October 24, 2008

Dear Friends:

Over the past couple of months, I've shared stories—time and time again—about my meetings with citizens while "On the Road to Better Business." That’s because I gain so much insight by listening to our customers. Most of the issues directly involve Department processes, and we're continuing to improve those. However, sometimes we need to partner with other organizations to better protect Florida's consumers. That's why DBPR is now working with the Florida Association of Counties to ask county governments to join us in protecting homeowners who hire contractors for work costing more than $2,500.

After one of my meetings with a consumer who had a lien put on her home because a licensed contractor failed to pay subcontractors, I thought, "What can I do to help?" Of course, I asked her to file a complaint with the Department so we could investigate the contractor, but I began thinking about how we can do more to prevent this type of situation in the first place.

Many consumers aren't aware of the waiver or release of lien, which is a document that consumers can obtain to release them from liability if a contractor fails to pay suppliers or subcontractors. It's a written statement that removes property from the threat of a lien, and consumers should always get information on it from local building departments when filing a notice of commencement.

We already provide information on the Florida Construction Lien Law on our Web site, and we are now working with the Florida Association of Counties to distribute information on the law to county administrators and public information officers throughout the state. Now, county governments can join us in educating their citizens about protecting themselves.

This partnership is one more way that we're taking the stories that you share with me and developing creative solutions to your problems. I know I’ve said it before, but the most important partnership we have is between the Department and the people we serve.

Sincerely,

Charles W. Drago
Secretary

Department of Business and
Professional Regulation
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Customer Contact Center:
850.487.1395
www.MyFloridaLicense.com

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