The short version
- Wisconsin's home improvement rule (ATCP 110) requires a written contract whenever you pay before the work is finished or the seller solicited you, and it spells out what the contract must contain.
- Check credentials yourself: the DSPS Dwelling Contractor certification for permit work, state electrician and plumber licenses for trade work, DHS lead-safe certification for pre-1978 homes, and a current certificate of insurance.
- Expect two legal notices: a notice about construction defects and your contractor's right to offer repairs (Wis. Stat. 895.07 and 101.148), and a construction lien notice (Wis. Stat. 779.02).
- Compare estimates line by line — same scope, same materials, same exclusions — not by the bottom number.
- Pressure to sign today, large cash deposits, vague scope and a request that you pull the permit yourself are the clearest warning signs.
Start with the scope, then get more than one bid
The best protection is a clear idea of what you want done before anyone prices it. Write down the problem, the result you want, and anything you already know about the house: its age, past leaks, earlier repairs. Contractors will refine it, but you'll be able to see when one bid quietly drops something the others include.
Get more than one written estimate. Wisconsin's Department of Health Services gives that advice for lead-safe work, and the Wisconsin Builders Association gives it for storm repairs. It applies to everything else too. Ask friends and neighbors who they have used, and look for contractors with a local address and work you can go and see.
What Wisconsin requires in the contract
Wisconsin's home improvement practices rule, ATCP 110, covers remodeling, altering, repairing, painting and modernizing residential property. It requires a written contract when the buyer must pay anything before the work is complete, and when the seller solicited the job — face to face, by phone or mail away from its place of business, or with flyers at homes. That covers most home improvement jobs, since most involve a deposit or progress payment. The written contract must include:
- The seller's name and address, and the name of any salesperson or agent involved
- A description of the work and the principal products and materials, with their specifications
- The total price or other consideration, including all finance charges
- The dates or time period for starting and completing the work
- A description of any mortgage or security interest taken in connection with the contract
- A statement of any promises the seller makes about the work or products, and their terms
- A description of any other documents made part of the contract
The seller must give you a copy of the signed contract before starting work or taking any payment. Before you sign, the seller must also tell you every building or construction permit the job requires. Any promise to stand behind the work or products must be in writing, stating what it covers, its conditions and exclusions, how long it lasts, and how quickly the seller will act on a valid claim.
What the rule prohibits, and what you can do about delays
ATCP 110 also lists practices a seller may not use. Among them, a seller may not:
- Misrepresent that it holds a license, a bond or insurance. A seller that claims any of these must give you a written statement describing the specific type it holds.
- Misrepresent that your home, or something in it, is dangerous or defective, or needs repair or replacement.
- Deliver materials, start work or use any other tactic to pressure you into a contract.
- Take payment for materials or services it doesn't intend to provide as the contract says.
- Use money you pay before the job is finished for anything other than materials or services for your job.
- Get into your home by posing as a government or utility inspector, or misrepresent that it works for a manufacturer.
If a seller misses a deadline in the contract, fails to give the required notice of a delay, or the contract sets no deadline and the work is not done in a timely way, you may cancel and demand the return of payments not yet spent on the job. The seller must return them within 15 days of your demand, deliver materials already bought, and provide a written accounting of your payments within 30 days on request. Complaints go to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection's hotline, 1-800-422-7128.
Two notices you should receive
The construction defects notice (right to cure). Before you sign a contract to build or remodel a home, the contractor must give you a brochure and a conspicuous written notice, which can be part of the contract. It explains that before you can sue over defective construction, Wisconsin law requires you to give the contractor written notice of the defects and a chance to offer a repair or other remedy. The notice must be delivered at least 90 working days before you file suit. The contractor then has 15 working days in most cases to respond: by offering to repair, offering to settle, proposing an inspection, or rejecting the claim. You are not obligated to accept any offer. A contractor who skips this notice weakens its own position; a homeowner who skips the defect notice can have a lawsuit dismissed.
The construction lien notice. A prime contractor who will use subcontractors or suppliers must include a lien notice in the written contract. It warns that people who provide labor, materials or services for your project may have lien rights on your land and buildings if they are not paid — including subcontractors and suppliers who send you their own notice within 60 days of starting. Keep every lien notice you receive, and give copies to your mortgage lender, as the statutory notice advises.
Before final payment, ask for lien waivers from the contractor and from every subcontractor and supplier who sent you a notice. The Wisconsin Builders Association advises getting lien waivers from anyone paid for the work.
Sources
- 1.Wis. Stat. § 895.07 — Claims against contractors and suppliers (right to cure) (opens in a new tab)
- 2.Wis. Stat. § 101.148 — Notice of construction defect procedures (opens in a new tab)
- 3.Wis. Stat. § 779.02 — Construction lien notices (opens in a new tab)
- 4.Wisconsin Builders Association — Avoiding storm chasers (opens in a new tab)
Check credentials yourself
Logos and badges on a website are not proof. These are the checks that matter, and you can do most of them in a few minutes:
- Dwelling Contractor certification. Wisconsin law says no one may obtain a building permit for a one- or two-family home without DSPS certification — a Dwelling Contractor certification plus a certified Dwelling Contractor Qualifier — unless they are the owner who lives in the home. Look the company up on the state's license lookup at license.wi.gov. See permits in southeast Wisconsin.
- Trade licenses. Electrical wiring must be done by an electrician with a state license or registration, and plumbing by someone holding a state plumbing license, apart from narrow owner exceptions. The same lookup covers these.
- Lead-safe certification. For paid work that disturbs paint in a pre-1978 home, the company must appear on the DHS certified lead company list and a DHS-certified renovator must lead the job. See lead-safe renovation in Wisconsin.
- Insurance. Ask for a certificate of liability insurance, as the Wisconsin Builders Association advises. Check the named business matches the contract and the policy dates cover your job; having it sent to you directly by the insurance agent is a simple way to confirm it is current. Ask whether the company carries workers' compensation for its employees.
- Complaints. Check with DATCP's consumer protection hotline and look at the company's review history over several years, not just the last month.
- Manufacturer programs. If a contractor cites a manufacturer credential, confirm it on the manufacturer's own contractor locator.
Sources
- 1.Wis. Stat. § 101.654 — Dwelling contractor certification (opens in a new tab)
- 2.Wisconsin DSPS — Dwelling Contractor certification (opens in a new tab)
- 3.Wisconsin DSPS — License lookup (opens in a new tab)
- 4.Wis. Stat. § 101.862 — Electrician licensing (opens in a new tab)
- 5.Wis. Stat. § 145.06 — Plumbing licenses (opens in a new tab)
- 6.Wisconsin DHS — Hire a lead-safe contractor (opens in a new tab)
- 7.Wisconsin Builders Association — Avoiding storm chasers (opens in a new tab)
Comparing estimates apples to apples
Two estimates can differ by thousands of dollars because they describe different jobs. Put them side by side and check each line:
- Scope: exactly what is being replaced, repaired or painted, room by room or elevation by elevation.
- Materials: product lines and grades, not 'or equal'; quantities where they matter.
- Prep and hidden work: for painting, scraping, sanding method, spot-priming and number of coats; for roofing, layers removed, ice barrier coverage, flashing and ventilation; for siding, water-resistive barrier, flashing and trim.
- Unknowns: how rotted decking, sheathing or subfloor will be priced if found — a unit price per sheet or per foot beats 'time and materials'.
- Permits: which ones, who pulls them, and whether fees are included.
- Lead-safe work on pre-1978 homes, described in writing.
- Cleanup and disposal, including dumpster placement.
- Schedule: start and completion dates, and what happens if weather intervenes.
- Payments: deposit and progress payments tied to completed stages, with the final payment after completion and inspection.
- Exclusions: what is not included, stated plainly.
- Written terms for any promise to stand behind the work, and for manufacturer coverage on products.
Local cost ranges and what drives them are in our cost guides. An estimate far below the others is worth a direct question about what it leaves out.
Red flags
None of these proves a contractor is dishonest, but each deserves a direct question:
- Pressure to sign today, or a price that expires in hours.
- Materials delivered or work started before you agreed to anything.
- A large deposit, especially in cash, before any work or material order.
- A vague, one-line scope, or reluctance to put details in writing.
- A request that you pull the permit in your own name.
- No local address, or a phone number and truck lettering that don't match the contract.
- An offer to cover your insurance deductible, or to handle your insurance claim for you — both prohibited for exterior contractors in Wisconsin. See storm damage to your roof.
- Claims that your home is dangerous and needs work immediately, from someone who approached you.
- Reluctance to provide credential numbers, a certificate of insurance, or references.
Paying and closing out the job
Tie payments to completed stages rather than dates, and keep the final payment until the work is finished, any required inspection has passed, and punch-list items are done. The Wisconsin Builders Association advises making sure an inspector has approved the work before final payment. Put any change to the scope or price in writing before the changed work starts, and keep the contract, change orders, permits, lien notices, lien waivers and product documents together.
C&L Property Improvements provides free estimates, looks at the house in person and puts the scope in writing. You can read how our process works, and hold us to the same checklist you would use for anyone else. If more than one exterior project is on your list, see what order to do exterior projects.
Questions
Does a contractor need a license in Wisconsin?
It depends on the work. To pull a building permit for a one- or two-family home, a contractor needs DSPS Dwelling Contractor certification with a certified Qualifier. Electrical and plumbing work require state credentials. Paid paint-disturbing work in pre-1978 homes requires DHS lead-safe certification. Painting a home built after 1978, for example, needs no state trade credential.
Does a home improvement contract have to be in writing in Wisconsin?
Under ATCP 110, yes, whenever you pay anything before the work is complete or the seller solicited you. That covers most jobs. The contract must include the work, materials, total price, start and completion dates, and other items listed in the rule.
What is a lien waiver?
A signed statement from someone who supplied labor or materials that they have been paid and give up lien rights for that amount. Wisconsin's lien notice warns that unpaid subcontractors and suppliers may have lien rights on your property, so collecting waivers before final payment protects you.
What is the right-to-cure notice?
A notice Wisconsin requires contractors to give before a construction or remodeling contract. It explains that before suing over a defect, you must give the contractor written notice and a chance to offer a repair or other remedy. You don't have to accept the offer.
Read next
- Building permits for home projects in southeast Wisconsin
- Lead-safe renovation in Wisconsin: what homeowners should know
- After a storm: roof damage, storm chasers and your rights in Wisconsin
- Roof replacement cost in southeast Wisconsin
- Kitchen remodeling cost in southeast Wisconsin
- Bathroom remodeling cost in southeast Wisconsin
- Siding replacement cost in southeast Wisconsin
- Exterior painting cost in southeast Wisconsin
- Interior painting cost in southeast Wisconsin
