Contractors Affected by Illinois Laws

New Illinois laws intended to protect homeowners are making it really tough on contractors.

The Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act requires that contractors provide a written contract for every residential remodeling or repair job over $1000. The contractor, as well as the homeowner, are required to sign and date a contract, as well as a State brochure Home Repair, Know Your Consumer Rights.

If contractors operate a business under an assumed name they're liable for a $2,500 fine and a year in prison. If contractors take on a home improvement project and don't finish it on time, the homeowner can demand a refund on any money paid. If the contractor doesn't pay this money, he faces a suspension of his business license and a fine up to $50,000.

Illinois contractors must be careful what they say to their customers. False promises can get them up to a year in jail under the new Illinois Home Repair Fraud Act (HRFA). Under this law contractors are also liable for making false excuses for non-performance, failing to employ qualified personnel (forget about your brother-in-law), or violating the building code.

What can contractors do to protect themselves? They can write contracts that comply with the State of Illinois requirements. Unfortunately, contracts that cover these requirements can't be found in the local stationary store. Contractor's can consult a lawyer and have a new contract drafted for each job -- but that's an expensive option for small remodeling contractors.

Only a few contract writing programs even offer options for these Illinois requirements. One of them, Construction Contract Writer contains all of the options needed to protect the contractor

as well as provide the ability to list and cover all the possible problem areas of the job -- before work begins. Contractors can find sample Illinois contracts that they can download and use for free at http://www.construction-contract.net/list.php?state=IL.