How Much Deposit Do You Pay for a Roof in Florida?

The short version

How much deposit can a roofer ask for in Florida?

Florida law does not set a cap on a roofing deposit. It does set deadlines once your first payment passes 10 percent of the contract price.

Many homeowners hear that a Florida roofer "can only ask for 10 percent." That is not what the law says. Florida Statute 489.126 does not put a dollar or percent limit on what you may agree to pay up front. What it does is attach duties to the contractor when the first payment is large.

If a contractor receives, as the initial payment, money totaling more than 10 percent of the contract price for repair, restoration, improvement or construction on residential property, the contractor must do two things. First, apply for the permits needed within 30 days after the payment is made, unless the work does not need a permit. Second, start the work within 90 days after the permits are issued.

Both deadlines have exceptions. The contractor may have just cause, or you may agree in writing to a longer period. So read what you sign, because a clause that stretches those periods is an agreement you made.

Florida defines a roofing contractor as one whose services are unlimited in the roofing trade (489.105(3)), and that is the license you should look for. The deposit statute covers more than licensed roofers, though. The term contractor includes anyone "performing or contracting or promising to perform" the work, "without regard to the licensure of the person" (489.126(1)).

If work does not start

What can you do if a roofer takes your deposit and never starts?

Send a written demand by certified mail. The statute spells out the form, and 30 days of silence helps your case.

1. Check your dates

   Count 30 days from the day you paid for the permit application, and 90 days from the day the permit was issued. Look at any written extension you signed.

2. Write a demand letter

   The letter must demand that the contractor apply for the necessary permits, start the work, or refund the payment (489.126(2)(b)1). Keep a copy.

3. Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested

   Mail it to the address listed in the contracting agreement. If there is no address or no written agreement, mail it to the address listed for licensing purposes with the state or the local licensing board.

4. Wait 30 days and keep records

   The statute says it may be inferred that the contractor has no just cause if it fails to apply for permits, start the work or refund the payment within 30 days of the written demand (489.126(2)(b)2).

5. Get help

   Contact a Florida attorney, your local building department and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Report the facts you have in writing.

A similar demand process covers a contractor who stops working. The statute says a contractor who has received more money than the value of the work done may not fail to perform for any 90 day period. A written demand by certified mail to perform or refund, followed by 30 days without a response, supports the inference that there was no just cause (489.126(3)(b)).

The penalties

What happens to a contractor who breaks the deposit law?

Florida treats it as a crime, and the level depends on how much money was taken. Intent can be shown from the time the contractor used the money.

A contractor who violates the permit and start rule in subsection (2) commits a first degree misdemeanor if the total money received is less than $1,000. It is a third degree felony at $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, a second degree felony at $20,000 or more but less than $200,000, and a first degree felony at $200,000 or more (489.126(5)). Subsection (6) sets the same levels for taking more money than the work performed is worth and then failing to perform.

The statute also says the required intent "may be shown to exist at the time that the contractor appropriated the money to his or her own use" and need not exist when the money was paid. It adds that intending to return the money is not a defense, and that failing to refund within 30 days after a written demand lets a court infer intent (489.126(4)).

These penalties are a backstop. The better protection is the one you control: pay in stages, get the dates in writing, and keep every receipt. See how to avoid roofing scams in Florida for warning signs.