To enact sections 4722.01 to 4722.07 of the Revised Code to establish the Ohio Home Improvement Contractor Law, to deem that specified violations of the law constitute a violation of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, and to provide civil remedies for owners who are damaged by a contractor who violates the law.

Section 1. That sections 4722.01, 4722.02, 4722.03, 4722.04, 4722.05, 4722.06, and 4722.07 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4722.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Home improvement" means any repair, alteration, or addition to any one-, two-, or three-family residential structure or to any dwelling unit in any type of structure. "Home improvement" does not include any of the following:

(1) Construction of a new one-, two-, or three-family residential structure;

(2) Work performed on a structure that contains four or more dwelling units, except for work on an individual dwelling unit within that structure;

(3) Work performed on the common area of a condominium property.

(B) "Home improvement contractor" means any person who performs any home improvement or offers to perform any home improvement for compensation.

(C) "Owner" means the person who contracts with a home improvement contractor for a home improvement. "Owner" may include the owner of the property, a tenant who occupies the dwelling unit on which the home improvement is performed, or a person the owner authorizes to act on the owner's behalf to contract for a home improvement, and any other person who contracts for a home improvement.

Sec. 4722.02.  (A) No person shall perform any home improvement unless that person enters into a written contract with the owner. The contract shall include all agreements and conditions related to the home improvement, including all of the following:

(1) The contractor's name, business street address, and telephone number;

(2) The owner's name, address, and telephone number;

(3) The address of the property where the home improvement is to be performed;

(4) A detailed description of the home improvement, including the goods and services to be furnished as part of the home improvement;

(5) The date or time period the home improvement is to begin and the date or time period it is to be completed;

(6) The total cost of the home improvement;

(7) Any cost of installation, delivery, or other cost that the total cost does not cover;

(8) The dated signatures of the owner and the contractor.

(B)(1) To determine the type of notice an owner requires when the costs of a home improvement exceed the estimate provided in the contract, the contract shall include a statement in substantially the following language:

"EXCESS COSTS

IF AT ANY TIME A HOME IMPROVEMENT REQUIRES EXTRA COSTS ABOVE THE COST SPECIFIED OR ESTIMATED IN THE CONTRACT, AND THE TOTAL OF ALL EXTRA COSTS TO DATE EXCEEDS TEN PER CENT OF THE CONTRACT COST, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO AN ESTIMATE OF THOSE EXCESS COSTS BEFORE THE CONTRACTOR BEGINS WORK RELATED TO THOSE COSTS. INITIAL YOUR CHOICE OF THE TYPE OF ESTIMATE YOU REQUIRE:

..... written estimate ..... oral estimate"

(2) If the total amount of excess costs of a home improvement at any time exceeds ten per cent of the cost estimated or specified in the contract, prior to performing the work related to the excess costs, the contractor shall provide an owner with the type of notice the owner has designated in the contract.

(3) If the contract stipulates that the specified cost of the home improvement is a firm price and the contractor will not charge the owner with any excess costs, the contractor need not comply with the notice requirements of this division.

(4) An owner is not liable for any excess costs unless the contractor complies with this section's notice requirements.

Sec. 4722.03. (A) No home improvement contractor shall do any of the following:

(1) Prior to commencing work related to the home improvement, fail to enter into a written contract that complies with this chapter;

(2) Prior to commencing any work that is related to an excess cost, fail to provide an estimate of the excess costs as this chapter requires;

(3) Make the performance of any home improvement contingent upon a consumer's waiver of any rights this chapter provides;

(4) Fail to disclose, prior to the owner's acceptance of any goods or work related to an excess cost, that in failing to approve an excess cost, completion of the work may not be possible and a charge may be imposed for any disassembly, reassembly, or partially completed work, which shall be directly related to the actual labor or parts involved;

(5) Charge for any excess cost that the owner has not approved;

(6) Represent that repairs, services, or work is necessary when such is not the fact;

(7) Represent that repairs or work have been performed when such is not the fact;

(8) Represent that an item of goods or any part thereof that is being inspected or diagnosed for a home improvement is in a dangerous condition, or that its continued use may be harmful, when such is not the fact;

(9) Materially understate or misstate the estimated cost of the home improvement;

(10) Fraudulently misrepresent any aspect of the transaction or the nature or the quality of the work or materials;

(11) Fail to provide the owner with a written itemized list of repairs performed or services rendered, including a list of parts or materials and a statement of whether they are used, manufactured, or rebuilt, if not new, the cost to the owner, the amount charged for labor, and the identity of the individual performing the repair or service;

(12) Fail to tender to the owner any replaced parts, unless the parts are to be rebuilt or sold by the contractor, or returned to the manufacturer in connection with a warranted repair or service, and the intended reuse or return is made known to the owner prior to commencing any repair or services;

(13) Fail to provide to the owner, upon the owner's request, a written, itemized receipt for any item of goods that are left with, or turned over to, the contractor for repair or services. The receipt shall include all of the following:

(a) The identity of the person who will perform the repair or services;

(b) The name and dated signature of the person or representative who actually accepts the goods;

(c) A description including make and model number or other features that will reasonably identify the goods that are turned over and the repair or services that are to be performed.

(14) Fail at the time any owner signs or initials any document to provide the owner with a copy of the document;

(15) Fail to disclose to the owner prior to the commencement of any repair or service, that any part of the repair or service will be performed by a person other than the home improvement contractor or employee of the contractor if the contract disclaims any warranty of the repair or service that the other person performs;

(16) Represent that repairs or services must be performed away from the property on which the home improvement is being performed when that is not the fact.

(B) A violation of this section is deemed to be a violation of the Ohio consumer sales practices act, sections 1345.01 to 1345.13 of the Revised Code, notwithstanding any provisions of those sections to the contrary. All the penalties and remedies available under that act are available to an owner who is harmed by a violation of this section.

Sec. 4722.04. A home improvement contractor shall begin work on the date or within the time period the contract specifies and shall complete the home improvement pursuant to any agreed-upon schedule if the owner makes payments as the schedule requires. In no case shall a contractor fail to complete the amount of work that is in proportion to the payments an owner has made unless the delay is due to reasonable cause beyond the contractor's control.

Sec. 4722.05. (A) If a home improvement contractor fails to fulfill any obligation this chapter imposes, the owner may deliver a written notice of that failure to the contractor, specifying the act or omission that constitutes noncompliance and the specific obligation that was not met. The notice shall state that if the contractor does not fulfill the obligation, the owner has authority to terminate the contract upon the date specified in the notice, to be not less than thirty days after the delivery of the notice.

(B) If the contractor fails to remedy the condition or fulfill the obligation specified in the notice by the date specified in the notice, the owner may terminate the contract by delivering a notice of termination to the contractor, specifying that the contract is terminated. At any time prior to delivery of the notice of termination, the contractor may remedy the condition and the owner may not subsequently terminate the contract.

(C) If a contractor who receives a notice pursuant to division (A) of this section believes that the obligation described in that notice has been fulfilled, the contractor may initiate a civil action for injunctive relief or damages in a court of common pleas.

Sec. 4722.06. A home improvement contractor shall maintain an adequate amount of general liability insurance.

Sec. 4722.07. (A) An owner may initiate a civil action in a court of common pleas for damages due to any breach of contract or for breach of any duty this chapter imposes. The court may grant an injunction, a temporary restraining order, actual damages, or other appropriate relief for a violation of this chapter.

(B) The court may award the owner treble damages if it finds a home improvement contractor fraudulently committed an act or practice that violates this chapter.

(C) In any action pursuant to this chapter, the court may award to the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee limited to the work reasonably performed, if either of the following applies:

(1) The owner complaining of the act or practice that violated this chapter has brought or maintained an action that is groundless, and the owner filed or maintained the action in bad faith;

(2) The home improvement contractor knowingly committed an act or practice that violates this chapter.