am home owner I hired someone I thought he was a licensed contractor. I paid him 50% at the beginning of the job he should receive the next half when job done.He is demanding payment and the job is not done and he is making threats of placing a lean on my property what can I ado?
More information is needed in order to provide you with any guidance.
1. What work, specifically, did you hire the person to do? Not all work requires a general contractor's license, and the specialty construction work that requires a locally-issued certificate of competency varies dramatically from one county to another in Florida.
2. Is the party who you signed the contract with licensed in any areas of construction according to the Department of Business and professional regulation? You can check at https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=0&SID=
3. If the scope of work that was to be performed does not require a state-issued construction license? The list of state-issued construction licenses and what work they cover can be found in Florida Statutes Section 489.105, except for electrical and alarm contracting, described in Florida Statutes Section 489.505.
4. If the work required under the contract does require either a state-issued construction license or a locally-issued Certificate of Competency, and the party you contracted with does not have the required license, then the contract can be declared unenforceable by the contractor under Florida Statutes Section 489.128. The fact that the person or business you contracted with did not have a construction license it was required to have in order to contract for the scope of work does not, however, invalidate the lien rights of the subcontractors and suppliers to that unlicensed contractor.
5. The fact that 50% of the contract amount was required as an upfont payment is also a potential red flag, unless it is a relatively small scope of work or one where the contract amount is comprised substantially of materials the contractor has to purchase to perform the scope of work.
I recommend that you consult with an attorney in person or by phone so that all of the potentially relevant facts can be explored by the attorney in order to give you competent advice.
Daniel L. Moody, Esq.
Daniel Moody, P.A.
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