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| To enact sections 4722.01 to 4722.07 of the Revised | 1 |
| Code to establish the Ohio Home Improvement | 2 |
| Contractor Law, to deem that specified violations | 3 |
| of the law constitute a violation of the Ohio | 4 |
| Consumer Sales Practices Act, and to provide civil | 5 |
| remedies for owners who are damaged by a | 6 |
| contractor who violates the law. | 7 |
| Section 1. That sections 4722.01, 4722.02, 4722.03, 4722.04, | 8 |
| 4722.05, 4722.06, and 4722.07 of the Revised Code be enacted to | 9 |
| read as follows: | 10 |
| Sec. 4722.01. As used in this chapter: | 11 |
| (A) "Home improvement" means any repair, alteration, or | 12 |
| addition to any one-, two-, or three-family residential structure | 13 |
| or to any dwelling unit in any type of structure. "Home | 14 |
| improvement" does not include any of the following: | 15 |
| (1) Construction of a new one-, two-, or three-family | 16 |
| residential structure; | 17 |
| (2) Work performed on a structure that contains four or more | 18 |
| dwelling units, except for work on an individual dwelling unit | 19 |
| within that structure; | 20 |
| (3) Work performed on the common area of a condominium | 21 |
| property. | 22 |
| (B) "Home improvement contractor" means any person who | 23 |
| performs any home improvement or offers to perform any home | 24 |
| improvement for compensation. | 25 |
| (C) "Owner" means the person who contracts with a home | 26 |
| improvement contractor for a home improvement. "Owner" may include | 27 |
| the owner of the property, a tenant who occupies the dwelling unit | 28 |
| on which the home improvement is performed, or a person the owner | 29 |
| authorizes to act on the owner's behalf to contract for a home | 30 |
| improvement, and any other person who contracts for a home | 31 |
| improvement. | 32 |
| Sec. 4722.02. (A) No person shall perform any home | 33 |
| improvement unless that person enters into a written contract with | 34 |
| the owner. The contract shall include all agreements and | 35 |
| conditions related to the home improvement, including all of the | 36 |
| following: | 37 |
| (1) The contractor's name, business street address, and | 38 |
| telephone number; | 39 |
| (2) The owner's name, address, and telephone number; | 40 |
| (3) The address of the property where the home improvement is | 41 |
| to be performed; | 42 |
| (4) A detailed description of the home improvement, including | 43 |
| the goods and services to be furnished as part of the home | 44 |
| improvement; | 45 |
| (5) The date or time period the home improvement is to begin | 46 |
| and the date or time period it is to be completed; | 47 |
| (6) The total cost of the home improvement; | 48 |
| (7) Any cost of installation, delivery, or other cost that | 49 |
| the total cost does not cover; | 50 |
| (8) The dated signatures of the owner and the contractor. | 51 |
| (B)(1) To determine the type of notice an owner requires when | 52 |
| the costs of a home improvement exceed the estimate provided in | 53 |
| the contract, the contract shall include a statement in | 54 |
| substantially the following language: | 55 |
| "EXCESS COSTS | 56 |
| IF AT ANY TIME A HOME IMPROVEMENT REQUIRES EXTRA COSTS ABOVE | 57 |
| THE COST SPECIFIED OR ESTIMATED IN THE CONTRACT, AND THE TOTAL OF | 58 |
| ALL EXTRA COSTS TO DATE EXCEEDS TEN PER CENT OF THE CONTRACT COST, | 59 |
| YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO AN ESTIMATE OF THOSE EXCESS COSTS BEFORE THE | 60 |
| CONTRACTOR BEGINS WORK RELATED TO THOSE COSTS. INITIAL YOUR CHOICE | 61 |
| OF THE TYPE OF ESTIMATE YOU REQUIRE: | 62 |
| ..... written estimate ..... oral estimate" | 63 |
| (2) If the total amount of excess costs of a home improvement | 64 |
| at any time exceeds ten per cent of the cost estimated or | 65 |
| specified in the contract, prior to performing the work related to | 66 |
| the excess costs, the contractor shall provide an owner with the | 67 |
| type of notice the owner has designated in the contract. | 68 |
| (3) If the contract stipulates that the specified cost of the | 69 |
| home improvement is a firm price and the contractor will not | 70 |
| charge the owner with any excess costs, the contractor need not | 71 |
| comply with the notice requirements of this division. | 72 |
| (4) An owner is not liable for any excess costs unless the | 73 |
| contractor complies with this section's notice requirements. | 74 |
| Sec. 4722.03. (A) No home improvement contractor shall do any | 75 |
| of the following: | 76 |
| (1) Prior to commencing work related to the home improvement, | 77 |
| fail to enter into a written contract that complies with this | 78 |
| chapter; | 79 |
| (2) Prior to commencing any work that is related to an excess | 80 |
| cost, fail to provide an estimate of the excess costs as this | 81 |
| chapter requires; | 82 |
| (3) Make the performance of any home improvement contingent | 83 |
| upon a consumer's waiver of any rights this chapter provides; | 84 |
| (4) Fail to disclose, prior to the owner's acceptance of any | 85 |
| goods or work related to an excess cost, that in failing to | 86 |
| approve an excess cost, completion of the work may not be possible | 87 |
| and a charge may be imposed for any disassembly, reassembly, or | 88 |
| partially completed work, which shall be directly related to the | 89 |
| actual labor or parts involved; | 90 |
| (5) Charge for any excess cost that the owner has not | 91 |
| approved; | 92 |
| (6) Represent that repairs, services, or work is necessary | 93 |
| when such is not the fact; | 94 |
| (7) Represent that repairs or work have been performed when | 95 |
| such is not the fact; | 96 |
| (8) Represent that an item of goods or any part thereof that | 97 |
| is being inspected or diagnosed for a home improvement is in a | 98 |
| dangerous condition, or that its continued use may be harmful, | 99 |
| when such is not the fact; | 100 |
| (9) Materially understate or misstate the estimated cost of | 101 |
| the home improvement; | 102 |
| (10) Fraudulently misrepresent any aspect of the transaction | 103 |
| or the nature or the quality of the work or materials; | 104 |
| (11) Fail to provide the owner with a written itemized list | 105 |
| of repairs performed or services rendered, including a list of | 106 |
| parts or materials and a statement of whether they are used, | 107 |
| manufactured, or rebuilt, if not new, the cost to the owner, the | 108 |
| amount charged for labor, and the identity of the individual | 109 |
| performing the repair or service; | 110 |
| (12) Fail to tender to the owner any replaced parts, unless | 111 |
| the parts are to be rebuilt or sold by the contractor, or returned | 112 |
| to the manufacturer in connection with a warranted repair or | 113 |
| service, and the intended reuse or return is made known to the | 114 |
| owner prior to commencing any repair or services; | 115 |
| (13) Fail to provide to the owner, upon the owner's request, | 116 |
| a written, itemized receipt for any item of goods that are left | 117 |
| with, or turned over to, the contractor for repair or services. | 118 |
| The receipt shall include all of the following: | 119 |
| (a) The identity of the person who will perform the repair or | 120 |
| services; | 121 |
| (b) The name and dated signature of the person or | 122 |
| representative who actually accepts the goods; | 123 |
| (c) A description including make and model number or other | 124 |
| features that will reasonably identify the goods that are turned | 125 |
| over and the repair or services that are to be performed. | 126 |
| (14) Fail at the time any owner signs or initials any | 127 |
| document to provide the owner with a copy of the document; | 128 |
| (15) Fail to disclose to the owner prior to the commencement | 129 |
| of any repair or service, that any part of the repair or service | 130 |
| will be performed by a person other than the home improvement | 131 |
| contractor or employee of the contractor if the contract disclaims | 132 |
| any warranty of the repair or service that the other person | 133 |
| performs; | 134 |
| (16) Represent that repairs or services must be performed | 135 |
| away from the property on which the home improvement is being | 136 |
| performed when that is not the fact. | 137 |
| (B) A violation of this section is deemed to be a violation | 138 |
| of the Ohio consumer sales practices act, sections 1345.01 to | 139 |
| 1345.13 of the Revised Code, notwithstanding any provisions of | 140 |
| those sections to the contrary. All the penalties and remedies | 141 |
| available under that act are available to an owner who is harmed | 142 |
| by a violation of this section. | 143 |
| Sec. 4722.04. A home improvement contractor shall begin work | 144 |
| on the date or within the time period the contract specifies and | 145 |
| shall complete the home improvement pursuant to any agreed-upon | 146 |
| schedule if the owner makes payments as the schedule requires. In | 147 |
| no case shall a contractor fail to complete the amount of work | 148 |
| that is in proportion to the payments an owner has made unless the | 149 |
| delay is due to reasonable cause beyond the contractor's control. | 150 |
| Sec. 4722.05. (A) If a home improvement contractor fails to | 151 |
| fulfill any obligation this chapter imposes, the owner may deliver | 152 |
| a written notice of that failure to the contractor, specifying the | 153 |
| act or omission that constitutes noncompliance and the specific | 154 |
| obligation that was not met. The notice shall state that if the | 155 |
| contractor does not fulfill the obligation, the owner has | 156 |
| authority to terminate the contract upon the date specified in the | 157 |
| notice, to be not less than thirty days after the delivery of the | 158 |
| notice. | 159 |
| (B) If the contractor fails to remedy the condition or | 160 |
| fulfill the obligation specified in the notice by the date | 161 |
| specified in the notice, the owner may terminate the contract by | 162 |
| delivering a notice of termination to the contractor, specifying | 163 |
| that the contract is terminated. At any time prior to delivery of | 164 |
| the notice of termination, the contractor may remedy the condition | 165 |
| and the owner may not subsequently terminate the contract. | 166 |
| (C) If a contractor who receives a notice pursuant to | 167 |
| division (A) of this section believes that the obligation | 168 |
| described in that notice has been fulfilled, the contractor may | 169 |
| initiate a civil action for injunctive relief or damages in a | 170 |
| court of common pleas. | 171 |
| Sec. 4722.06. A home improvement contractor shall maintain an | 172 |
| adequate amount of general liability insurance. | 173 |
| Sec. 4722.07. (A) An owner may initiate a civil action in a | 174 |
| court of common pleas for damages due to any breach of contract or | 175 |
| for breach of any duty this chapter imposes. The court may grant | 176 |
| an injunction, a temporary restraining order, actual damages, or | 177 |
| other appropriate relief for a violation of this chapter. | 178 |
| (B) The court may award the owner treble damages if it finds | 179 |
| a home improvement contractor fraudulently committed an act or | 180 |
| practice that violates this chapter. | 181 |
| (C) In any action pursuant to this chapter, the court may | 182 |
| award to the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee limited | 183 |
| to the work reasonably performed, if either of the following | 184 |
| applies: | 185 |
| (1) The owner complaining of the act or practice that | 186 |
| violated this chapter has brought or maintained an action that is | 187 |
| groundless, and the owner filed or maintained the action in bad | 188 |
| faith; | 189 |
| (2) The home improvement contractor knowingly committed an | 190 |
| act or practice that violates this chapter. | 191 |