New Colorado Roofing Law Requires New Contract, May Cause Problems

If you own or operate a roofing company, or work with them, you need to be aware of a new Colorado law just signed into law by Governor Hickenlooper.  The Consumer Protection / Residential Roofing Act now requires roofing contractors in Colorado to operate under written contracts that must include many specific terms.  These terms may already be included in some roofers’ contracts.  But, if the roofing contract does not have these terms, it may not be enforceable.  If you own or operate a roofing company, you may need to re-draft your contracts.  Now.

Even if a roofing company does rewrite its contract to comply with the new law, its problems are not necessarily over.  Some of the new contract provisions may expose roofing companies to new problems and create new opportunities for customers to avoid payment.  For example, roofing contracts must now permit the customer to cancel within seventy-two hours if the insurance company denies the insurance claim, in whole or in part, unless the denial was based on damage that was not reasonably foreseeable.

Roofing companies often get paid by a customer’s insurance company, and often have to submit supplements for work required for code upgrades, profit, and overhead, among other items.  Yet, this new law does not include exceptions for any of these items. So, if an insurance company initially denies a supplemental claim – even just as a negotiating tactic – the customer might now argue the whole contract is void.  We expect that this issue will evolve as collection lawsuits move through the courts.

More information about the new Colorado roofing law can be found on our website.

In the meantime, our firm has developed some strategies to help roofing companies and contractors deal with this new uncertainty.  Like so many other things, a properly drafted contract can help reduce problems.

This post provides general legal information only.  If you need legal advice specific to your situation, or need to re-write your contract to comply with Colorado’s new law, please contact us to set up a consultation.