Crime & Safety
Hillsborough Sheriff Cracks Down On Unlicensed Home Contractors
Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister is warning home improvement contractors that they'd better be licensed.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL – Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister is warning home improvement contractors that, if they do work in Hillsborough County, they’d better be licensed and obtain the required building permits.
The sheriff’s office announced the completion of its Operation Bring Down the House sting in which 15 unlicensed contractors were arrested and another five are pending arrest.
The operation took place in May. Over a three-week period, 91 construction contractors advertising services on Internet sites like Craig’s List, Yelp, Facebook and Porch were investigated to see if they were properly licensed to do the work they claimed to do.
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Undercover detectives solicited estimates for jobs, concentrating on those contractors who were working without a license or offered to perform the work cheaper by skipping the required building permits.
The Florida Building Code requires those involved in building, improving or demolition of a structure to be licensed and to obtain the appropriate permits from the county in which the work is taking place.
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Chronister noted that it can be tempting to use unlicensed contractors because they often offer their services at a discount. However, unlicensed contractors are not regulated, their work and the materials used may be substandard, they provide no warranty and the work is done without the required inspections.
Chronister said this can result in the need for costly repairs, code violations and insurance iabilities.
Working with the State Attorney’s, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Hillsborough County Building Department, the sheriff’s office arrested 15 contractors for entering into illegal contracts worth $110, 250 with five more pending offering $65,743 worth of services.
Among those arrested were several contractors with previous arrests for doing work without licenses or permits including William Moore, 57. of 5401 Boca Grand Circle, Dover, and Donald Tucker, 55, of 1310 Lakewood Drive, Brandon, who had been charged in a previous Hillsborough County Sheriff’s sting operation. The sheriff's office also arrested Paul Gordon, 49, of 13442 Bellingham Drive, Tampa, who has eight previous charges of unlicensed contracting in Hillsborough and Pinellas County.
Video via Hillsborough Sheriff
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