Storm contractor rules in New Jersey: price gouging, door-to-door sales and contractor licensing

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 comes from a press release of the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, so each carries the date of its release. No statute number is cited here, because the rows come from the releases and not from the statute text.

The rules in one table

Rule	What the source says
Price limit, 2021 release	The price gouging law bars excessive price increases during a declared state of emergency and for 30 days after it ends. An excessive increase is a price that exceeds 10 percent of the price at which the product or service was sold in the normal course of business before the emergency
Penalties, 2021 release	Civil penalties of up to US$10,000 for a first offence and US$20,000 for the second and later ones. A violator may also owe consumer restitution, attorney's fees, investigative fees and an injunction. Each individual sale of merchandise is a separate violation
Storm items named, 2010 release	After a state of emergency, selling merchandise or services needed because of it for more than 10 percent above the normal price is illegal. The Attorney General named excessive markups on chainsaws, pumps and other materials needed for recovery as reportable
Tree removal, 2010 release	Tree removal firms, if not licensed by the Department of Environmental Protection, should be registered as a Home Improvement Contractor. Electricians, plumbers and landscape architects are licensed separately and need not register as home improvement contractors when working within their profession
Registration, 2021 release	All home improvement contractors must be registered with Consumer Affairs, and the release says liability insurance is required by law
Written contract, 2017 release	A home improvement job costing US$500 or more must have a written contract. It carries the contractor's legal name, business address and registration number, start and completion dates, a description of the work, the total price, and a notice of the right to cancel within three days for a full refund
Registry and complaints, 2010 and 2021 releases	A searchable database of registered contractors was on the Division's site, and the Division's phone line could say whether a contractor was registered or had complaints. The 2021 release gave 800-242-5846 and 973-504-6200 for that, and 973-504-6240 for price gouging complaints

Tree work and the registration line

The 2010 release is the one source read that speaks to tree removal. Its wording sets a licence from the Department of Environmental Protection against the home improvement registration, and says tree removal firms without the first should hold the second. What the environmental licence covers is not stated in the releases. The release is from 2010, and the 2021 release repeats that all home improvement contractors must register without naming tree work.

Enforcement and the storm record

The January 25, 2017 release is titled as citing 136 home improvement contractors in 2016. Its notices of violation carried penalties per company from US$1,000 to US$7,000 and restitution sought from US$250 to US$134,092.89. Of the notices, 51 were for unregistered practice. It also reports six civil actions about storm-damaged homes after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The March 12, 2020 release shows the same price test applying to a different kind of emergency, which fits the 2021 wording that the limit follows the declaration, not the storm. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.

Storm contractor rules in New Jersey: price gouging, door-to-door sales and contractor licensing

The rules in one table

Tree work and the registration line

Enforcement and the storm record

Sources