Legal Question in Construction Law in California

You lose. Anyone who performs work requiring a contractors license who does not have one, is entitled to no payment for the work and can be sued by the owner to force repayment of anything previously paid. Period. No exceptions. No exemptions. No excuses. Laws to this effect have been put on the books for decades and the courts for years would carve out exceptions, to the point that the legislature made it iron-clad and the courts now recognize that no matter how unfair it may be in some cases, there is no way around the legislatures intent: no license? Then you did the work for free. You lose; the owner wins. Period.