If you are a licensed contractor questioning if your license covers the work you have been asked to perform by a homeowner, this blog is for you. This blog explores some of the common questions and statements we hear surrounding licensed versus unlicensed construction work.
Though the public uses the term “contractor” with a variety of definitions, be mindful that under Florida law, contractors are legally “the person who is qualified for, and is only responsible for, the project contracted for”. Fla. Stat. 489.105. In Florida, there are many different types of contractors, including, but not limited to general contractors, building contractors, residential contractors, sheet metal contractors, roofing contractors, air-conditioning contractors, mechanical contractors, pool/spa contractors, plumbing contractors, solar contractors.
“I am a Licensed General Contractor”
While licensed general contractors in Florida have the ability to contract for any construction work, they cannot perform it all and need to be mindful of when to subcontract certain scopes of work. For instance, General Contractors must engage licensed subcontractors to actually perform electrical, plumbing, roofing, mechanical, pool, sheet metal, air conditioning, and underground utility work, among other specialized tasks which are also defined in the statute. While a contractor with a roofing license cannot install solar panels, the licensed roofer can subcontract out the work for installation of solar panels to a licensed solar installer.
Additional examples: a licensed pool contractor cannot construct or contract for the addition of a pool house. Nor can licensed residential contractors perform work on the residential pool. These lines become less clear when you consider that a pool contractor can build and plumb a pool, while a plumbing contractor can only plumb a pool, but not subcontract out the structural components. As a simple example, no one can touch electrical work so that one is easy.
“As a Licensed General Contractor, What Can I Do?”
Though there are plenty of specialized subcontractors needed throughout a construction project, licensed general contractors have some extra privileges based on their license. Licensed general contractors are permitted to perform site work on the lot in which they will be building or altering a structure, without an underground utility or excavation contractor’s license. This includes construction of the water systems, like storm collection and sanitary sewer collection, but excluding the continuation of utility lines. As a licensed general contractor, your site work capabilities also extend to clearing and grubbing, grading, and excavation on any construction stie in the state. As a general contractor, you can also install, or repair under warranty, wood and asphalt or fiberglass shingle roofing materials on a new building of your construction, without a roofing license.
“A Handyman Can Do Some of the Work”
I’m sure you have heard a homeowner express their frustration with a bid or estimate and share that they will just hire their handyman to do a job. There is actually no such thing as a “handyman” in Florida. We often hear of “handyman” projects, but work that typically falls into this category is more accurately describe as “casual, minor, or inconsequential” nature in which the aggregate contract price for labor, materials, and all other items is less than $2,500. However, this exemption does not apply:
(a) If the construction, repair, remodeling, or improvement is a part of a larger or major operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor, or in which a division of the operation is made in contracts of amounts less than $2,500 for the purpose of evading this part or otherwise.
(b) To a person who advertises that he or she is a contractor or otherwise represents that he or she is qualified to engage in contracting.”
With that in mind, it is important to be mindful of the language that is being used around a project. As a licensed contractor, it is important that you do not advertise that you are qualified to do any work outside of the scope of whatever your license allows. The scope of projects which can be completed by a handyman are limited. Be sure to speak with an attorney who works in construction if you have questions.