Consumer rights — required disclosure
Home Repair & Construction: Know Your Rights
Illinois law requires your contractor to share this information before work begins. Here's what you're entitled to — in plain English, with the Attorney General's exact wording underneath.
Right to cancel the contract
Two scenarios where you can walk away from the contract.
You have 3 business days to cancel an at-home contract over $25.
You have three business days from the time you sign your contract to cancel any contract if the sale is made at your home and is over $25. The contractor cannot deprive you of this right by initiating work, selling your contract to a lender, or any other tactic. The contractor is required to disclose this right to cancel to you and provide a form you can use to exercise this right to cancel.
If insurance is paying: 5 days after a denial, or 30 days after you file, whichever is first.
If you plan to file a claim with your insurance company to pay for the work on your home, you may cancel the contract if one of the following occurs, whichever occurs first: (1) within five business days after receiving written notice from your insurance company denying your claim; or (2) within 30 days after you sent a claim to the insurance company. The contractor is required to disclose this right to cancel to you and provide a form you can use to exercise this right to cancel.
Contractor information
Verify who you're hiring before signing.
Check that any DBA / business name is properly registered.
If the contractor does business under a name other than the contractor's real name, the business must either be incorporated or registered under the Assumed Business Names Act. Check with the Secretary of State to see if the business is incorporated or with the county clerk to see if the business has registered under the Assumed Business Names Act.
Contract requirements
What a proper Illinois home-repair contract must include — and your remedies if it falls short.
The contract must list the contractor's business name and a residential address if a P.O. box is used.
The contract should state the contractor's business name and the residential address if the contractor uses a P.O. Box to receive mail.
For contracts over $1,000 you're entitled to a written scope and total cost.
For home repair contracts over $1,000, you have the right to a written contract or work order that describes the work to be performed and states the total cost. The contract should include parts and materials and should specify some detail, such as quality and grade.
The contract should spell out timing and the payment schedule.
The contract should specify the timing for the work to be done and the payment schedule, including down payment, subsequent payments, and final payment.
It must say under what conditions either side can terminate — you still owe for completed work.
The contract also should specify grounds for terminating the contract. The homeowner will be responsible for completed work even if the contract is canceled.
If the contractor misses the start or end date, you can cancel and may get your deposit back.
If the contractor fails to begin or complete work within the contracted time period, the homeowner may cancel and may be entitled to a refund of any down payment or other payments made toward the work upon written demand by certified mail.
The contractor must hand you this brochure.
The contractor must give the homeowner a copy of a brochure entitled “Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights,” the text of which is specified in the Home Repair and Remodeling Act.
For contracts over $1,000, you also sign an acknowledgment and keep a duplicate.
For contracts over $1,000, the contractor must have the homeowner sign and date a form acknowledging receipt of the “Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights” brochure. The acknowledgment form must be incorporated into the brochure, and the consumer must receive a duplicate copy of the brochure and executed acknowledgment form.
If the contract has an arbitration clause, you must be given the choice to accept or reject both it and a jury-trial waiver.
Contractors who use arbitration clauses in their contracts must advise consumers before they sign the contract that the contract requires them to submit contract disputes to binding arbitration instead of in court before a judge or a jury, and must obtain a consumer's waiver of a right to a trial by jury. The contractor must allow the consumer to accept or reject both the binding arbitration clause and the jury trial waiver, provided that the contractor may reject the contract if the consumer rejects those terms.
Before final payment, request a notarized list of subs and suppliers — and get lien waivers.
Before you pay your contractor, you should request from the contractor a signed and notarized written statement that lists all the people and companies, with their contact information, that your contractor hired to work on your home and the amount they are owed. These people and companies have a right, under the Mechanics Lien Act, to file a lien against your home if they are not paid for work they did or materials they supplied for your home. It is important that you obtain lien waivers from these people and companies.
Think you've been defrauded?
If you have concerns, contact your state's attorney or the Illinois Attorney General's office.
Springfield
1-800-243-0618
TTY: 1-877-844-5461
Chicago
1-800-386-5438
TTY: 1-800-964-3013
Carbondale
1-800-243-0607
TTY: 1-877-675-9339
Source: Office of the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, “Home Repair and Construction: Know Your Rights” (rev. 02.19). Original: illinoisattorneygeneral.gov.