Many Renovations, Repair, and Painting contractors (RRP) in Massachusetts fail to tell their customers one important fact: not every contractor is legally allowed to work on your home. All contractors need to be up to date on their RRP compliance in order to legally operate on every home in the state. Companies try to work their way around this law by not telling the homeowners the whole truth.
It is currently estimated that fewer than 2,500 contractors meet the standards for RRP work. Dolphin is one of the honest few to successfully meet the requirements. To make it easy for you, we can assure that all of our work happens legally and follows the state laws.
Nearly 5,000 contractors are on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Certified List, but that’s only half of what Massachusetts requires. All of the contractors who are not certified in both the EPA and by the state are not legally allowed to do the work that they advertise—leaving about half of them working illegitimately.
Most contractors who violate the Mass RRP laws claim that their main reason for breaking the law is to avoid going through the required training. Although the training itself is fairly simple, the steps leading up to the training are what steer contractors to practice illegally.
To undergo training, a contractor needs to follow the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA is the federal agency that enforces health and safety legislation that all contractors must follow. For example, the Lead in Construction Standards protects homes from lead poisoning.
In accordance with OSHA’s lead law all employees must be tested for lead poisoning. Many companies fear that their employees will fail this test and their companies will then be sued. As a result, contractors fear clearance with OSHA and avoid mandatory compliance.
Many contractors try to get around the law and practice their work illegally without letting their clients know. At Dolphin, you will receive quality work, done legally. Also, by meeting all of the RRP qualifications Dolphin can legally operate on pre-1978 properties, which many contractors cannot.
The companies that practice illegally often offer cheaper work to their clients, who are unaware of the crime being committed. Homeowners do not usually know about the rules for contractors, so it is easy for these companies to sneak around without following the laws. We’re here to educate you on what some companies fail to tell you.
As a homeowner, it is your right to work with a legal contractor who complies to the state qualifications. At Dolphin, you can be certain that you will receive work that meets all of the most recent state standards.
