Legal Question in Construction Law in New Jersey

Re: deposit for a fence

ALL contractors in NJ MUST be registered and insured. ALL contracts, in addition to the normal contract terms and scope of work to be performed, identify the materials to be used, they have to give the begin date and expected end date, OR the time frame the work will take, and indicate when the work is to begin (ex.: "Work to begin w/i 10 days of obtaining any required permits, and should be completed in approximately 5 work days.") There MUST be a written contract, that contract MUST contain their contractor number, a physical address, etc., etc., etc. It sounds like your contractor is in violation of the requirements for home improvement contractors, the NJ Home Improvement Act and the NJ Consumer Fraud Act. That puts him in a bad position. Call him up, insist upon a PROPER contract, and that they provide proof of permit application, and I'd suggest you request that they return the deposit until they are about to start the work, because this will be the thing most likely to get them to commit to starting the work ASAP (because they won't want to give the $$ back, or they cant because they spent it already!). Good luck.