Renovation Protection Checklist for Los Angeles Homeowners

How to use it

Five stages, one folder of proof

Work through each stage before you move to the next. Keep every contract, change order, invoice and lien release in one folder, paper or digital. If a question ever comes up, that folder is your answer.

The legal points below come from the California Contractors State License Board and Los Angeles public agencies, linked at the end of the page. This is general guidance, not legal advice. For a dispute or a lien already recorded, speak with a construction attorney.

Before you sign

Look up the contractor's license on the CSLB Check a License page. Search by license number, business name or personal name, and read the status and any complaint disclosures.
Confirm workers' compensation coverage if the contractor has employees. California requires it. Ask for proof of general liability insurance too.
Get the whole job in a written contract. Any home improvement project over $500 in combined labor and materials must be in a contract.
Keep the down payment small. California caps it at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less.
Read the Mechanics Lien Warning the contractor must give you, and note your three business days to cancel (five if you are 65 or older).
Agree in writing who applies for permits, and make sure permit fees and inspections are in the schedule and the price.

While work is underway

Pay only for work that is done. Payments to the contractor cannot exceed the value of the work performed.
Put every change in a signed change order before the work happens, with the new price and any change to the schedule.
Ask for a conditional waiver and release with each progress payment. It only takes effect once the payment actually clears.
Collect releases from subcontractors and suppliers, not only the general contractor. Paying your contractor does not guarantee they have been paid, and they can still record a lien.
For larger payments, consider a joint check made out to the contractor and the subcontractor or supplier.
Accept an unconditional release only after you have confirmed the payment was received.

Materials and purchasing

Decide who orders each major item: you, the designer or the contractor. Write it down, with whose name is on the order.
Keep the final specification for every finish, fixture and appliance: model numbers, colors, finishes and approved samples.
Record deposits on custom and long-lead items, with the cancellation and refund terms from the vendor.
Check deliveries against the specification on arrival, photograph damage, and keep the signed delivery receipt.
Know where materials are stored before installation and who insures them while they wait.
Save warranties, care instructions and product registrations as items arrive, not at the end.

Closing out

Walk the house with the contractor and agree a written punch list with dates.
Confirm every permit has passed final inspection. For homes in the City of Los Angeles, check the address on the LADBS Permit and Inspection Report. Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Malibu and other cities run their own building departments.
Before the final payment, get a conditional waiver and release upon final payment from the contractor and from every subcontractor and supplier who worked on the job.
After the final payment clears, collect the unconditional final releases and file them with your contract.
Hold the handover: warranties, manuals, paint and finish schedules, and as-built changes.

Protect your title

Sign up for Los Angeles County's Property Owner e-Notification Alert, run with the Assessor and the Registrar-Recorder, so you hear about documents recorded against your property.
If a recorded notice looks suspicious, the county's Department of Consumer and Business Affairs takes questions at (800) 593-8222 or homehelp@dcba.lacounty.gov.

Renovation protection checklistFor Los Angeles homeowners planning a remodel