Home Improvement Contract (Sample) – Washington, DC

The Home Improvement Contract (Sample) is a written agreement, published by the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), under which a contractor supplies materials and labor at the request and order of a homeowner for work on the homeowner's property.

The printed form is titled HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACT and opens with a D.C. Permanent # line and a date. It then collects:

• the homeowner's name, address and phone numbers, and the construction address if it is different;
• a description of the work to be performed;
• the dates by which work is to start and be substantially completed;
• the address to which a cancellation notice must be mailed;
• the total amount, the deposit, the balance and how the balance is paid;
• the salesperson's name and license number, and the signatures of the homeowner and the contractor.

The contract includes a Buyer's Right to Cancel notice and a warning not to sign a blank contract. It is an agreement between the parties, not an application for a license or permit. The form refers to terms that may be printed on the reverse side and to an optional written addendum for a longer description of the work.

The homeowner and the contractor are the two parties to this contract. The homeowner orders the work and signs; the contractor accepts it in writing. If a salesperson handled the sale, the form has a line for the salesperson's name, license number and date.

By signing, the homeowner represents and warrants that he or she is the owner or the authorized agent of the premises and has read the agreement. An authorized agent may therefore sign for the owner, but the form asks the signer to confirm that authority.

The cancellation notice applies when the agreement was solicited at or near the homeowner's residence and the homeowner does not want the goods or services.

The form does not say who is required to use it or in which situations a written contract is mandatory. For those questions, check with DLCP.

Complete the contract before any work starts, when the homeowner and contractor agree on the scope and price. The homeowner signs at the time of agreement and is entitled to a copy, including any addenda, at that moment.

Several dates are built into the form:

• The contract states the dates on or before which work is to start and be substantially completed.
• It may be withdrawn if the contractor has not accepted it within 3 days.
• If the agreement was solicited at or near the homeowner's residence, the homeowner may cancel by mailing a notice before midnight of the third business day after signing.

The form prints no filing deadline with an agency.

This contract is signed between the homeowner and the contractor; the form prints no agency address, portal or filing channel.

• Signing: the homeowner signs, the salesperson (if any) enters name, license number and date, and the contractor signs the acceptance line. Both parties also sign the acceptance lines at the bottom.
• Copies: the homeowner is entitled to a copy of the contract, including any addenda, at the time he or she signs.
• Addendum: if the work description needs more space, a written addendum signed by both parties is made part of the contract.
• Cancellation: a homeowner who cancels mails the notice to the address written in the cancellation paragraph of the contract.

FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; what happens next follows the steps above, and DLCP publishes the original form.