you pay the contractor’s actual labor at an hourly rate and the actual cost of materials, plus a fee, instead of a fixed price. Pennsylvania’s Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act allows these contracts with a ceiling built in. Before any work starts, the contractor has to give you a written initial cost estimate, and the contract has to say that the cost may not run more than 10% above it without a written change order signed by both of you. On a $20,000 estimate, that ceiling is $22,000. The Attorney General’s office, which enforces the act, says the time-and-materials terms were added by an amendment on October 22, 2014.

How the act defines time and materials

The act describes time and materials as an arrangement where the owner pays for the actual cost of labor at a specified hourly rate and the actual costs of materials and equipment, plus an agreed percentage of those costs or a fixed amount to cover the contractor’s fee and overhead. Overhead is the cost of running the business, such as insurance and the office, that does not belong to one job.

Section 7(a)(8) of the act, codified at 73 P.S. § 517.7, lets a home improvement contract include a time-and-materials provision in place of a total sales price. When it does, the contractor must give you an initial cost estimate in writing before any work begins, and the contract must state four things.

The four statements section 7(a)(8)(ii) of the act requires in a time-and-materials contract, filled in for the worked example of a $20,000 estimate.
What the contract must state	In the example
Dollar value of the initial cost estimate	$20,000
That the cost may not exceed the estimate by more than 10%	No more than $2,000 above the estimate
Total potential cost in actual dollars	$22,000
That the cost will not rise above the estimate plus 10% without a written change order signed by both	No billing above $22,000 without a signed change order

Source: palegis.us

The third item has to appear as a dollar figure. A contract that says only “estimate plus 10%” leaves out what the act calls the total potential cost expressed in actual dollars. A time-and-materials contract also has to meet every other requirement in section 7, including the contractor’s registration number, the approximate start and completion dates, a description of the work and materials, and the notice of your right to cancel within three business days. Our guide to what Pennsylvania law requires when you hire a contractor covers that list.

A worked example on a $20,000 estimate

This example uses round numbers and is not drawn from any real job. A homeowner hires a contractor to gut and rebuild a small bathroom on time and materials. The contractor’s written initial estimate is $20,000. The contract sets labor at $75 an hour and a fee of 15% on top of labor and materials. Both of those rates are assumptions for the example; the act leaves the rate and the fee to the two parties to agree on.

Under the act, the contract states the $20,000 estimate, the 10% limit, a total potential cost of $22,000, and the statement that the cost will not go above $22,000 without a written change order signed by both.

Week 5 would carry the bill $2,150 past the $22,000 ceiling

Worked example: running total billed on a time-and-materials bathroom job with a $20,000 written estimate, dollars

Example with round numbers. Labor at an assumed $75 an hour and an assumed 15% fee. The ceiling is the $20,000 estimate plus 10%. Source: palegis.us

Worked example. Each week's fee is 15% of that week's labor and materials. Week 5 is the subfloor repair found after the old floor came up.
Week	Labor ($)	Materials ($)	Fee ($)	Billed that week ($)	Billed to date ($)
Week 1	$3,000	$2,000	$750	$5,750	$5,750
Week 2	$3,000	$3,000	$900	$6,900	$12,650
Week 3	$2,400	$2,600	$750	$5,750	$18,400
Week 4	$1,800	$1,200	$450	$3,450	$21,850
Week 5	$1,200	$800	$300	$2,300	$24,150

Source: palegis.us

After four weeks the running total is $21,850, which leaves $150 under the ceiling. When the old tile and floor come up, the crew finds a rotted section of subfloor, the layer of plywood or boards under the finished floor. Repairing it would take 16 more hours of labor and $800 of materials. With the fee, that adds $2,300 and brings the total to $24,150, which is $2,150 above $22,000.

Under the act, the contractor cannot raise the cost past $22,000 on its own. The two of you need a written change order, signed by both, before the bill goes higher. A separate section of the act, on prohibited acts, also bars a contractor from departing from the plans or specifications in any material way without a written change order, dated and signed by both, that states the price change for each departure. A change order for the subfloor would describe the repair, price it at $2,300, and state the new ceiling you agree on. If the new ceiling is the old one plus the repair, that comes to $24,300.

The ceiling scales with the estimate. The table shows the 10% allowance and the total potential cost at five estimate sizes.

Worked example. The total potential cost is the initial cost estimate plus 10%, the figure section 7(a)(8)(ii)(C) of the act requires the contract to state in dollars.
Initial cost estimate ($)	Allowed overrun at 10% ($)	Total potential cost ($)
$5,000	$500	$5,500
$10,000	$1,000	$11,000
$20,000	$2,000	$22,000
$50,000	$5,000	$55,000
$100,000	$10,000	$110,000

Source: palegis.us

What to check before you sign

Look for all four statements in the contract, with the total potential cost written as a dollar amount. Check that the initial estimate is on paper and dated before the first day of work, since the act requires it before any performance begins.

Find the hourly rate and the fee in writing. The act’s definition assumes a specified hourly rate and an agreed percentage or fixed amount for the fee. If a contract lists neither, ask the contractor to add them before you sign, because you will be checking every bill against those two numbers.

Ask for a running total. The act does not set a schedule for time-and-materials statements. A contract can still require a weekly statement of hours, receipts for materials and the total billed so far, and that statement shows you when the job is close to the ceiling, as week 4 did in the example. With it, you and the contractor can sign a change order before the total reaches $22,000.

Keep each signed change order with the contract. Our guide to change orders and payment schedules explains what to put in one and how to tie payments to inspections. Our guide to what remodeling costs and how to read a contractor’s quote covers how labor and materials show up on a fixed-price quote, for comparison.

Caveats

This is general information about the act, not legal advice for a particular contract. If a contractor bills past the ceiling without a signed change order, or you disagree about what the change order covered, ask a lawyer or the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. The office’s FAQ gives 1-888-520-6680 as the bureau’s toll-free number for checking whether a contractor is registered, and every home improvement contract has to list it.

The act covers a home improvement at a private residence when the work agreed on totals more than $500. Its definition of a private residence includes a single-family house, a building with no more than two units, and a single condominium or co-op unit. A person who owns three or more homes in Pennsylvania counts as an owner under the act only for a primary residence and homes used for personal recreation, so a landlord with several properties may fall outside it on the rentals. The act also leaves out the construction of a new home and emergency work done under section 7 of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.

The deposit cap on contracts over $5,000, one-third of the contract price plus any designated special-order materials, is written in terms of the contract price. The act does not say which figure counts as the price for a time-and-materials provision. In its answer on these contracts, the Attorney General’s FAQ describes the initial cost estimate plus 10% as the contract price. Ask the bureau or a lawyer before you agree to a large deposit on a time-and-materials job.

The text quoted here is the act as posted by the General Assembly on October 11, 2026. Five bills that would amend the act were listed on the General Assembly’s page for it that day. None had passed either chamber.

Pennsylvania opened a 120-day public comment period on the 2024 building codes, running to February 2, 2027

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 08:38:45 -0400

Pennsylvania’s Uniform Construction Code Review and Advisory Council is taking public comment on the 2024 editions of the model building codes, the stage where anyone can argue for or against a change before the state decides which parts to adopt. The comment period opened Monday, October 5, 2026, runs 120 days and closes Tuesday, February 2, 2027, according to a Department of Labor and Industry notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin of October 3. The Uniform Construction Code, or UCC, is the statewide building code that local permit offices enforce when they review a remodel or an addition. Our guide to permits and inspections in Conshohocken and the nearby townships explains how that works here.

The model codes come from the International Code Council, a nonprofit that publishes a new edition every three years. Pennsylvania’s version of the 2021 editions took effect January 1, 2026, and stays in force until the 2024 review ends and the department issues new regulations.

What the notice says

The council “seeks public comment on the updated sections of the 2024 International Codes Council codes with the exception of the accessibility provisions,” the notice reads. Since a May 2026 amendment to the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, accessibility provisions go to a separate Accessibility Advisory Board.

Comments go through an online form linked from the council’s page on the department’s website. The department says each form can cover one code section, and a form that comments on several will be discarded. The act requires each comment to name the section, say whether it should be adopted, rejected or modified, and give a reason based on the section’s effect on public health and safety, its cost, including to the end consumer, and its technical feasibility. Questions go to Walter Schneider at (717) 787-3806, option 1, the notice says.

The council also chose sections to review that the 2024 editions did not change. The act calls these additional sections and requires a two-thirds vote of the council to add them. The department’s list names 30 of them, 12 in the International Residential Code, or IRC, the code for one- and two-family houses.

Additional sections the council chose to review in the 2024 cycle, by code. The residential code list names Table N1102.1.3 twice; it is counted once.
Code	Additional sections
International Residential Code	12
International Energy Conservation Code	9
International Building Code	3
International Existing Building Code	3
International Mechanical Code	3

Source: pa.gov

The council has 21 members appointed by the governor and legislative leaders. The department’s member list shows three seats vacant on October 9, including the one for a remodeling contractor. The council met on October 8 with a 2024 code review update on its agenda, and its next meeting is set for November 5 at 9 a.m.

Dates set so far in the 2024 code review
Date	Step in the 2024 review
2026-10-05	The 120-day public comment period opened
2026-10-08	Council meeting with a 2024 code review update on the agenda
2026-11-05	Next scheduled council meeting
2027-02-02	The public comment period closes
2027-04-08	Council meeting
2027-08-05	Council meeting

Source: pa.gov

What happens after the comments

The act sets the order of the review. After the comment period, technical advisory committees review every updated section and send recommendations on the ones that drew a comment asking for rejection or a change. The council then holds at least three public hearings, one in Harrisburg, one in the eastern part of the state and one in the western part.

Sections that drew no objection are voted on as a group and pass by a majority of the council. Any other updated section needs a two-thirds majority of the council to be adopted or modified. If a section is not adopted, the existing Pennsylvania rule stays in effect.

The council has 24 months from the start of its review to send a report to the Secretary of Labor and Industry. The department then has nine months to issue regulations adopting the report without change, and those regulations take effect 33 months after the review began. The act starts the comment period 30 days after the review begins. Counting back from October 5 puts the start near September 5, 2026, which would set the effective date in early June 2029 if the schedule holds.

How the last review went

The department’s timeline for the 2021 codes shows the pace. The International Code Council published those codes on January 31, 2021. The council began its review on October 13, 2022, opened comments on November 12, 2022, held its hearings from February 1 to March 28, 2024, and sent its final report to the department on October 1, 2024. The timeline listed a go-live date of July 13, 2025, 33 months after the review began. The Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved the update on October 16, 2025, it was published on November 8, and it took effect on January 1, 2026, according to the department. That was 1,796 days after the 2021 codes were published.

The review of the 2021 codes, from publication to the date they took effect in Pennsylvania
Date	Step	Days after the 2021 codes were published
2021-01-31	The International Code Council published the 2021 codes	0
2022-10-13	The council began its review of the 2021 codes	620
2022-11-12	The 120-day public comment period opened	650
2023-03-12	The public comment period closed	770
2024-02-01	First of three public hearings (east)	1,096
2024-03-28	Third public hearing (west)	1,152
2024-09-12	The council approved its final report	1,320
2024-10-01	The final report went to Labor and Industry	1,339
2025-10-16	The Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved the update	1,719
2025-11-08	The update was published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin	1,742
2026-01-01	The 2021 codes took effect in Pennsylvania	1,796

Source: pa.gov

Pennsylvania’s changes to the residential code

The state does not adopt the residential code as the International Code Council writes it. Section 403.21 of Pennsylvania’s code regulations excludes 39 provisions of the 2021 IRC and modifies 40 more. It keeps 15 provisions from the 2015 edition and 11 from the 2018 edition in place of the newer text.

How Pennsylvania adopted the 2021 International Residential Code
Change Pennsylvania made	Provisions
Excluded from the 2021 IRC	39
Modified from the 2021 IRC text	40
Kept from the 2015 IRC	15
Kept from the 2018 IRC	11

Source: pacodeandbulletin.gov

Several of those changes come up on ordinary remodels. When a one- or two-family house has an alteration, repair or addition, Pennsylvania does not require the new smoke alarms to be interconnected, and battery-operated alarms that are not interconnected must be installed. Stair risers can be up to 8 1/4 inches high and treads as shallow as 9 inches. In a basement, beams spaced at least 36 inches apart need 6 feet 6 inches of clear height under them. Some of these provisions are back under review. The additional sections include R704.2.4, on wood soffit panels, and the residential insulation tables N1102.1.2 and N1102.1.3, all of which Pennsylvania modified in the current code.

Pennsylvania rules now in force for parts of the 2021 International Residential Code that a remodel often touches
Provision	Reference	Pennsylvania rule now in force
Smoke alarms in an alteration or addition	IRC R314.4	Interconnection is not required in one- and two-family dwellings undergoing alterations, repairs or additions; battery-operated alarms that are not interconnected must be installed
Stair risers	34 Pa. Code § 403.21(a)(7)(ii)	Maximum riser height of 8 1/4 inches with no more than 3/8 inch variation within a flight
Stair treads	34 Pa. Code § 403.21(a)(7)(ii)	Minimum tread depth of 9 inches from nosing to nosing
Stair width and headroom	34 Pa. Code § 403.21(a)(7)(ii)	At least 3 feet of clear width and 6 feet 8 inches of clear headroom for the entire run
Ceiling height under beams	IRC R305.1	Beams spaced at least 36 inches apart need 6 feet 6 inches of clear height from the finished floor below
Vapor retarder under a slab	IRC R506.2.3	A 6 mil retarder in place of the 10 mil Class A retarder in the 2021 text
Kitchen island receptacles	IRC E3901.4.2	Section excluded

Source: pacodeandbulletin.gov

What this means for a remodel

A permit you apply for now is reviewed under the 2021 codes with Pennsylvania’s changes. The act also covers jobs that straddle a code change. A permit issued before new regulations take effect stays valid, and the work can be finished under it. If that work is not actively carried on within two years of the new regulations’ effective date, or a shorter period set by local ordinance, a new permit is needed. If a design or construction contract was signed before the effective date, the permit can be issued under the code in effect when the contract was signed, as long as the application goes in within six months of the effective date or a shorter local period.

For a large job planned two or three years out, ask the contractor or designer which code edition the drawings follow, and ask the permit office which edition it will apply on the date you expect to file. If you have a view on a specific section, such as the smoke alarm rule for older houses, the form takes one section at a time until February 2, 2027.

Caveats

The text of the 2024 changes is in the International Code Council’s own publications. Which of them Pennsylvania adopts depends on the council’s votes. The notice does not state when the review began, so the 2029 date is an estimate, and the 2021 review ran more than five months past its 33-month mark. Conshohocken, West Conshohocken, Plymouth and Whitemarsh can each add local requirements within the limits the act sets, so check with the office that issues your permit. This is general information about the code process. For what a rule requires on your house, ask the permit office or a licensed design professional.