Evening star., 1960-06-12
Housewives in Tears

Area building inspectors tell
of housewives coming to them
in tears because their homes
Lost Of Series
have been torn apart and left
that way by f1y-by-night con-
tractors. And they can't do
anything to help them. Inspec-
tors tell of carportS and room
additions that have to be torn
down because they were built
without a permit and violate
Zoning regulations. And they
tell of widespread bootleg
jobS-work done without per-
mit-by contractors who have
skipped across a State line and
can't be touched.
Both area prosecutors and
inspection officials acknowledge
that many of the sharp prac-
tices described earlier in the
"Homeowner Beware" series
cannot be curbed under present
regulations in the Metropolitan
Area.
If you lived in Cleveland, De-
troit or Miami-among other
places where home improve
ment contractors are regulated
your stake in your home
would be better protected.
Take Detroit. Michigan law
provides for licensing and reg
ulating of all residential build
ing contractors and residential
maintenance and alteration
contractors. The law applies in
counties of more than 100000
population and in any other
counties that want it. So far,
two counties have the law
automatically and four others
have voted it into being.
Evidence Needed
Contractors must submit
evidence of their ability to per-
form the work and face the
loss of their licenses for any
one of 10 types of misrepresen-
tatioin or unethical conduct. A
contractor can't get a permit
to do any work unless he pro-
duces his license and the lend
ing agencies cooperate by re-
fusing to give home loans for
work to be done by an unli-
censed contractor.
Lawrence Gubow, commits
sioner of the Michigan Cor
poration and Securities Com
mission, said the law has
"done a lot of good" in Michi-
gan by driving out the slick
operators and eliminating
many of the sharp practices.
He said cases where contrac-
tors have talked homeowners
into signing completion GER
tificates" and collecting their
money before the work is fin
ished have been reduced to a
minimum. He added that
there was one thing not in
cluded in Michigan law which
he would recommend: Lii
cenSing home improvement
statesmen as well as the
contractors.
In Miami, all contractors
have to be licensed under one
or another category, which
covers everything involved in
construction and installation
The contractor can't get a
license without current in
surance and he can't get a
permit without a license. A
homeowner can get a building
permit himself and hire a
workman on an hourly basis
but he is then held responsible
for any risks involved in the
work.
Few Complaints
A spokesman for the Miami
building division said the home
improvement business there is
so clean because of rigid rules
and regulations that compar-
atively few complaints come
from homeoWnerS.
In Cleveland, all contractors
are licensed and they can't
get a permit for any kind of
work without it. The emphasis
in Cleveland is on bonding and
insurance to protect home
owners.
Every Cleveland contractor
must carry a $4,000 compliance
bond, $4,000 to $4,000 worth
OF liability insurance and
$4,000 insurance against porp-
erty damage, and the city o1
Cleveland can be additionally
insured.
They don't come into
Cleveland unless they're legiti-
mate" said a building spokes-
man. 1--WE don't get many
complaints"
Memphis got a law through
the State legislature last veal
compelling contractors to bt
registered with the building
department but city Officials
are now going back to tht
legislature for a full licensing
law.
John T. Dwyer, Memphi
commissioner of public service
expressed the view that lever.
city should have licensing anC
bonding OF contractors tt
knock the unscrupulous oper
ators out Of business"
He added that any city goinl
in for urban renewal or re-
habilitation of slum areas il
compelled to have a contracto
licensing law because this typ
Of work attarcts the sharT
operators.
In contrast with these for
ward moves to protect home
owners, consider the Wash
ington Metropolitan area.
WASHINGTON-The Dis
trict Council on Law Enforce