MyFloridaCode.com

Sam, what Eric says is true, but it is conditionally true.

 

According to the construction industry licensing board, if a contractor
pulls a permit for construction as a "construction manager" or has
performance duties as a construction manager, all of the subcontractors
and all of the money must flow through the licensed contractor's firm.
The owner cannot have a contractor obtain a permit and then negotiate or
hire subcontractors or material men and pat them directly. There is a
board opinion letter affirming this.

 

Think about it this way; if an owner is allowed to hire a contractor to
obtain a permit and then negotiate, hire, contract and compensate
persons or entities to perform or the work or supply materials under
that permit - the contractor would be aiding and abetting an unlicensed
entity. I.e., the contractor is allowing the owner to "play contractor"
and all parties will be caught in the middle. This is why it is not
acceptable.

 

I'm not sure if the ECLB has a similar opinion, but if a general or
building contractor pulled a building permit, then it is under the
construction industry licensing board anyway.

 

The only way an owner may directly perform the work is if that owner
obtains a permit in the owner's name. There is no monetary limit to the
value of construction that an owner may permit in his or her own name if
the construction is residential, but if the construction is commercial,
the value limit is $75,000. In both cases, the owner must own the
property in their own name and not in the name of an entity. In both
cases, the owner must directly, on-site supervise any worker who is not
a licensed contractor and all workers who are not licensed contractors
must be bona-fide employees of the owner.

 

The owner may hire a licensed contractor to supervise the construction,
but that contractor can only supervise work that he or she can perform.
I.e. if an owner hired a general contractor to supervise the
construction under an owner builder permit, the contractor could
supervise any work they are licensed to perform. This would exclude
plumbing, electrical, air-conditioning, roofing, etc. since the general
is licensed to perform them. The owner would have to directly supervise
those particular work scopes being done with their employees or hire a
licensed contractor in each category to directly supervise in their
stead.

 

If the owner does not want to do this (who would) the owner has the
option of; 1. Perform the work with his or her own employees under the
owner's direct supervision or 2. Hire a contractor licensed in that
specific category to perform the work. It is as simple as that.

 

In other words, the intent of the statute allows a building or home
owner to obtain a building permit and perform the work on their own
property by way of their own hands, or by the use of their own employees
under the owner's direct on-site, supervision. Any work not performed as
stated must be performed by a contractor licensed in that specific
scope.

 

In my humble opinion,

 

 

R.J.Koning - Director

Contractors Institute

rjkoning at contractorsinstitute.com

8301 Joliet Street

Hudson, Fl 34667

727-863-5147

 

 

From: codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com
[mailto:codetalk-bounces at myfloridacode.com] On Behalf Of Eric Kuritzky
Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 11:18 AM
To: Sam Nasser; codetalk at myfloridacode.com
Subject: Re: [Florida Code Talk] Is the owner of a commercial project
allowed to subcontract to various contractors?

 

The general contractor is responsible for the primary building
construction.  Either the general, or the owner, can hire (contract) the
required subs, who all reference the prime permit number for their
individual permits.  There is nothing I am aware of to prevent this, as
you pointed out, as the owner is allowed to hire anyone.  The owner is
not the contractor, and the permit is not in his name. So he is not
acting as the contractor, but only establishing the contractual
relationships for the licensed contractors and subcontractors.  Instead
of having all the subcontracts go through the general, which is normal.
I don't see a problem here.  

There is, however, the ultimate problem of disputes and coordination.
If the subs are not contracted directly with the general, there is a
possibility for coordination problems which, if the subcontracts are not
written properly, could hold the owner responsible for coordinating the
subs with the general.  But that is a contractual relationship, not a
code relationship.

My humble opinion.

 



________________________________

From: Sam Nasser <bnasser at cfl.rr.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2010 10:36:29 -0500
To: <codetalk at myfloridacode.com>
Subject: [Florida Code Talk] Is the owner of a commercial project
allowed to subcontract to various contractors?

The terminated electrical contractor filed a complaint with DBPR against
the owner accusing him of practicing as a contractor without a license.

The commercial project has a contractor who pulled the permit and
manages the project on DAILY basis and the owner is appointed by the
contractor as the project manager. The owner signed the work contract
with the terminated electrical contractor and paid him directly in
coordination with and under supervision of the contractor.

DBPR stated "By subcontracting to the electrical contractor, owner may
be practicing as a contractor without a license..." 

Multiple prime contracts in chapter 8 of the contractor manual, allows
the owner to directly contract with specialized trades such as
electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc., etc., and also to coordinate the work
of the various contractors... 

Opinions please.



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