Owners of waterfront property have “riparian rights” to access the navigable water and the right to a waterfront view in addition to their rights to use their upland property. Docking rights often are an area of dispute, not only for waterfront property owners seeking dock permits from the government, but […]
The Florida Construction Lien Law can be a contractor’s best tool for getting paid in full. The rub with the Lien Law is knowing how to use it properly. If not used properly, this tool will fail completely. One common misuse is failing to record a claim of lien within the […]
The construction industry is booming again in Florida. As a result, many people are seeking to take advantage of this by becoming licensed contractors. Chapter 489, Florida Statutes and 61G4-12 through 23, Florida Administrative Code sets forth the requirements for an applicant to achieve initial licensure. In Florida, an individual […]
If you are a secondary qualifying agent for a company, there is potential for being financially responsible for the company you qualify. This stems from how the law shifts liability after a primary qualifying agent terminates their business relationship. Therefore, it is important to pay close attention to the status […]
The Florida Legislature deems it necessary in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare to regulate the construction industry in Florida. As a result, the Florida Legislature enacted Chapter 489, Florida Statutes. Florida Construction Licensing is further broken down by restrictions on the scope of work a respective […]
Any person or business performing construction work on a state, county or city project in Florida (“public project”) is typically concerned about payment for its work. Since those persons or businesses do not have construction lien rights on the public project, they must know their options to ensure payment. On […]
A few Florida municipalities recently enacted so-called “Living Wage” ordinances. For instance, such ordinances have been adopted by Broward and Alachua counties, and the cities of Miami, West Palm Beach, and St. Petersburg. In sum, these ordinances require certain contractors and subcontractors that provide services to the municipality to pay […]
Construction worksites are frequently dangerous, and nobody wants to be on the hook for a subcontractor’s unsafe practices. It is increasingly common for construction contracts to require subcontractors to name general contractors as additional insureds in their insurance policies. The purpose of these additional insured provisions is to allocate the […]
Many Florida contractors and license holders have a general understanding of the requirements of Chapter 489, however there are some requirements that seem to be neglected. All too often, a contractor will “lose” or “destroy” project records prematurely. This can actually make it more difficult to defend against a claim […]
The last place land owners who have hired contractors want to end up is in court. Fortunately, most construction projects do not result in litigation. However, for the ones that do, it can be a costly and stressful ordeal. What follows are ten points that all Florida land owners should […]