If you have "hired" him, you probably have a verbal contract, which is usually not a good thing. I hope this fellow has a stellar reputation, and that you have thoroughly checked him out.

Is this some small job, or is it major construction? If it is major construction, you might want to put the brakes on and get something in writing, if it's not too late.

yikes, there should be a written contract for that stuff happens. He may have a surcharge for taking the plans to the city and doing the boring work for you.

Around here - permitting was a surprising 2% of the build cost. I can't imagine he is just paying that out of pocket without an expectation of a contract.

Creekside, the project is actually a deck. I guess it can be considered a small project. I think a contract is in both our best interests and will ask him to draw one up before we go further. I can't imagine why a contractor would do work without one.

In most places, if you have someone do work for you at an agreed upon rate or price, there is a contract, written or not. If there is nothing in writing, it's called a verbal contract, and it is just as binding as a written contract, although it is much more open to interpretation and challenge.

A lot of small contractors operate under the verbal contract umbrella, simply because the time required to prepare and negotiate a written contract is disproportionate to the work to be undertaken. In my opinion, a deck is large enough a project to require a written contract.

Building permits are usually issued in the name of the owner of a property therefore the owner must sign the form and pay the permit fee. However, because the permit form usually asks for information about the contractor (licenses, insurance, etc) the builder often takes the paper work to the building department after getting the owner's signature and a check.

If you have authorized the contractor to provide this service for you, you have effectively hired him. What you have not done is put the terms of the contract in writing.

If you did not authorize the contractor to file for a permit in your name you need to stop him from misrepresenting you.

Creekside, I have to disagree. Generally if contracts are for consideration greater than $200 they have to be in writing to be legally enforceable. If it isn't in writing, it only exists to the extent both parties agree it does.

In some states verbal agreements for home construction are not allowed. If I were you I would stop everything immediately until you get a signed agreement. And don't just sign whatever he gives you even if you think it looks good, please have it reviewed by a qualified attorney. Do a search on here of old posts and you will see the number of people that end up in trouble because the contract lacks the necessary detail or is written in a one-sided manner.

We will have to disagree on that $200 limitation, tooskinneejs. Perhaps that is the case where you reside. It isn't the case here, nor to my knowledge any place else I have lived. Since the OP did not specify his location, we can only talk in general terms.

Sue36, he is building a deck, not a home.

Macv, I have never signed a building permit, unless I have pulled it myself. I was not required to sign the permit for the house we are currently having built. I am sure it varies by locality, like pretty much everything else.

In my state it doesn't matter if it is an entire house or a deck, if the work will cost more than $3k it requires a written contract.

"Building permits are usually issued in the name of the owner of a property therefore the owner must sign the form and pay the permit fee."

Or a contractor acting as the homeowners designated agent.

Depending on your location, permits may be in the contractors name. This gets access to various pools of money if the contractor fails to deliver.

In Virginia if the owner pulled the permits they would be denied access to the state reimbursement funds available since the contractor was not on the permit.

I'm in MA. The HO is required to sign the permit application authorizing the contractor to apply for the building permit. The fee is included in the contractors bill. At this point, I haven't signed the permit app as I would like to have the contract out of the way first.

First things first, if you are in MA, did you look up his license?

MA requires a written contract if the work will cost more than $1000. I've attached a link to the AG office page where the information is. That page has a link to a sample contract.

There is more information on this page, including how to look up the license. Do not hire someone without a license. http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=cagosubtopic&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Consumer+Protection&L2=Home+%26+Housing&L3=Home+Improvement&sid=Cago

Here is a link that might be useful: MA Info

Thanks for the links Sue36. I had already looked up his license info, however I was unaware of the law requiring work over $1k needing to be in writing.