New York County Continues to Crackdown on Unlicensed Contractors

Twenty-three home improvement contractors have been charged with operating a business without a license in a two-week enforcement sweep by the Westchester (N.Y.) County Department of Consumer Protection. The contractors face fines ranging from $1,000 for a first violation and up to $10,000 for a third violation.

The department also used the county’s new Seizure/Impound law to seize the vehicle and tools of one contractor who continued to operate without a license despite having been cited during a sweep in June. The contractor, Agustin Chavez Landscaping of New Rochelle, was fined $4,500. He has since applied for a license.

“We continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to illegal home improvement contractors,” said County Executive Andrew Spano.  “Our ongoing enforcement efforts show that we mean business.”

Home improvement complaints have ranked as the top consumer complaint in Westchester for the past several years. While hiring a licensed contractor is no guarantee of satisfaction, many of the most serious complaints – involving shoddy work or failure to perform any work at all – involve unlicensed contractors.

During the sweep, field inspectors conducted 273 inspections of home improvement contractors at worksites throughout the county. Of those, 23 contractors did not have a license. The percentage of unlicensed contractors found by inspectors (8.4 percent) dropped sharply from prior sweeps in June 2008 and July 2007, when 17 percent were found to be working in the county were unlicensed.

“The results of this sweep show that our enforcement efforts – buttressed by new laws that dramatically increase the penalties for repeat violators and authorize the seizure/impound of vehicles and tools – are making a difference,” said Gary Brown, director of Consumer Protection. “Contractors are getting the message: get a license or get out of Westchester.”

A new county law increases the civil penalty for unlicensed contractors who are repeat violators. The penalty for a first violation is $1,000. This can increase to $5,000 for a second violation within five years and $10,000 for a third and subsequent violations within 10 years. Unlicensed contractors can also face criminal charges.