{"id":904623,"date":"2025-07-30T14:42:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T20:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=904623"},"modified":"2025-07-30T14:42:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T20:42:05","slug":"unlicensed-contractor-florida-not-playing-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/unlicensed-contractor-florida-not-playing-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida is not Playing Games with Unlicensed Contracting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

David Adelstein | Florida Construction Legal Updates<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lately, Florida is NOT playing any games with unlicensed contractors<\/a>. And the results are harsh. BE WARY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is demonstrated in the recent opinion CAM Bradford Homes, LLC v. Arrants<\/em>, 2025 WL 1715893 (Fla. 5th<\/sup> DCA 2025).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, an owner hired a contractor to build a house. The contractor\u2019s owner, a licensed contractor, pulled the permit in his own name and supervised the project. However, the owner did not qualify his construction company as a licensed contractor. A dispute arose and the owner terminated the contract. The contractor liened the project and sued the owner. The owner claimed the contract was unenforceable under Florida Statute s. 489.128<\/strong> because the contractor was unlicensed. This meant the contractor could not enforce its contract (or lien) and was sh*t out of luck. The trial court and appellate court agreed because while the owner of the construction company may have been properly licensed, his construction company was not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Florida, all contractors must be certified or registered with the Department. When any business organization other than a sole proprietorship intends to engage in construction contracting, \u201cthe applicant must<\/em> apply for registration or certification as the qualifying agent of the business organization.<\/u>\u201d To qualify a business organization contractors  for the first time, the agent must apply to the Construction Industry Licensing Board (\u201cBoard\u201d) and submit certain documents and a fee.  If the Board determines the business is qualified, the Department will issue the business organization a certificate or registration. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Florida law, only a licensed contractors can enforce its contracts<\/u>.  To be considered licensed, a business organization contractor must have a qualifying agent that is itself licensed to perform the work contemplated in the contract<\/u>.  Thus, whether a business organization is a licensed contractor within the meaning of section 489.128 \u201cturns on whether the business organization is [legally] associated with a person licensed for the type of work to be performed under the contract as of the effective date of the contract.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CAM Bradford Homes, supra<\/em> at *2 (internal citations omitted).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The contractor countered the harsh result of it not being able to enforce its contract or lien by arguing its owner was licensed and pulled the permit and supervised. In other words, the owner \u201cacted\u201d as the qualifying agent. The appellate court found this unpersuasive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the Legislature had intended the requirements to have been met by an \u201cacting\u201d qualified agent, it would not have explicitly provided that only<\/em> a sole proprietorship may rely on the license of an individual without applying with the Department. Moreover, accepting the assertion that [the owner] was [the construction company\u2019s] qualifying agent despite his failure to apply would render meaningless the statutory provisions prohibiting business organizations from engaging in contracting without being certified or registered\u2026as well as those prohibiting a certified or registered contractor from allowing an unqualified business organization to use their individual certification or registration number to engage in contracting\u2026. We cannot interpret statutes in such a way. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CAM Bradford Homes, supra<\/em> at *3 (internal citations omitted).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a contractor in Florida, treat licensure seriously. It\u2019s no joke, as you can tell. If you are an owner, do your due diligence to ensure you are hiring a licensed contractor.  If not, you have an argument that the contract is not enforceable in law or in equity against that unlicensed contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

When one of your cases is in need of a construction expert, estimates, insurance appraisal or umpire services in defect or insurance disputes – please call Advise & Consult, Inc. at 888.684.8305, or email experts@adviseandconsult.net<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Adelstein | Florida Construction Legal Updates Lately, Florida is NOT playing any games with unlicensed contractors. And the results are harsh. BE WARY. This is demonstrated in the recent opinion CAM Bradford Homes, LLC v. Arrants, 2025 WL 1715893 (Fla. 5th DCA 2025). In this case, an owner hired a contractor to build a house. The… Continue reading Florida is not Playing Games with Unlicensed Contracting<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14],"tags":[9895,12,94,9130],"class_list":["post-904623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-2","tag-advise-consult","tag-construction","tag-florida","tag-unlicensed-contractors","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida is not Playing Games with Unlicensed Contracting - Advise & Consult, Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you are a contractor in Florida, treat licensure seriously. 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