Construction Contract Administration

When I downloaded a contract form recently, there was a note at the front saying that I needed to consult an attorney if the project was in California. Later, a contractor informed me that now all residential construction contracts in California fall under the category of home improvement contracts, which have specific regulations.

Wanting some clarity about this, I asked a construction law attorney, who said that he had not heard anything about it but that I should check with the CSLB because they would probably know. I have been through their website top to bottom and can't find anything about it.

Does anyone out there know what is up with this?

Thanks very much!

--

Kate

PS - I tried to cross-post this to CRAN but it doesn't appear in the drop-down menu, although I am a member. If anyone knows anything about that, please let me know.

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Kate Svoboda-Spanbock AIA, NCARB, CID
Principal
HERE Design and Architecture
Los Angeles CA
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Hello Kate,

Apologies for the late response here, I have been traveling and just got settled back. The request that you mention for regarding "Home Improvement Contracts" is specifically relating to the contractor-owner agreement and not to the architect-owner agreement.

Here are some links for you:

Learn About Home Improvement Contracts

Ca		remove preview
Learn About Home Improvement Contracts This section explains what is required in a contract and what you should look for before signing any kind of legal paperwork with a contractor. Additional information about home improvement contracts can be found here. Consumers View this on Ca >

and:

www.cslb.ca.gov/Resources/.../ContractingForSuccess.pdf

We are an Architect-led Design-build Firm in San Francisco focusing primarily on high-end residential work and have our own separate agreements for both architect-owner and contractor-owner relationships. The rules governing contractor-owner agreements that the CSLB website has referred to are something we also abide by and use. Unfortunately, due to the litigious nature of work in California, we do not use standard AIA agreements as we needed to modify things substantially for the scale and scope of work we do. However, you should be fine using standard AIA agreements for professional services from what i see and understand to date. If you have any serious concerns, it would always be wise to consult with an attorney and / or your E & O carrier as well.

I hope this helps! please do not hesitate to call me if i can be of any further assistance.

Regards,

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James Walbridge AIA
President
Tekton Architecture
San Francisco CA