Q: Can an unlicensed person contract with a homeowner to do construction? He initially represented himself as licensed.
My 78-year-old mother who is legally blind signed a contract with an unlicensed (UL) person to make repairs to her manufactured home. He then hired a licensed contractor to do the work. It was very minor and the work required entailed replacing the flooring, drywall, baseboards, doors and painting. While the contractor was there working, he mentioned how small the job was and told her what he was getting paid to do it which was $1200. The UL person had my mother sign a contract for $4250 for that work. The UL person is keeping the difference. When the licensed person learned that his buddy was making $3000 on the job, he became furious and left my mom's house. He did go back the next day and finished the job very well and told my mother not to pay the UL person anymore money as she had already given him a 50% deposit. He told her that that was plenty of money for the job that was completed there. Are the actions of the unlicensed person illegal? Can he enforce payment of the balance?
A: Potentially yes. It is illegal to contract without a license. It is also a crime. Alert the police and ask them to investigate.
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