APARTMENT COMPANY EMPLOYEE LICENSE EXEMPTION

Here at Licenses, Etc. we wanted to share a new exemption that went into effect on July 1, 2016.

In the Department of Business & Professional Regulations’ 2016 Florida Statues for contracting, there is an amendment to add a new exemption for apartment community employees or apartment company employees. Employee are exempt from contractor licensing requirements when they are performing minor repairs to existing electric water heaters, electric heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems when the repair costs are less than $1,000, and are not the functional equivalent of replacing the system.

Employees are required to have one year of apartment maintenance experience and hold an apartment maintenance technician’s certificate from the National Apartment Association (NAA) to qualify for the exemption. The NAA certification course must be accredited by the American National Standards Institute and consists of a 90-hour training course covering identified topics and completion of examination requirements. The exemption only applies to employees of apartment communities of 100 apartments or more, and does not prohibit local jurisdictions from creating local license requirements for the performance of such work.

If a worker does not fit or have the requirements for this particular exemption, he or she must obtain a contractor’s license. If a person or company contracts with a person who does not have a license, the Construction Industry Licensing Board and Department of Business and Professional Regulation may be unable to assist them with any financial loss that they sustained as a result of a complaint. Also if an unlicensed contractor or employee of an individual or firm is injured while working on your property, the person or company who hired this unlicensed contractor may be held liable for damages

If you’re looking to get your Florida contractor’s license now or in the future, consider working with us here at Licenses, Etc. W make the contractor licensing process simple and easy. We do all the hard work for you! About 95 percent of our licensing package are approved the first time with no deficiencies.

To learn more about this exemption or about obtaining a Florida’s contractor license, click here or call 239-777-1028.