Sec. 20-427. Holder to exhibit and advertise certificate, when. Exception. Prohibited acts. Penalties. Certificates generally not transferable. Expiration. Renewal. Building permits. (a)(1) Each person engaged in making home improvements shall (A) exhibit such person's certificate of registration upon request by any interested party, and (B) except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, (i) state in any advertisement the fact that such person is registered, and (ii) include such person's registration number in any advertisement.
(2) Any person engaged in making home improvements that is a publicly traded business entity listed on any stock exchange within the United States and spends not less than thirty per cent of such person's advertising expenditures on advertising campaigns concurrently directed at audiences in not fewer than five states may satisfy the requirements established in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection by including in any advertisement, other than a direct-to-consumer advertisement, a telephone number or Internet web site address where any member of the public may obtain or view (A) a statement disclosing whether such person is registered, and (B) such person's registration number.
(b) No person shall: (1) Present or attempt to present, as such person's own, the certificate of another, (2) knowingly give false evidence of a material nature to the commissioner for the purpose of procuring a certificate, (3) represent himself or herself falsely as, or impersonate, a registered home improvement contractor or salesman, (4) use or attempt to use a certificate which has expired or which has been suspended or revoked, (5) offer to make or make any home improvement without having a current certificate of registration under this chapter, (6) represent in any manner that such person's registration constitutes an endorsement of the quality of such person's workmanship or of such person's competency by the commissioner, (7) employ or allow any person to act as a salesman on such person's behalf unless such person is registered as a home improvement salesman, or (8) fail to refund the amount paid for a home improvement within ten days of a written request mailed or delivered to the contractor's last-known address, if no substantial portion of the contracted work has been performed at the time of the request and more than thirty days has elapsed since the starting date specified in the written contract, or more than thirty days has elapsed since the date of the contract if such contract does not specify a starting date.
(c) In addition to any other remedy provided for in this chapter, (1) any person who violates any provision of subsection (b) of this section, except subdivision (8), shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor and (2) any person who violates the provisions of subdivision (8) of subsection (b) of this section shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor if the home improvement that is offered or made has a total cash price of ten thousand dollars or less and shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor if the home improvement that is offered or made has a total cash price of more than ten thousand dollars. Notwithstanding subsection (d) or (e) of section 53a-29 or section 54-56e, if the court determines that a contractor cannot fully repay his victims within the period of probation established in subsection (d) or (e) of section 53a-29 or section 54-56e, the court may impose probation for a period of not more than five years. A violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under subsection (a) of section 42-110b.
(d) The commissioner may, after notice and a hearing in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, impose a civil penalty on any person who engages in or practices the work or occupation for which a certificate of registration is required by this chapter without having first obtained such a certificate of registration or who wilfully employs or supplies for employment a person who does not have such a certificate of registration or who wilfully and falsely pretends to qualify to engage in or practice such work or occupation, or who engages in or practices any of the work or occupations for which a certificate of registration is required by this chapter after the expiration of such person's certificate of registration or who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted pursuant thereto. Such penalty shall be in an amount not more than one thousand five hundred dollars per violation. Any civil penalty collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the consumer protection enforcement account established in section 21a-8a.
(e) Certificates issued to home improvement contractors or salesmen shall not be transferable or assignable, except when the holder of the certificate changes only the name or type of business entity of such business.
(f) All certificates issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire annually on March thirty-first, except that certificates which expire on November 30, 2021, shall be renewed on November 30, 2021, and expire on March 31, 2022. The fee for renewal of a certificate shall be the same as the fee charged for an original application, except that for certificates which expire on March 31, 2022, a prorated renewal fee shall be charged to reflect the portion of the year for which the certificate will be active.
(g) The renewal fee for a certificate of registration as a home improvement contractor acting solely as the contractor of record for a registration as a home improvement contractor acting solely as the contractor of record for a corporation, shall be waived, if such contractor uses such registration for the sole purpose of directing, supervising or performing home improvements for such corporation.
(h) Failure to receive a notice of expiration or a renewal application shall not exempt a contractor or salesman from the obligation to renew.
(i) No contractor shall commence work unless each applicable building or construction permit has been obtained as may be required under the general statutes or local ordinances.
(P.A. 79-606, S. 10, 14; P.A. 81-361, S. 2, 39; 81-472, S. 136, 159; P.A. 82-315, S. 3; P.A. 88-269, S. 8; P.A. 89-251, S. 149, 203; P.A. 91-325, S. 1; P.A. 94-36, S. 22, 42; 94-68, S. 2; P.A. 96-117, S. 2; P.A. 00-192, S. 79, 102; P.A. 03-167, S. 3; 03-186, S. 2; P.A. 04-257, S. 104; P.A. 08-102, S. 4; P.A. 21-37, S. 29; 21-197, S. 7; P.A. 23-99, S. 15; P.A. 25-113, S. 22.)
History: P.A. 81-361 deleted provision in Subsec. (e) allowing prorated fees lower than application fee and changed the word “issuance” to “effective date”; P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; P.A. 82-315 made violation of chapter an unfair or deceptive trade practice; P.A. 88-269 amended Subsec. (a) to include advertisements, amended Subsec. (b)(3) to include salesmen and added Subsec. (b)(7) and (8) re employment of unregistered salesmen and failure to make refunds, amended Subsec. (f) to increase fee for restoration of expired license from $5 to $10 and added Subsecs. (g), (h) and (i) re restoration, failure to receive notice of expiration and the necessity of the existence of building and construction permits at the beginning of work, deleting obsolete provisions in Subsecs. (d) and (e); P.A. 89-251 amended Subsec. (f) to increase the restoration fee from $10 to $20; P.A. 91-325 amended Subsec. (b) by authorizing court to impose a period of probation of not more than five years in order to ensure that the victims would be fully repaid if the court determined that a contractor could not fully repay his victims within the period of probation established in Sec. 53a-29(d); P.A. 94-36 amended Subsec. (d) by eliminating the alphabetical certificate renewal system and deleted Subsecs. (e) and (f) which provided for prorated certificate application fees and late certificate renewal fees, relettering remaining Subsecs. as necessary, effective January 1, 1995; P.A. 94-68 amended Subsec. (b)(8) by adding the clause allowing the date of the contract to be used if no starting date was specified in the contract, expanded criminal penalties in Subsec. (c) and inserted Subsec. (d) re civil penalties, relettering former Subsecs. (c) to (i), inclusive, accordingly; P.A. 96-117 amended Subsec. (c) to add references to Sec. 54-56e; P.A. 00-192 amended Subsec. (g) to delete provision that certificate shall not be restored unless renewed not later than one year after its expiration and to add provision re waiver of renewal fee for certain home improvement contractors, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 03-167 made technical changes in Subsec. (b) for the purpose of gender neutrality; P.A. 03-186 amended Subsec. (d) to add provision re minimum penalty for radon mitigation work; P.A. 04-257 made technical changes in Subsec. (d), effective June 14, 2004; P.A. 08-102 amended Subsec. (c) to replace references to “subsection (d) of section 53a-29” with “subsection (d) or (e) of section 53a-29”; P.A. 21-37 amended Subsec. (f) to add March 31 expiration date and exception to certificates expiring November 30, 2021, and added provision re prorated renewal fee, effective June 4, 2021; P.A. 21-197 amended Subsec. (e) to add exception for change in only name or type of business entity, effective July 1, 2022; P.A. 23-99 amended Subsec. (d) by changing amount of penalty from not more than $500 for first violation, $750 for second violation, $1,000 for third or subsequent violation and, in case of radon mitigation work, not less than $250 per violation to not more than $1,500 per violation, effective June 29, 2023; P.A. 25-113 amended Subsec. (a) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1), redesignating existing Subdivs. (1) and (2) as Subparas. (A) and (B), designating existing provisions re statement as Subdiv. (1)(B)(i) and redesignating existing Subdiv. (3) as Subdiv. (1)(B)(ii), adding new Subdiv. (2) re exception to Subdiv. (1) and making technical and conforming changes.
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