Licensing Board Cracks Down On Residential Violations

Howard Williams, administrator of the State Contractors Licensing Board in Little Rock, said he has a total of seven contractor violations from Washington and Benton counties set for Oct. 20 hearings. Of those, four are residential construction violations and three are commercial construction violations.

It’s illegal for contractors from any state to work in Arkansas on jobs worth $20,000 or more without a licensed from the state.

Williams said the “three home exemption” that got some contractors around the $20,000 rule was revoked in July of 2003. The exemption allowed contractors to work on up to three homes in the state without being licensed, he said.

The Licensing Board allowed a “grace period” but really started cracking down on contractors violating the revoked exemption in January.

As a result, he said, violations in Benton and Washington counties are higher than before. There were a total of 69 violations in the two county area in calendar year 2003 and there are 79 so far in calendar 2004, he said.