NEW JERSEY HOME IMPROVEMENT CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS
SUBCHAPTER 16. HOME IMPROVEMENT PRACTICES
13:45A-16.1 Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the
following meanings unless the context
indicates otherwise.
“Home improvement” means the remodeling, altering, painting, repairing, or
modernizing of residential or noncommercial
property or the making of additions thereto, and includes, but is not limited
to, the construction, installation, replacement,
improvement, or repair of driveways, sidewalks, swimming pools, terraces,
patios, landscaping, fences, porches, windows,
doors, cabinets, kitchens, bathrooms, garages, basements and basement
waterproofing, fire protection devices, security
protection devices, central heating and air conditioning equipment, water
softeners, heaters, and purifiers, solar heating
or water systems, insulation installation, aluminum siding, wall-to-wall
carpeting or attached or inlaid floor coverings, and
other changes, repairs, or improvements made in or on, attached to or forming a
part of the residential or noncommercial
property, but does not include the construction of a new residence. The term
extends to the conversion of existing commercial
structures into residential or noncommercial property and includes any of the
above activities performed under emergency
conditions.
“Home improvement contract” means an oral or written agreement between a seller
and an owner of residential or
noncommercial property, or a seller and a tenant or lessee of residential or
noncommercial property, if the tenant or lessee is
to be obligated for the payment of home improvements made in, to, or upon such
property, and includes all agreements under
which the seller is to perform labor or render services for home improvements,
or furnish materials in connection therewith.
“Residential or non-commercial property” means a structure used, in whole or in
substantial part, as a home or place of
residence by any natural person, whether or not a single or multi-unit
structure, and that part of the lot or site on which it is
situated and which is devoted to the residential use of the structure, and
includes all appurtenant structures.
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“Sales representative” means a person employed by or contracting with a seller
for the purpose of selling home improvements.
“Seller” means a person engaged in the business of making or selling home
improvements and includes corporations,
partnerships, associations and any other form of business organization or
entity, and their officers, representatives, agents
and employees.
13:45A-16.2 Unlawful practices
(a) Without limiting any other practices which may be unlawful under the
Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 et seq.,
utilization by a seller of the following acts and practices involving the sale,
attempted sale, advertisement or performance
of home improvements shall be unlawful hereunder:
1. Model home representations: Misrepresent or falsely state to a prospective
buyer that the buyer’s residential or
noncommercial property is to serve as a “model” or “advertising job”, or use any
other prospective buyer lure
to mislead the buyer into believing that a price reduction or other compensation
will be received by reason of
such representations;
2. Product and material representations: Misrepresent directly or by implication
that products or materials to be
used in the home improvement:
i. Need no periodic repainting, finishing, maintenance or other service;
ii. Are of a specific or well-known brand name, or are produced by a specific
manufacturer or exclusively
distributed by the seller;
iii. Are of a specific size, weight, grade or quality, or possess any other
distinguishing characteristics or features;
iv. Perform certain functions or substitute for, or are equal in performance to,
other products or materials;
v. Meet or exceed municipal, state, federal, or other applicable standards or
requirements;
vi. Are approved or recommended by any governmental agency, person, firm or
organization, or that they are
the users of such products or materials;
vii. Are of sufficient size, capacity, character or nature to do the job
expected or represented;
viii. Are or will be custom-built or specially designed for the needs of the
buyer; or
ix. May be serviced or repaired within the buyer’s immediate trade area, or be
maintained with replacement and
repair parts which are readily available.
3. Bait selling:
i. Offer or represent specific products or materials as being for sale, where
the purpose or effect of the offer or
representation is not to sell as represented but to bait or entice the buyer
into the purchase of other or higher
priced substitute products or materials;
ii. Disparage, degrade or otherwise discourage the purchase of products or
materials offered or represented by
the seller as being for sale to induce the buyer to purchase other or higher
priced substitute products or
materials;
iii. Refuse to show, demonstrate or sell products or materials as advertised,
offered, or represented as being for
sale;
iv. Substitute products or materials for those specified in the home improvement
contract, or otherwise represented
or sold for use in the making of home improvements by sample, illustration or
model, without the
knowledge or consent of the buyer;
v. Fail to have available a quantity of the advertised product sufficient to
meet reasonably anticipated demands;
or
vi. Misrepresent that certain products or materials are unavailable or that
there will be a long delay in their
manufacture, delivery, service or installation in order to induce a buyer to
purchase other or higher priced
substitute products or materials from the seller.
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4. Identity of seller:
i. Deceptively gain entry into the prospective buyer’s home or onto the buyer’s
property under the guise of any
governmental or public utility inspection, or otherwise misrepresent that the
seller has any official right,
duty or authority to conduct an inspection;
ii. Misrepresent that the seller is an employee, office or representative of a
manufacturer, importer or any other
person, firm or organization, or a member of any trade association, or that such
person, firm or organization
will assume some obligation in fulfilling the terms of the contract;
iii. Misrepresent the status, authority or position of the sales representative
in the organization he represents;
iv. Misrepresent that the sales representative is an employee or representative
of or works exclusively for a
particular seller; or
v. Misrepresent that the seller is part of any governmental or public agency in
any printed or oral communication
including but not limited to leaflets, tracts or other printed material, or that
any licensing denotes approval
by the governmental agency.
5. Gift offers:
i. Offer or advertise any gift, free item or bonus without fully disclosing the
terms or conditions of the offer,
including expiration date of the offer and when the gift, free item or bonus
will be given; or
ii. Fail to comply with the terms of such offer.
6. Price and financing:
i. Misrepresent to a prospective buyer that an introductory, confidential,
close-out, going out of business,
factory, wholesale, or any other special price or discount is being given, or
that any other concession is made
because of a market survey or test, use of materials left over from another job,
or any other reason;
ii. Misrepresent that any person, firm or organization, whether or not connected
with the seller, is especially
interested in seeing that the prospective buyer gets a bargain, special price,
discount or any other benefit or
concession;
iii. Misrepresent or mislead the prospective buyer into believing that insurance
or some other form of protection
will be furnished to relieve the buyer from obligations under the contract if
the buyer becomes ill, dies or is
unable to make payments;
iv. Misrepresent or mislead the buyer into believing that no obligation will be
incurred because of the signing of
any document, or that the buyer will be relieved of some or all obligations
under the contract by the signing
of any documents;
v. Request the buyer to sign a certificate of completion, or make final payment
on the contract before the home
improvement is completed in accordance with the terms of the contract;
vi. Misrepresent or fail to disclose that the offered or contract price does not
include delivery or installation, or
that otherrequirements must be fulfilled by the buyer as a condition to the
performance of labor, services, or
the furnishing of products or materials at the offered or contract price;
vii. Mislead the prospective buyer into believing that the down payment or any
other sum constitutes the full
amount the buyer will be obligated to pay;
viii. Misrepresent or fail to disclose that the offered or contract price does
not include all financing charges,
interest service charges, credit investigation costs, building or installation
permit fees, or other obligations,
charges, cost or fees to be paid by the buyer;
ix. Advise or induce the buyer to inflate the value of the buyer’s property or
assets, or to misrepresent or falsify
the buyer’s true financial position in order to obtain credit; or
x. Increase or falsify the contract price, or induce the buyer by any means to
misrepresent or falsify the contract
price or value of the home improvement for financing purposes or to obtain
additional credit.
7. Performance:
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i. Deliver materials, begin work, or use any similar tactic to unduly pressure
the buyer into a home improvement
contract, or make any claim or assertion that a binding contract has been agreed
upon where no final
agreement or understanding exists;
ii. Fail to begin or complete work on the date or within the time period
specified in the home improvement
contract, or as otherwise represented, unless the delay is for reason of labor
stoppage; unavailability of
supplies or materials, unavoidable casualties, or any other cause beyond the
seller’s control. Any changes in
the dates or time periods stated in a written contract shall be agreed to in
writing; or
iii. Fail to give timely written notice to the buyer of reasons beyond the
seller’s control for any delay in performance,
and when the work will begin or be completed.
8. Competitors:
i. Misrepresent that the work of a competitor was performed by the seller;
ii. Misrepresent that the seller’s products, materials or workmanship are equal
to or better than those of a
competitor; or
iii. Use or imitate the trademarks, trade names, labels or other distinctive
marks of a competitor.
9. Sales representations:
i. Misrepresent or mislead the buyer into believing that a purchase will aid or
help some public, charitable,
religious, welfare or veterans’ organization, or misrepresent the extent of such
aid or assistance;
ii. Knowingly fail to make any material statement of fact, qualification or
explanation if the omission of such
statement, qualification or explanation causes an advertisement, announcement,
statement or representation
to be false, deceptive or misleading; or
iii. Misrepresent that the customer’s present equipment, material, product, home
or a part thereof is dangerous
or defective, or in need of repair or replacement.
10. Building permits:
i. No seller contracting for the making of home improvements shall commence work
until he is sure that all
applicable state or local building and construction permits have been issued as
required under state laws or
local ordinances; or
ii. Where midpoint or final inspections are required under state laws or local
ordinances, copies of inspection
certificates shall be furnished to the buyer by the seller when construction is
completed and before final
payment is due or the signing of a completion slip is requested of the buyer.
11. Guarantees or warranties:
i. The seller shall furnish the buyer a written copy of all guarantees or
warranties made with respect to labor
services, products or materials furnished in connection with home improvements.
Such guarantees or warranties
shall be specific, clear and definite and shall include any exclusions or
limitations as to their scope or
duration. Copies of all guarantees or warranties shall be furnished to the buyer
at the time the seller presents
his bid as well as at the time of execution of the contract, except that
separate guarantees or warranties of the
manufacturer of products or materials may be furnished at the time such products
or materials are installed.
12. Home improvement contract requirements--writing requirement: All home
improvement contracts for a purchase
price in excess of $ 200.00, and all changes in the terms and conditions thereof
shall be in writing. Home
improvement contracts which are required by this subsection to be in writing,
and all changes in the terms and
conditions thereof, shall be signed by all parties thereto, and shall clearly
and accurately set forth in legible
form all terms and conditions of the contract, including, but not limited to,
the following:
i. The legal name and business address of the seller, including the legal name
and business address of the sales
representative or agent who solicited or negotiated the contract for the seller;
ii. A description of the work to be done and the principal products and
materials to be used or installed in
performance of the contract. The description shall include, where applicable,
the name, make, size, capacity,
model, and model year of principal products or fixtures to be installed, and the
type, grade, quality, size
or quantity of principal building or construction materials to be used. Where
specific representations are
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made that certain types of products or materials will be used, or the buyer has
specified that certain types of
products are to be used, a description of such products or materials shall be
clearly set forth in the contract;
iii. The total price or other consideration to be paid by the buyer, including
all finance charges. If the contract
is one for time and materials, the hourly rate for labor and all other terms and
conditions of the contract
affecting price shall be clearly stated;
iv. The dates or time period on or within which the work is to begin and be
completed by the seller;
v. A description of any mortgage or security interest to be taken in connection
with the financing or sale of the
home improvement; and
vi. A statement of any guarantee or warranty with respect to any products,
materials, labor or services made by
the seller.
13. Disclosures and obligations concerning preservation of buyers’ claims and
defenses:
i. If a person other than the seller is to act as the general contractor or
assume responsibility for performance of
the contract, the name and address of such person shall be disclosed in the oral
or written contract, except as
otherwise agreed, and the contract shall not be sold or assigned without the
written consent of the buyer;
ii. No home improvement contract shall require or entail the execution of any
note, unless such note shall have
conspicuously printed thereon the disclosures required by either State law (N.J.S.A.
17:16C-64.2 (consumer
note)) or Federal law (16 C.F.R. section 433.2) concerning the preservation of
buyers’ claims and defenses.
HOW DO I CONTACT YOU
Law Offices of Howard A. Gutman,
230 Route 206, Mount Olive, New Jersey 07836
(973) 598-1980, E-mail Howian@aol.com
Fax (973)598-1982
We handle the following types of claims
We offer a free initial telephone
consultation.
Keywords, construction law, lawyer, New Jersey
construction lawyer, construction claims, defect.