Owner.)

Applicant. Any person who files an application to become or continue to operate as a registered home improvement contractor or subcontractor. Application. The form provided by the director which, along with other documentation and fee(s) that may be required, must be duly filed to become or continue to operate as a registered home improvement contractor or subcontractor. Certificate of Registration. The card or other document provided to a registrant that lists the registrant's registration number and other identifying information required by the director. (See 201 CMR 18.01(2): Registrant.) Clear and Conspicuous. The material representation being disclosed is of ten-point type and is so presented as to be readily noticed and understood by a reasonable person. Language in the body of a contract is "conspicuous" if it is in larger or contrasting type or color, or underscored. Contract. A written agreement in one or more documents for the performance of certain residential contracting work, including all labor, material, goods and services set forth under said agreement. Contractor. Any person who, through themself or others, undertakes, offers to undertake, purports to have the capacity to undertake, or submits a bid for residential contracting work. (See 201 CMR 18.01(2): Home Improvement Contractor.) Director. The Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. (Mass. Register #1549, 6/6/2025) Employee. For the purposes of 201 CMR 18.00 determining the number of employees of an applicant for registration, any individual engaged in construction related activities who, in the weekly pay period prior to the date of registration worked 20 or more hours under the direction and control of the registrant and for whom the registrant withheld or was required to withhold federal or state income taxes and who, during the same pay period, was not otherwise paid or had such taxes withheld by any other registrant. Included would be all construction workers, supervisors, sales personnel, designers, estimators, active partners and officers of corporations. Fund Administrator. The administrator of the Residential Contractor's GuarantyFund, appointed by the director. Guaranty Fund or Fund. The Residential Contractor's Guaranty Fund established pursuant to M.G.L. c. 142A. Home Improvement Contractor. Any person who owns or operates a contracting business who, through themself or others, undertakes, purports to have the capacity to undertake, offers to undertake, or submits a bid for residential contracting work to an owner, as such work is defined in 201 CMR 18.00 and M.G.L. c. 142A, and is registered or required to be registered in accordance with M.G.L. c. 142A and 201 CMR 18.00. Homeowner. See 201 CMR 18.01(2): Owner. Local Consumer Group. A local or regional agency which deals with the resolution of consumer problems and is determined eligible by the attorney general under standards set by the attorney general in accordance with M.G.L. c. 12, § 11G. Mortgage Broker. Any person, who, for compensation or gain, or in the expectation of compensation or gain, directly or indirectly negotiates, places, assists in placement, finds or offers to negotiate, place, assist in placement of mortgage loans on residential propertyfor others, or as otherwise defined in M.G.L. c. 255E. Mortgage Lender. Any person engaged in the business of making mortgage loans, or issuing commitments to fund mortgage loans, or accepting applications or fees associated with the making of mortgage loans which are secured by a mortgage on residential property, or as otherwise defined in M.G.L. c. 255E. Mortgage Loan. A loan to any person made primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, secured wholly or partially by a mortgage on a residential property, or as otherwise defined by M.G.L. c. 255E. OCABR. The Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. Owner. Any owner of a pre-existing owner-occupied building containing at least one but not more than four dwelling units, or a tenant authorized by the homeowner thereof, who orders, contracts for, or purchases the services of a contractor or subcontractor. An owner occupying a condominium unit in a building containing no more than four dwelling units qualifies as an owner. A corporation, partnership, (incorporated or unincorporated), business trust, charitable organization, or any other business entity does not qualify as an owner. Owner-occupied. The residential building of at least one but not more than four dwelling units that is occupied or intended to be occupied by the owner as a primary residence. A residential building that is held by a non-business trust but that otherwise qualifies as a residential building under this definition shall be "owner-occupied" if the applicant submits proof that said building is their primary residence. Such proof shall include, but not be limited to, the applicant's valid declaration of homestead for said building, or evidence of eligibility for a homestead exemption. Permit. For the purposes of 201 CMR 18.00, any construction-related permit, excluding any permits required by the owner which are not considered construction-related, such as zoning, environmental, historical commission, and the like. Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, society, trust, association, or any other legal entity. Registrant. Any duly registered home improvement contractor or subcontractor. Registration Number. The number assigned to the applicant after approval for registration by OCABR. Residential Contracting. The reconstruction, alteration, renovation, repair, modernization, conversion, improvement, removal or demolition or the construction of an addition to any pre-existing owner-occupied building containing at least one but not more than four dwelling units, which building or portion thereof is used or designed to be used as a residence or dwelling unit, or to structures which are adjacent to such residence or building, including, but not necessarily limited to: garages, sheds, cabanas, pool houses, gazebos. Salesperson. Any person, other than a supplier of materials or a laborer, who solicits, offers, negotiates, executes, or otherwise endeavors to procure by any means whatsoever, directly or indirectly, a contract for residential contracting services from an owner on behalf of a home improvement contractor or subcontractor. Subcontract. A contract, written or verbal, in any amount, between a home improvement contractor and a subcontractor or between two subcontractors for the performance of any part of the home improvement contractor's or subcontractor's contract. Subcontractor. Any person, other than a supplier of only materials, who enters into a contract, written or verbal, with a home improvement contractor for the performance of any part of a home improvement contractor's contract with an owner for residential contracting, or who enters into a contract with any other subcontractor for the performance of any part of the subcontractor's contract. Supplementary Identification Card. The document issued upon the written request of the registrant to a third party, by which the registrant acknowledges that the third-party holder is acting as an agent of the registrant. (3) Scope. (a) M.G.L. c. 142A and 201 CMR 18.00 require the registration of persons who engage in residential contracting work as defined in 201 CMR 18.00 and M.G.L. c. 142A and define the requirements of M.G.L. c. 142A and enforcement of 201 CMR 18.00 and M.G.L. c. 142A, as they pertain to home improvement contractors and subcontractors. (b) Except for those persons who are specifically exempt from the provisions of 201 CMR 18.00 and M.G.L. c. 142A, all contractors and subcontractors who engage in residential contracting as defined in 201 CMR 18.00 and M.G.L. c. 142A shall be subject to and shall comply with 201 CMR 18.00 and M.G.L. c. 142A. (4) Administration and Enforcement: Director Responsibility. The director shall promulgate and enforce the provisions of 201 CMR 18.00 and M.G.L. c. 142A as to all home improvement contractors and subcontractors who are registered or required to register. (5) Persons Who Must Register. (a) General. All home improvement contractors and subcontractors, as defined in 201 CMR 18.00, except those exempt in 201 CMR 18.01(6), shall register with the director by filing an application prescribed by the director. (b) Designated Individual. In the case of registration by a corporation or partnership, an individual shall be designated to be responsible for the corporation's or partnership's residential contracting work. (c) Liability. The corporation or partnership and its designee shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of the registration fee, the payment to the Guaranty Fund, and for violations of any provisions of 201 CMR 18.00, including actions by the registrant's employees, subcontractors or salespersons. (6) Persons Exempt from Registration or Renewal. Any person exempt from registration and who does not voluntarily register, is not subject to any of the provisions of 201 CMR 18.00 or M.G.L. c. 142A. Persons exempt from registration are: (a) the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions; (b) any school, public or private, offering as part of a vocational education program courses and training in any aspects of home construction or home improvements; (c) electricians, plumbers, architects or any other persons who are required by law to attain standards of competency or experience as a prerequisite to licensure for and engaging in such trade or profession and who are acting exclusively within the scope of the profession for which they are currently licensed pursuant to such law, construction supervisors excepted. (d) persons dealing in the sale of goods or materials who neither arrange to perform nor perform directly or indirectly any work or labor in connection with the installation of or application of the goods or materials; (e) any owner personally doing residential contracting work on the owner's own home; (f) any individual who performs construction related labor or services for a home improvement contractor or subcontractor, for wages or salary and who does not act in the capacity of a home improvement contractor or subcontractor; (g) any contractor or subcontractor who works on one residential contracting undertaking or project by one or more contracts where the aggregate contract price to the owner is less than $500; provided, however, that the contract is not in an amount of less than $500 for the purpose of evading 201 CMR 18.00 or M.G.L. c. 142A; (h) any person who engages in the business of a home improvement contractor or subcontractor on other than a full-time basis, and who has earned in gross revenues from residential contracting work, less than $5,000 in the 12-month period prior to the date of the contract; (i) any person acting as a home improvement contractor or subcontractor who was enrolled as a full-time student in a secondary school or college with degree granting authority from the government of the state in which the school is located, for the immediately preceding academic semester and is also enrolled as a full-time student for the next academic semester, in the same or a similar degree granting secondary school or college provided that at least b of the number of employees of the contractor or subcontractor are similarly enrolled in secondary schools or colleges and that the home improvement contractor or subcontractor does not reasonably expect to earn or does not in fact earn, in gross revenues, more than $5,000 from residential contracting work; provided, further, that such gross revenues shall be calculated using the 12-month period prior to the date of the contract; (j) persons who install any or all of the following: 1. central heating; 2. air-conditioning systems; 3. energy-conservation devices; or 4. provides conservation services conducted by or on behalf of a public utility under a program approved by the department of public utilities; (k) any contractor or subcontractor who works exclusively in any of the following home improvement areas: 1. landscaping; 2. interior painting or wall covering; 3. finished floor covering, including, but not limited to, carpeting, vinyl, tile, non­ structural hardwood; 4. fencing or freestanding masonry walls; 5. above-ground swimming pools; 6. shutter or awning installation; 7. ground level patios; includes flagstone, concrete, block, and wood set directly onto the ground; excludes decks which are supported above ground; or 8. asphalt and driveway installation and maintenance.