How Do Colorado Roofing Laws Affect You?
SENATE BILL 12-038
The Consumer Protection/Residential Roofing Act, Colorado Senate Bill 38 (SB38), was signed into law on June 6th, 2012. For many years, the Colorado Roofing Association (CRA) has tried to get Colorado legislature to pass state licensing for all roofers.
State licensing was believed to protect consumers during large hail storms.
There was fierce opposition to state licensing, mainly from home builder associations, who feared that this would cause the cost of roofing to increase dramatically.
Fortunately, the Colorado Senate was able to pass a different type of legislation which specifically addressed the problems of residential roofing during hail storms that the home builder associations did not oppose.
To date, we do not know if anyone has ever been prosecuted for violating these laws.
However, the practical reality is that the consumer rights granted by this legislation can help customers in a number of ways; for example, if a consumer is in a bad contract or has had a roofing job done and needs to sue the contractor because of bad work.
ITEMS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY THE COLORADO ROOFING LAWS TO BE LISTED ON THE ROOFING CONTRACT ARE AS FOLLOWS:
- The scope of work and material to be used for the new roof
- The cost to do the roofing job and approximate dates of when the roof will be installed
- The roofing contractor’s address, phone number, and insurance company information
- The consumer’s right to cancel the contract within 72 hours and what the contractor’s cancellation fee will be if the contract is cancelled after the 72-hour right of rescission
- Notice that the contractor cannot pay, waive, or in any other way cover the consumer’s deductible if the roofing job is being paid from an insurance claim
- Notice to the consumer that any money paid in advance will be held in a special trust account until the material is purchased
- Notice to the consumer that if any part of the insurance claim is rescinded in whole or part that the consumer will have another 72-hour right of rescission to cancel the contract
The Colorado Roofing Law:
Prohibits a roofing contractor from paying, waiving or rebating an insurance deductible for a property owner.
Requires a contractor to return any payment or deposit made by the
property owner in conjunction with the contract for roofing work within 10
days after rescission of a contract.
States that if a roofing contractor promises to pay, waive or rebate a
homeowner’s deductible, the insurance carrier for the property owner is not
obligated to consider the estimate of costs for the roofing work prepared by
that contractor.
THE ISSUE WITH MONEY UP FRONT
Usually the problem is that the consumer has paid the contractor money up front. There is a provision in SB38 that addresses this, which states that if a consumer has paid money up front and they cancel the contract, the contractor is obligated to refund the money within 10 days. However, trying to get a contractor to refund money can be extremely difficult. The reality is that the consumer will have more luck canceling a contract if they have not paid any money up front.
72-HOUR RIGHT OF RESCISSION
One especially helpful provision of SB38 that can be extremely useful to consumers canceling a contract is that if an insurance company revises the settlement, it restarts the 72-hour right of rescission. This means that if the consumer is able to get his insurance company to revise the insurance settlement downward by any amount of money, it gives the consumer the right to cancel the roofing contract.
CONSUMERS CAN MINIMIZE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS THEY MAY HAVE WITH A CONTRACTOR BY FOLLOWING THESE THREE EASY STEPS:
- Make sure that the type of roof and the total cost is clearly stated on the contract.
- Never sign a contract that has any type of cancellation fee.
- Never pay any money until the job is complete and you are happy.
