Homeowner Beware! Know your Rights.
There have been recent laws enacted to protect the consumer from home improvement fraud and potential lead exposure. The Pennsylvania Home Improvement Contractor Law went into effect in June of 2009. This law requires that ALL home improvement contractors get a license from the PA Attorney General. This license number should be visibly displayed by the contractor and would look smiilar to this: “PAHIC#861” (with the contractors specific number in lieu of the number shown). There are other specific requirements that must be met by the contractor in terms of client notifications, rights of recision, and specific contract terms. Please note – anyone that works in your home should have this license, not just your General Contractor. Please go to http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/ for more information.
The Environmental Protection Agency has also passed a law that goes into effect on 4/22/09, requiring that ANY person that works on your home that disturbs more than 6 square feet of interior area (a very small area), or 20 square feet of exterior area get trained and become a Certified Renovator capable of testing for and remedying lead paint issues that your pre 1979 home may have. The company must have at least one Certified Renovator that must be on site at specific times during the lead paint abatement, AND the company itself must also be registered with the EPA. (The laws for HUD or Federal financed properties are more stringent than these listed).
The Home Improvement Contractor number for J. Schwartz,llc is PAHIC#861. Joe Schwartz has already taken and passed one of the first EPA classes offered and is a Certified Renovator – We strive to be an industry leader and our clients benefit.