Evening star., 1960-06-19
HOMES
HOMES
Congress Set to Act.
On Home Rockets
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On .nOn1E
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bond, to guarantee the proper
use of and accounting for any
advance payment made by or
required Of a homeowner.
Deposit To Be Required
Under the advance payment
bonds. the, Commissioners are
authorized to require that
whenever any advance payment
is to be made for the perform
ance Of home improvement
work. the home improvement
contractor shall. before the
payment is made, furnish to
the homeowner and keep in
force q corporate surety ad-
vance payment bond in the
amount of the advance pay
ment to be made. In lieu of the
bond, the home improvement
contractor would have to de-
posit with the Commissioners,
for the benefit Of the home
owner. other security satisfac-
tory to the Commissioners in
an amount at least equal tn
the advance payment.
One of the methods of de-
frauding which has prompted
frequent complaints is the
practice Of 1ly-by-night home
improvement contractors tax
ing money from the home
owners and using it for other
purposes. The regulations S
which are the companion piece
for the legislation require that
the contractor has to give the
homeowner an accounting of
how the money is being used
within 10 days after receiving
the advance payment and every
10th day. thereafter until the
work is completed.
The legislation also seeks to
protect homeowners against
mechanics liens filed by SUBJ
contractors who have not been
paid by the prime contractor.
Under the proposed legisla-
ton, when the homeowner can
prove he has paid the contrac-
tor, his proof of such pay
ment shall constitute a de-
fense and render void any me-
chanic's lien. A number of
homeowners told The Star that
they feared mechanics liens on
their homes, which put a cloud
on their title, because the sub
contractor had not been paid
by the contractor.
Aimed at Evils
The regulations follow the
formal of the motor vehicle
dealer regulations which grew
out of The Stars earlier
Buyer Beware" series expos
ing unscrupulous practices in
the used-car industry.
The % sections Of regula-
tions are aimed at correcting
such evils as these:
Contracts signed in blank and
later filled in to suit the con-
tractor.
Deeds of trust put on the
homeowner's property without
the knowledge of the home
owner.
Work done without a permit
and so at variance with District
laws that inspectors force the
homeowners to remove the
improvements.
Work done with permits that
do not coincide with the
specifications of the contract.
HighlightS Listed
Contractors who disclaim
any responsibility for the acts
of the salesmen who solicit the
homeowners and then sell the
contracts to any contractor
willing to buy the contract.
Sloppy workmanship and
stalling for many moths before
any work is performed.
Misleading devices in the
financing of home improvement
work.
Here are highlights of the
proposed regulations:
Home improvement work is
defined as any work connected
with the repair, remodeling,
alteration, conversion or mod
ernization of residential prop
erty.
No person shall engage in
the business of home improve
ment contracting without be-
ing licensed to do so, and this
license shall be in addition to
any other license required by
other regulations.
The contractor must be
trustworthy.
The director Of the Depart
ment of Licenses and Inspec-
tions is authorized to inspect
the contractors records to de-
termine the identity of every
person exercising any degree Of
control over the business ac-
tivities Of the applicant for
the license.
No home improvement work
shall be performed by any
home improvement contractor