As this post explains, a citation is isssued when the Registrar finds that a licensed contractor has violated a regulation.
This means that the Registrar can issue a citation if the Registrar finds that the contractor has poor-quality work on a project.
There is a very important exception, though:
If the contractor’s work has been touched or modified by someone else, a citation cannot be issued.
A citation cannot be issued if there has been “neglect, modification or abnormal use” of the contractor’s work.
The statute that applies to the citations issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors against licensed contractors is A.R.S. § 32-1155.
Section D of that provision is what prohibits the Registrar from issuing a citation if there has been any “neglect, modification or abnormal use” of the contractor’s work:
D. The registrar may not issue a citation for failure to perform work in a professional and workmanlike manner or in accordance with any applicable building codes and professional industry standards if either:
1. The contractor is not provided an opportunity to inspect the work within fifteen days after receiving a written notice from the registrar.
2. The contractor’s work has been subject to neglect, modification or abnormal use.
What counts as “neglect, modification or abnormal use” of the contractor’s work?
The most obvious example of a contractor’s work being “subject to … modification” is when someone else corrects it or adds to it.
So if the homeowner hires another contractor to fix the work, the Registrar of Contractors will not be able to issue a citation against the original contractor.
Even if the Registrar issues a citation, the defense of “neglect, modification or abnormal use” can be raised at the administrative hearing.
Typically, if the Registrar’s Investigator sees that the work has been modified, the Investigator will not issue a citation after the inspection.
But Investigators are human, and they can make mistakes. So the license contractor could receive a citation and have to go to an administrative hearing at the Office of Administrative Hearings.
The licensed contractor can raise A.R.S. § 32-1155(D) at the hearing and argue that no discipline should be imposed, because of “neglect, modification or abnormal use.”
If the administrative law judge is convinced, the complaint will be dismissed.
