Serving Pittsburgh with HICPA Civil Litigation Services: 

Providing High-Quality Service For 45+ Years 

If you are looking for a Pittsburgh HICPA Litigation Lawyer, then you should contact Herb & Winters Law today to schedule your consultation so that you can learn more about your potential legal rights and how to best go about protecting them. 

What is the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (“HICPA”)? 

Under Pennsylvania law, home improvement contracts are given special treatment under the HICPA statute. True to its name, HICPA aims to protect homeowners from various fraudulent and deceptive practices by home improvement contractors. HICPA applies to home improvement contracts with respect to private residences.

Learn more about our services by scheduling an initial consultation online or calling (412) 533-4821. 

What is considered a Private Residence for purposes of HICPA? 

 Under the HICPA statute, the following qualify as private residences for purposes of the statute: 

• A single family dwelling; 
• A multifamily dwelling consisting of not more than two units; 
• A single unit located within any multifamily dwelling, including condominiums and cooperative units. 

Generally, an owner of the property is not required to reside in the private residence to be deemed an owner under HICPA. However, a person who owns three or more privates residences in Pennsylvania shall not be deemed an owner except for the private residence that the owner primarily resides in. If you want to know whether you have a potential HICPA claim and your rights under this law, you should schedule a consultation with one of Herb & Winters Law’s Pittsburgh HICPA Litigation Attorneys. 

What is considered a Home Improvement for purposes of HICPA? 

Without providing an exhausting list, HICPA defines a home improvement to include a broad category of descriptions including but not limited to: 

• Repair, replacement, remodeling, demolition, removal, renovation, installation, alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation, or sandblasting (among many others), which total cash price is greater than $500.00. 

If you would like to know whether your contract qualifies as a home improvement, then call to speak with one of our Pennsylvania Litigation Attorneys. 

What special requirements does HICPA impose upon home improvement contracts? 

HICPA sets forth thirteen (13) provisions that home improvement contracts must comply with, which is the obligation of the contractor to satisfy. Should a contractor fail to comply with HICPA, then the home improvement contract is not valid nor enforceable against the homeowner. However, this does not mean that the homeowner cannot enforce the contract against the contractor. Moreover, while a contractor may lose their breach of contract claim for failing to comply with HICPA, the contractor could assert other claims potentially such as quantum meruit (or any other cognizable claim). 

Some of the requirements include things like, but not limited to: 

• HICPA toll free number;
• Contractor’s HICPA license number;
• Approximate start and end date of project;
• Contractor’s HICPA number;
• Notice of right of recission (i.e. informing homeowner on how many days they have to rescind the contract);
• Many other requirements. 

What are Some of the Other Prohibited Acts Under HICPA? 

While there are many other legal provisions of HICPA, the statute expressly prohibits 12 certain acts. Some of these acts include but are not limited to: 

• Abandon or fail to perform, without justification, any home improvement contract undertaken by the contractor; 
• Deviate from or disregard plans or specifications, in a material respect, without a written change order dated and signed by both the contractor and owner, which contains the accompanying price changes for each deviation. 
• Fail to register as required by this act. 
• Among many other prohibited acts. 

When there is a violation of HICPA, this is an automatic violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, which actually the claim asserted in a legal Complaint.

If you want to know whether your situation could fall into the above violations or other violations not discussed herein, then you should promptly call a Pennsylvania HICPA Litigation Lawyer from Herb & Winters Law. 

How can a Pennsylvania HICPA Litigation Lawyer from Herb & Winters Law help you? 

We have experienced HICPA Litigation Attorneys that can assist you with evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your case along with recommending next steps. Our attorneys are there for you every step of the legal process. It is highly important that you immediately get a lawyer, so that we can begin working on developing your case. There are also important legal deadlines that you will need to meet, so take action today and put yourself in the best position for potential success, based upon the circumstances of your case. 

Contact Pittsburgh HICPA Litigation Attorney at Herb & Winters Law Today: 

To schedule a consultation, call us at (412) 533-4821 or reach out online. Our firm is standing by to offer personalized legal guidance.