| All states tip the playing field in favor of property | | | | the ten disclosures isn't enforceable under Indiana |
| owners who contract for residential work. Nearly | | | | law. |
| every state requires very specific notices and | | | | In this case, the contractor made a major |
| disclosures in residential construction contracts. | | | | mistake. Two of the ten required disclosures |
| Even the slightest defect in an agreement can | | | | were missing from the contract: the starting date |
| have consequences - fines, revocation of a | | | | and the completion date. And there was no |
| license, charges for attorney fees, no right to | | | | written agreement on changes to the work. That |
| collect or even jail time. All of these penalties fall | | | | made the contract unenforceable. |
| on the contractor. The property owner gets a | | | | The contractor finished the job and the |
| free ride. | | | | homeowner refused to pay - not a dime. The |
| Penalties for a using a defective contract are | | | | contractor sued in order to collect and the court |
| different in every state. Some states, such as | | | | agreed with the home owner. The contractor had |
| Hawaii, simply make the contract unenforceable. | | | | no right to collect under the contract and Indiana |
| The contractor collects nothing. Other states give | | | | law. |
| the contractor the right to collect some part of | | | | But the Indiana court wasn't done. There's a legal |
| what's owed, though not the full contract price. | | | | principle called quantum meruit. That's Latin for "as |
| A homeowner in Plainfield, Indiana suffered storm | | | | much as he deserved." In this case, the Indiana |
| damage to the exterior of his home in 2007. As a | | | | court decided the contractor deserved $10,761.80, |
| favor to the homeowner's brother, A local | | | | a thousand dollars less than the contract price. |
| contractor signed a proposal for doing the repairs. | | | | After all this trouble, and his legal expenses, the |
| The cost was $11,761.80. This simple act put the | | | | contractor's mistake in drafting this contract |
| contractor hip deep in trouble. Here's why. | | | | earned the homeowner a $1,000 discount. |
| Indiana's Home Improvement Contracts Act | | | | Moral to the story: Don't leave it up to a court to |
| requires ten very specific disclosures in home | | | | decide how much you deserve to be paid. Make |
| improvement and home repair contracts, even | | | | sure that the contracts you use are enforceable |
| for small jobs like painting, fencing and landscaping. | | | | in your state. It just makes sense. |
| A home improvement contract that omits any of | | | | |