Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act: What contractors need to know

Construction Contract Writer software program helps contractors quickly and easily draft enforceable contracts that precisely fit the needs of any job -- and meet federal and state requirements.

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Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act: What contractors need to know

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 1, 2009 --Craftsman Book Company has released the Illinois edition of the Construction Contract Writer program to help contractors write construction contracts that comply with Illinois' new home improvement laws.

If you make a living in residential construction in Illinois, you need to know these acronyms:

HRRA -- Home Repair and Remodeling Act
CFA -- Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act
HRFA -- Home Repair Fraud Act

Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act (HRRA) requires a written contract for just about every residential remodeling or repair job over $1,000. The builder and the homeowner have to sign and date the contract and a brochure, 'Home Repair, Know Your Consumer Rights'.

The enforcement teeth for HRRA are in Illinois' Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (CFA). Operating a home improvement business under an assumed name can earn a $2,500 fine and a year in prison. Failure to complete work on time gives owners the right under CFA to demand a full refund. The penalty under CFA for failure to make a full refund: Suspension of the right to do business and a fine of up to $50,000.

Illinois' Home Repair Fraud Act (HRFA) threatens contractors with up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine for making false promises, misrepresenting a material fact about the job, charging more than four times fair market value for any work, making false excuses for non-performance, failing to employ qualified personnel or violating the building code.

When a job goes bad, a contractors paperwork better be good. If it isn't, its like a blank check that's going to be cashed by an attorney for the other side.

Illinois contractors can push back against consumer protection laws that would otherwise back them into a corner. Contractors are liable for everything that's either in or omitted from their contracts. Why shouldn't contractors draft agreements that make it fair for both sides?

A.I.A. forms and other boilerplate contracts do not contain the language necessary to write a proper home improvement contract in Illinois. Using an unlawful contract would be a deceptive act under HRRA and CFA and could land the contractor in jail. Contractors should offer an customized agreement that complies with Illinois law.

The Web site http://construction-contract.net/ has a good selection of Illinois contracts that favor Illinois contractors. The contracts are free and available in PDF (Adobe Acrobat), RTF (MS Word or WordPad), and CCF (Construction Contract Writer) formats.

Better yet, contractors can create custom contracts that comply with state law with Craftsman's new Construction Contract Writer program. The program is currently available for the following states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. More information and a free trial is available at ConstructionContractWriter.com.

Craftsman Book Company publishes over 100 construction-related titles and has been in business since 1950. Craftsman's customers include contractors, estimators, remodelers, custom builders, architects, engineers, adjusters and appraisers. Craftsman's website also offers trial downloads of their estimating costbooks and software.

More information can be found online at http://www.constructioncontractwriter.com

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