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Your rights

New York

New York · home improvement

Your rights in New York

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

For home improvement contracts over $500

Cancel in writing by midnight of the third business day after you sign. The contract must include a notice of this right.

Some sales are excepted, such as emergency work you ask for in a signed waiver.

The exception, in the rule's words
  • A bona fide emergency: you contacted the contractor yourself and gave them a separate, dated and signed statement in your own handwriting that describes the emergency and waives your right to cancel within three business days.
Read the full rule

When it applies

Any home improvement contract over $500 with a home improvement contractor (a business whose home improvement contracts total more than $1,500 in any 12 consecutive months), wherever it was signed. The contract itself must include a notice of this right.

You can cancel in writing until midnight of the third business day after you sign. A mailed notice counts once it is in the mailbox, properly addressed and stamped, and it only has to say you do not want to be bound. If the sale was made at your home, New York's Door-to-Door Sales Protection Act may also apply; under it the seller must return your payments within 10 days of your cancellation.

N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 771 · read on nysenate.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: NY law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 11 in writing before you sign.

  • Written, plain English, signedOver $500; a copy before work: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Be in writing, legible and in plain English, and signed by everyone who is a party to it (required for home improvement work over $500); any change must also be in writing and signed. You must get a copy signed by the contractor before any work is done.

  • Name, address, phone & licenseLicense # if a local license applies: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Show the contractor's name, address, phone number and license number, if a local license applies.

  • Start & completion datesWhen work begins and is mostly done: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Give the approximate or estimated start and substantial-completion dates, any contingencies that could change the completion date, and whether a definite completion date is of the essence.

  • Work, materials & model #The work, materials and model #: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Describe the work and the materials, including make, model number or other identifying information, and state the agreed price.

  • Mechanic's lien noticeIn bold type: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include the bold-type notice that an unpaid contractor, subcontractor or supplier may have a mechanic's lien claim against your property.

  • Escrow noticeWhere early payments are held: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include a notice that payments made before the work is completed must be deposited in an escrow account, or that the contractor may instead give you a bond, contract of indemnity or irrevocable letter of credit.

  • Progress payment scheduleIn dollars, tied to stages of work: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    If you will make progress payments before the work is substantially complete, list each payment in dollars and cents and the stage of work it pays for; each payment must bear a reasonable relationship to the work done, materials bought or expenses owed.

  • 3-day cancel noticeYour right to cancel, in writing: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include a notice of your right to cancel until midnight of the third business day after you sign.

  • Their insuranceThe insurer's phone and address: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Before work begins, disclose the contractor's property and/or casualty insurance covering the work, with the insurer's phone number and address.

  • Financing role disclosedIf they take part in financing: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    If the contractor takes part in, or pays or receives anything in connection with, financing the job, it must fully disclose that and the fees involved and get the written agreement of everyone in the transaction.

  • Roofing: insurance detailsInsurer, coverage and limits: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For roofing, gutter, downspout or siding work: name the insurer, the type of insurance coverage and the policy limits.

On signing day

  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources23 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • Independently verified on 2026-10-04. Every statute was read in full from the NY Senate's official PDF export (legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/<section>/). Each nysenate.gov page in sources was confirmed to load, though some return a bot challenge to automated requests at random. The two Attorney General pages were read directly. The Department of State guide (a 7-slide PDF dated April 2023, text in images), the DOS home inspector page and the DEC pesticide page refused direct downloads (HTTP 403) and were read through a fetch tool; the guide was read visually.
  • No deposit cap: neither GBL Article 36-A (sections 770-776) nor Lien Law 71-a limits the size of a deposit for home improvement work in general, so depositCap is null and the app must not state a New York cap. The Attorney General's consumer page only advises: if the contractor requires a deposit, try to negotiate a small amount. Do not infer a cap from other states.
  • Escrow duty, not a cap (Lien Law 71-a(4); GBL 771(1)(e)): payments made before the work is substantially complete stay the owner's property. They must go into an escrow account at a bank or savings institution located in New York within 5 business days. If the contract does not name the depository, the contractor must tell the owner in writing within 10 business days after the deposit. Instead of escrow, the contractor may deliver a bond, contract of indemnity or irrevocable letter of credit within 10 business days of receiving the payment. Withdrawals may not exceed the contract's payment schedule. Hourly or time-basis payments for work already done are exempt (GBL 771(1)(g); Lien Law 71-a(4)(f)). The AG consumer page says contractors must notify you 'within five days' where funds are held; the statute says 10 business days for naming the depository. Use the statute.
  • Roofing-only rule (GBL 771-b(5); nysenate.gov shows the current revision from 2020-05-29): a roofing contractor (roofing, gutter, downspout or siding services) may not require a deposit. It may invoice for materials on delivery, with the cost disclosed in writing beforehand, and invoice the rest on completion. This is trade-specific, so it is not in depositCap. GBL 771-b also requires proof of workers' compensation and liability insurance and bans rebating the insurance deductible.
  • Extra roofing cancellation right (GBL 771-b(3)-(4)): an owner whose roofing contract is to be paid by property insurance may cancel until midnight of the third business day after the insurer gives written notice that all or part of the claim is not covered. The contractor must return payments within 10 days, but may keep the reasonable value of emergency services the owner acknowledged in writing. The same handwritten emergency-waiver exception applies.
  • Cancellation details: GBL Article 36-A does not define 'business day'. PPL 426(6) defines it (every day except Sunday and nine listed holidays) for the Door-to-Door Sales Protection Act only, so the app should not say Saturday counts under GBL 771. General Construction Law 25-a says that when a period set by statute ends on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the act may be done on the next business day; no official page applies it to GBL 771, so the app should show 'third business day' and not count the days for the homeowner. GBL 771 sets no refund deadline, so refundWithinDays is null. For door-to-door sales, PPL 429 says payments must be returned 'within ten days', while the PPL 428 notice form says '10 business days'. The app should say '10 days'. Under PPL 428(2), the 3-day period does not start until the seller has given the required written and oral notice. The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule was not used because New York has its own right.
  • Wording conflict: the Department of State guide says 'You have three days to cancel after signing a contract for home improvements.' The statute (GBL 771(1)(h)) and the AG page say three business days. Use the statute.
  • Coverage thresholds (GBL 770): Article 36-A covers contracts over $500 made by a contractor whose home improvement contracts total more than $1,500 in any 12 consecutive months. It excludes new homes other than custom homes, sale-only goods, removable appliances, decorative goods such as draperies and carpets, and warranty or maintenance-agreement repairs. 'Owner' includes homeowners, co-op shareholders and residential tenants.
  • No statewide contractor registration: the Department of State says 'NYS does not license home improvement contractors', but some counties and cities do. It lists the cities of New York and Buffalo and Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties. The AG consumer page lists the same places. The AG 'Hiring a home-improvement contractor' publication lists New York City and the five counties without Buffalo. Local laws may add rules but may not conflict with GBL 771 (GBL 775). The contract must show a license number only 'if applicable'.
  • Penalties (GBL 773): failing to escrow or bond payments, or failing to give a written contract, can bring a civil penalty of up to the greater of $250 per violation or 5 percent of the contract price, capped at $2,500 per contract. The Attorney General and local consumer affairs offices enforce Article 36-A (GBL 774).

General information from official New York sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

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