Contractor License Defense in Miami

We defend certified and registered contractors and qualifying agents through the investigation, the administrative complaint, and, when the facts are disputed, a hearing before an independent administrative law judge.

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. When a homeowner dispute turns into a criminal charge, we handle the criminal case and the license case together. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Who Regulates Contractors in Florida

• General, building, residential, roofing, and other construction contractors are certified or registered under Part I of Chapter 489 of the Florida Statutes.
• They are regulated by the Construction Industry Licensing Board (CILB).
• The board sits within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). The department investigates and prosecutes complaints; the board decides. Chapter 455 sets the general disciplinary process for DBPR professions.

Common Grounds for Discipline

Summarized in plain terms from s. 489.129(1):

• Abandoning a job. A project may be presumed abandoned after 90 days if you stop without just cause or without proper notice to the owner, or stop working without just cause for 90 consecutive days.
• Financial mismanagement that harms a customer, as the statute defines it, including: valid liens recorded against the customer's property for supplies or services you ordered for the job, when the customer paid you for them and the liens were not removed, by payment or bond, within 75 days; abandoning a job when the work done is less than the money paid (unless you were entitled to keep it or refund the excess within 30 days); or, on a completed job, the customer paying more than the contract price as adjusted for change orders, unless the increase came from circumstances beyond your control, was caused by the customer, or was allowed by the contract.
• Misapplication of construction funds. If a licensee is convicted of misapplying construction funds, the board must suspend all of that person's contractor licenses for at least 1 year.
• Permits: proceeding on a job without the required local building permits and inspections.
• False statements: signing a statement falsely saying the work is bonded, that subcontractors and suppliers have been paid, or that workers' compensation and liability insurance are in place.
• Fraud or deceit, incompetency, or misconduct in contracting.
• Negligence: gross negligence, repeated negligence, or negligence that creates a significant danger to life or property.
• Helping unlicensed contractors, including letting someone use your license.
• Contracting outside the name on your certificate or registration.
• Discouraging lien notices: intimidating or threatening someone to keep them from serving a notice to owner or notice to contractor.
• Unpaid judgments: failing to satisfy, within a reasonable time, a civil judgment relating to your practice.
• Discipline by a city or county for a violation of the state contracting law (Part I of Chapter 489).
• Criminal cases: being convicted or found guilty of, or pleading no contest to, regardless of adjudication, a crime that directly relates to contracting or the ability to practice contracting.
• Violating Chapter 455, which includes failing to report a conviction, finding of guilt, or plea to the board in writing within 30 days.

If you are a qualifying agent or financially responsible officer and the violation happened on a project of the business you qualify, the board can also impose an additional fine of up to $5,000 per violation against the business organization, or against partners, officers, directors, trustees, or members who participated in the violation or knew or should have known of it and failed to take reasonable corrective action.

How a Complaint Becomes an Administrative Complaint

The DBPR process is set by s. 455.225, with contractor-specific rules in s. 489.129:

1. The complaint. The department investigates a complaint that is in writing, signed, and legally sufficient. It can also act on an anonymous complaint or a confidential informant in some cases, or open its own investigation. A complaint that is withdrawn can still be prosecuted.
2. Notice to you. The department must promptly furnish you or your attorney a copy of the complaint or document that started the investigation, with the specific facts. You may submit a written response within 20 days after service. The probable cause panel considers it. If the act under investigation is a criminal offense, the department can investigate without notifying you.
3. Minor violations. For a first minor violation, meaning one that does not show a serious inability to practice, cause economic or physical harm, or threaten public health, safety, or welfare, the department can send a notice of noncompliance instead of starting discipline.
4. Arbitration for some consumer complaints. The department may provide by rule for binding arbitration between you and the homeowner when certain conditions are met, and complaints that qualify with damages under $2,500 must be referred to mandatory arbitration.
5. Probable cause. A probable cause panel decides. It can issue a letter of guidance instead. If it finds probable cause, the department files a formal administrative complaint.
6. Confidentiality. The complaint stays confidential until 10 days after probable cause is found, unless you waive it. That confidentiality does not apply to actions against unlicensed persons.
7. Your file. After the investigation, you can ask in writing to inspect the investigative file and file a written response within 20 days, unless the department extends the time.

Choosing Your Hearing: The Election of Rights Form

The administrative complaint must tell you that you have the right to request a hearing and to have a lawyer. The hearing-request form served with the complaint is commonly called an election of rights. That is the name used in practice; the phrase does not appear in the statutes or the uniform rules. You can generally choose:

• A formal hearing before an administrative law judge of the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) if there are disputed issues of material fact. If a fact dispute comes up during an informal hearing, the law requires that it stop and a formal hearing be held.
• An informal hearing before the board if you do not dispute the facts.
• A settlement, such as a consent order, which the department must approve.

Do not miss the deadline. Your papers state the deadline that applies to you. Under Florida's uniform rules for agency hearings, it is 21 days from receiving written notice, unless another law sets a different period, and missing it can waive the hearing.

The judge issues a recommended order, each side has 15 days to file exceptions, and the board issues the final order. The board cannot reject or modify the judge's findings of fact unless, after reviewing the entire record, it states with particularity that they were not based on competent substantial evidence or that the proceedings did not comply with the essential requirements of law. In recommending a penalty, the department must follow the board's penalty guidelines and tell the judge about mitigating and aggravating circumstances. A party adversely affected by the final order is entitled to judicial review in a Florida district court of appeal. See Administrative Hearings & License Defense for the full process.

Possible penalties under s. 489.129 include probation, a reprimand, suspension, revocation, denial of issuance or renewal, restitution to a consumer for financial harm directly related to the violation, a fine of up to $10,000 per violation, continuing education, and the costs of investigation and prosecution. The board will not issue or renew your license until fines, costs, and restitution are paid or the final order is satisfied. If your license is revoked, you cannot be a partner, officer, director, or trustee of a contracting business, or work in a managerial or supervisory role, for 5 years, and you cannot reapply for 5 years.

Emergency Suspension

If the agency finds an immediate serious danger to the public health, safety, or welfare, it can suspend, restrict, or limit a license by emergency order before a hearing. It must state the specific facts and reasons in writing, and a regular disciplinary proceeding must also be promptly started. For DBPR licenses, the Secretary of Business and Professional Regulation or a designee conducts the summary proceeding and issues the order. The order can be challenged in court right away.

When There Is Also a Criminal Case

Construction disputes can turn criminal, and the two cases feed each other:

• A plea counts regardless of adjudication, including a no contest plea, if the crime directly relates to contracting.
• A conviction for misapplying construction funds means a mandatory license suspension of at least 1 year.
• A suspended or inactive license is no license. Under s. 489.127, contracting on an inactive or suspended certificate or registration is treated as unlicensed contracting, which is a separate crime. Separately, Florida law bars an unlicensed contractor from enforcing its contracts; whether that applies to a given contract depends on the license required for the work and on when the contract was made.
• Report a conviction, finding of guilt, or plea to the board in writing within 30 days, regardless of adjudication.

See Contracting Without a License, Fraud, Scheme to Defraud, Theft, and Insurance Fraud.

What to Do If You Get a DBPR Complaint

1. Do not call the homeowner or the investigator to argue. Anything you say can be used.
2. Do not send your response alone. You have 20 days, and the panel reads every word.
3. Pull your file: contract, change orders, permits, inspections, payment records, lien releases, and photos.
4. Do not keep working on a suspended or inactive license. That is a crime.
5. Tell us about any criminal investigation, police report, or lawsuit.
6. Call us.

Want to File a Complaint Against a Contractor?

If a contractor abandoned your job, left liens on your home, or took your money, you can file a complaint with DBPR. The complaint must be in writing, signed, and legally sufficient, which means it states facts showing a violation; the department may ask for documents such as the contract, payments, and photos. The department must periodically tell you the status of the investigation and whether probable cause was found. Complainants and witnesses are protected from civil liability unless they act in bad faith or with malice. In some cases your complaint may be sent to arbitration, and the board can order a disciplined contractor to pay restitution for financial harm directly related to the violation.

A board complaint is not a lawsuit. If you need your money back, you may also have civil claims, and if the person was never licensed, that changes your rights under the contract. Call us to talk through your options.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012.
• License case and criminal case handled together.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to respond to a DBPR complaint?

The statute allows a written response within 20 days after service of the complaint.

Can the board make me pay the homeowner?

Yes. Restitution to a consumer for financial harm directly related to the violation is one of the penalties the board can order, and your license will not be issued or renewed until it is paid or the final order is satisfied.

My license was suspended. Can I finish the jobs I have?

Talk to a lawyer first. Contracting on a suspended or inactive license is treated as unlicensed contracting, which is a crime.

What happens if my license is revoked?

For 5 years you cannot reapply, and you cannot be a partner, officer, director, or trustee of a contracting business or work in a managerial or supervisory role.

Is the complaint public?

Not at first. It stays confidential until 10 days after probable cause is found, unless you waive confidentiality.