Each week, investigators from the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) travel throughout California conducting sting operations to try and catch people doing unlicensed construction, according to Steve Breen, public information officer for the CSLB.
Breen said his agency responded to several recent reports of unlicensed activity in the Santa Maria Valley. A total of 21 people hailing from Lompoc to Arroyo Grande suspected of a variety of unlicensed contracting violations were cited and released during a two-day sting on Feb. 10 and 11, in an undisclosed house somewhere west of Highway 101.
Breen called it a “pretty successful” operation, catching 13 people on the first day and eight on the second, many of whom were repeat offenders.
The number is high for this area, according to Breen, who added that the CSLB nabbed 23 on the same day during another operation held in the Los Angeles area.
Breen said investigators were able to get permission to use a house and posed as homeowners, then lured would-be contractors using online advertisements.
The contracting jobs included tile work, painting, and installation of granite countertops and a hot water heater, according to Breen.
All of the bids were for $3,000 or more, Breen said, who added that the legal threshold for a contractor to do work without needing a license is $500, including labor and material.
“That’s way out of their league,” Breen told the Sun.
Not a lot of work can be done for $500. Something as simple as a paint job could exceed that number, Breen said.
When a contractor obtains a license, he or she gets fingerprinted and has to pass a background check. Not only should homeowners check the CSLB’s website to verify that a contractor is licensed, Breen said they should also ask the contractor to produce a license on the spot.
“You should do this any time you get a construction bid to do an improvement project and the person is quoting the job,” Breen said.
Unlicensed contracting is not only a big problem in California, but in the entire country, according to Breen. He says it’s part of the “underground economy” where, for whatever reason, people choose not to be licensed.
“They’re not bonded and pay no taxes, unlike legitimate contractors,” Breen told the Sun. “And they have no workers’ compensation insurance.”
The Santa Maria sting was carried out by a SWIFT (statewide investigative fraud team) based in Fresno and was assisted by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, investigators from the District Attorney’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol.
No arrests were made, Breen said. All who were cited are accused of misdemeanors and will be appearing in the Anacapa Division of Santa Barbara County Superior Court on April 12 and 13.
This article appears in Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2016.