Legal Question in Construction Law in California
A handyman is hired to do a job that totals (with materials) less than $250. he is doing this for the owner of a an RV at an RV park. (He has worked for other people there for several years). There is a new assistant manager who has now told him that he must be bonded and licensed to do any work at all in the park (not for them). Is this legal?
1 Answer from Attorneys
That's going to depend on the terms of the contract between the RV owner and the park, any applicable rules and regulation of the park that the RV owner is bound by, and the nature of the work the handiman is doing. As you seem to be aware, the contractors licensing law does not require a person to be licensed and bonded for work that costs under $500 total. That does not mean, however, that a property owner cannot impose more strict restrictions on occupants of their property. But at the same time, the right to impose such restrictions does not allow them to do so arbitrarily. It also doesn't allow them to impose them after an agreement has been made between the occupant and the handiman, unless the work impacts the property owner, since that would be interference with contract. So, for example, if the work involved something on the exterior of the RV, that impacted the park in some way, the park owner might have a right to interfere, but if it involved only some alteration inside the RV, the park owner would probably be guilty of interference with contract if they blocked the work.