Voluntary Registration for Roofing Contractors
The City of Houston has instituted a voluntary registration program for roofing contractors. Roofing contractors may register at the Code Enforcement Office on 3300 Main St. 2nd Floor (Structural Inspections), Houston, Texas 77002. Some of the registration requirements are:
- Photo ID
- Contact Information (a P.O. Box is not allowed as the address)
- Proof of $500K in general liability insurance that covers roofing operations. The policy must be issued or reinsured by a specified carrier that is listed with a rating of B+ or better in the last published edition of Best's Insurance Reports-Property Casualty Volume (published by A. M. Best Company, Oldwich, New Jersey 08858. Certificates must be faxed by the insurance carrier.
The registration form is available online at:
http://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/planning/enforcement/publications.htm
Public announcements will be made periodically asking consumers to visit our website, which will contain a list of all registered contractors. Please assist us in getting this information to all roofing contractors in the city to assure that they have benefit of this program.
For more information regarding registration or to report a roof being constructed without a City of Houston permit, contact the Roofing Hotline at 713-837-ROOF.
CODE ENFORCEMENT CONTACT INFORMATION:
Plan Review Numbers:
Commercial- 713-535-7500
One- Stop- 713-535-7550 (Commercial Remodels and Residential)
Inspection Numbers:
Building- 713-535-7800
Mechanical- 713-535-7755
Electrical- 713-535-7600
Plumbing- 713-535-7700
Occupancy/Life Safety- 713-535-7730
Sign Administration- 713-218-5801
Permit Office Numbers:
General- 713-535-7897
Dacoma Office- 713-686-6224
Kingwood Office- 281-361-9586
Utility Releases- 713-535-7748
Other Information:
Administration- 713-535-7510
Customer Assistance & Code Development Office- 713-525-7039 or 7040
Automated Inspection Request Line- 713-525-7000
Other City Departments- Dial 311
For Additional Permit Information:
You may obtain information about permits by visiting our website at: www.houstonpermits.org. You will then be linked to our database of sold permits. If you have questions about any of these permits, please contact our Code Enforcement Group at 713-535-7500.
To Reach Other City of Houston Departments:
http://www.houstontx.gov or dial 311July 24, 2008 (Houston Chronicle)City Council passed an ordinance requiring better recordkeeping from contractors working for the city.
The new rules are aimed at making it harder for companies to misclassify their workers as "independent contractors," to avoid paying Social Security, Medicare, workers' compensation or unemployment insurance. Union officials say the practice is widespread in construction, allowing companies to underbid their competitors.
Council approved the ordinance 12-2, with Councilmen Ron Green and Mike Sullivan dissenting.
The ordinance requires all contractors, except professional service providers, to keep a list of every employee or independent contractor working on a city project, including descriptions of his or her duties and any benefits provided. If the contractor does employ an independent subcontractor, the city may ask the prime contractor to produce a copy of the Internal Revenue service Form 1099-Misc. for that subcontractor.
Violations could result in a $500 fine per misclassified employee or debarment from future city work.
"We want to make sure people do good business in town, we want to make sure we keep them on their toes," said Councilman Adrian Garcia, chair of the council committee that monitors contract compliance.
But Sullivan said it is not the city's job to check whether companies are properly withholding federal income taxes. If the city goes down that path, he added, "we should do it with all federal issues, not just one or two."
Contractors already have complained that the city's paperwork burden is too much, he added.
Others questioned the necessity of the ordinance, saying that misclassification plagues smaller-scale home and commercial construction, not the huge infrastructure projects that cities usually undertake.
"I just don't really see it affecting us," Jeff Nielsen said Tuesday. Nielsen is executive vice president for the Houston Contractors Association. The group's membership focuses on civil construction for government agencies.
The city's Department of Affirmative Action and Contract Compliance oversees about 350 construction contracts at any one time. An investigation turned up only three companies that appeared to be using independent contractors, said Director Velma Laws.
"Why are we charged with enforcing a law that the department says is not high priority?" Councilman Green asked.
That department already has a tough time enforcing contract goals for the participation of woman- and minority-owned businesses, he said.
Records regarding classification: (a) A contractor must maintain a list of all persons performing work under a city contract classifying each person as either an employee or independent contractor, including a description of each person’s duties and any benefits provided, and produce a copy of the list upon request of the city.
(b) A contractor must produce a copy of the Internal Revenue Service Form1099-Misc. for each independent contractor performing work under a city contract upon request of the City.
(c) A contractor must produce a copy of any written contract or agreement describing the relationship with each independent contractor performing work under a contract with the City upon request of the city.
(d) A contractor must submit to the Internal Revenue Service an SS-8 “Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Texas and Income Tax Withholding” for any person classified as an independent contractor upon request of the city.
Violations:
It is unlawful for a contractor to fail to maintain, fail to produce or fail to submit the records, documents or forms required by this article. Any person performing work for a contractor under a city contract who is not classified as an independent contractor on the list required by this article, and who has not been provided a 1099-Misc form as required by this article, and with whom a written contract or other agreement describing the relationship with the person does not exist, is presumed to be an employee of the contractor. Failure to comply with the terms of this article constitutes grounds for debarment as defined in Sec. 15.103 of this chapter. A violation of this article is a misdemeanor criminal offense and is punishable pursuant to Sec. 1-6 of this Code of Ordinances.
The adoption of a new commercial energy code, based on ASHRAE 90.1-2004 Standard, was approved by City Council on April 30th, 2008. The code will take effect on August 1st, 2008.Click Here to view the new City of Houston Commercial Energy Conservation Code.