Storm contractor rules in Connecticut: severe weather price limits and the Home Improvement Act, which excludes tree cutting

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. Every row is statute text. The pages carry a note that readers should check the 2026 Supplement, revised to January 1, 2026, for sections changed in the 2025 sessions, and that supplement was not read for this page.

The sections in one table

Section	What it says
42-235(a), consumer goods and services	The term means goods and services vital and necessary for the health, safety or welfare of consumers, bought primarily for personal, family or household purposes, "including, but not limited to" lodging, snow removal, flood abatement and post-storm cleanup or repair services
42-235(b) and (c), the trigger	When adverse weather creates an unusually high demand, the Governor may proclaim a severe weather event emergency and posts the notice and end date on the Governor's website. During it, no one in the chain of distribution may sell or offer consumer goods or services at an unconscionably excessive price
42-235(d), the test	A violation turns on an unconscionably excessive price, unfair leverage or unconscionable means, or both. A gross disparity from the seller's own average price in the 30 days before the proclamation, or a price grossly above what was readily available to other consumers in the trade area, is prima facie evidence. A seller may rebut with evidence of added costs outside its control
42-235(f) and (g)	A violation is an unfair or deceptive trade practice under section 42-110b(a), and each day it continues is a separate offense
42-230, retail prices in an emergency	No one may increase the price of an item sold at retail in an area under a disaster emergency declaration by the Governor or a major disaster or emergency declaration by the President until the emergency is declared at an end. Normal fluctuation is not prohibited. The fine is up to US$99 and a violation is also an unfair or deceptive trade practice
20-419(5), home improvement	Home improvement includes repair or improvement of a private residence, with a list of examples that includes landscaping and water, fire or storm restoration, where the total price exceeds US$200. The excluded list in (5)(B) includes "tree or shrub cutting or the grinding of tree stumps". A person whose home improvement contracts total no more than US$1,000 in 12 consecutive months is not a contractor
20-420, 20-427 and 20-429	Holding out as a home improvement contractor needs a certificate of registration from the Commissioner of Consumer Protection. A home improvement contract is not valid or enforceable against an owner unless it is written, signed by both sides, holds the entire agreement, carries the contractor's registration number and start and completion dates, and gives notice of cancellation rights under chapter 740
42-135a, home solicitation	An agreement in a home solicitation sale is not effective against the buyer unless it is signed and dated by the buyer and the seller provides the contract with a boldface statement, and a detachable notice, that the buyer may cancel before midnight of the third business day

Price rule

Connecticut has two emergency price sections that work differently. Section 42-230 is short: no increase in a retail price while a disaster or emergency declaration runs, with a fine of up to US$99. Section 42-235 is the one that lists cleanup and repair services, and it needs a Governor's proclamation of a severe weather event emergency. Its test is "unconscionably excessive" and not a fixed percentage. The list in 42-235(a) is open ended and does not name tree work.

Tree work and the Home Improvement Act

The Home Improvement Act carves out tree or shrub cutting and stump grinding from the definition of home improvement. The same definition lists landscaping and storm restoration as home improvement. The statute text read does not explain how those pieces fit for a storm job that mixes tree cutting with repair of a fence or roof, so that is a question for the Department of Consumer Protection. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The scam warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.

Storm contractor rules in Connecticut: severe weather price limits and the Home Improvement Act, which excludes tree cutting

The sections in one table

Price rule

Tree work and the Home Improvement Act

Sources