Complaints fall as home renovators now must register
For the past year, home improvement contractors have been required register with the state before they could be issued construction permits by New Jersey towns. Consumer complaints have declined, although officials aren't yet ready to credit the new law. But they aren't ruling it out, either."It could be that some of the contractors who would have been the basis of complaints did not register and could not pull permits," said Stephen B. Nolan, acting director of the state Division of Consumer Affairs...The division had received about 2,500 complaints regarding improvement contractors by late December, Nolan said, about a 25 percent drop from the 3,400 recorded in 2005. He said he did now know why there was a drop, but added that "the registration is a great thing."

Complaints fall as home renovators now must register

JEFFREY GOLD
Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. - For the past year, home improvement contractors have been required register with the state before they could be issued construction permits by New Jersey towns. Consumer complaints have declined, although officials aren't yet ready to credit the new law.

But they aren't ruling it out, either.

"It could be that some of the contractors who would have been the basis of complaints did not register and could not pull permits," said Stephen B. Nolan, acting director of the state Division of Consumer Affairs.

Although resistance to contractor registration stymied the concept for 14 years at the Statehouse, several trade groups reported no major problems with compliance. Applications cost $90 initially and require proof of insurance coverage.

More than 33,000 renovators and remodelers registered this year, Nolan said. The division had expected just 25,000. Tradesmen such as plumbers and electricians are exempt since they must already be licensed.

"This is an important issue for consumers. This is their home, and they make large investments in these types of improvements," Nolan said.

Complaints about home improvement and repair services are frequent. They ranked ninth among all consumer complaints at the division in November. Telemarketers and debt collectors were the top two sources of complaints.

The division had received about 2,500 complaints regarding improvement contractors by late December, Nolan said, about a 25 percent drop from the 3,400 recorded in 2005. He said he did now know why there was a drop, but added that "the registration is a great thing."

If nothing else, registration gives investigators the ownership and location of a home contractor, making it easier to track one down when a complaint has been made, he noted.

The division pursued more than 60 home improvement contractors in 2006 for a variety of violations, including one accused of creating a false registration number.

Assemblyman Neil M. Cohen, D-Union, who proposed the registration law in 1990 but could not get it passed until 2004, said he is pleased that 33,000 contractors signed up.

"I didn't expect that kind of numbers so soon," Cohen said. "If a consumer still wants to hire somebody who's not registered, it's their risk. And if they're not registered, they're not going to town hall to get permits."

He hopes to give consumers a better chance to recoup money if work was done poorly by adding a provision to the law requiring home improvement contractors to carry some form of performance bond.

Several contractors said registration should make it easier for consumers to avoid unscrupulous renovators.

"People will start to look for it, almost as they look for a license for a plumber or electrician," said Michael A. Davis, owner of TWIG Development & Renovation Co., in South Orange. "I think it's a very good step in the right direction."

Howard Wolfe, executive vice president of the Community Builders Association, in Whippany, said that while registration did not apply to members who are new home builders, members who are remodelers reported no issues with registering.

"We welcome the registration act, because people who just ring the doorbell and aren't responsible have to take an additional step now," Wolfe said.

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