Every spring, the same thing happens across the five boroughs. The weather breaks, homeowners start thinking about what winter did to their roof or their stoop or their basement, and a wave of unlicensed contractors floods neighborhoods knocking on doors and handing out flyers.

Some of them are legitimate. A lot of them aren't. And the ones who aren't tend to be very good at looking like they are.

Here's how to protect yourself.

The Setup Is Always the Same

A guy shows up at your door. He says he was working in the neighborhood, noticed some damage to your roof (or your pointing, or your gutters, or your driveway), and he's offering a "today only" deal because he has leftover materials from the last job.

Sometimes he has a truck with a company name on it. Sometimes he has a business card. Sometimes he'll even pull up a website on his phone. None of that means he's licensed.

This is called a "storm chaser" or "traveling contractor" scam, and it spikes every spring and after every major weather event. In New York City, the DOB licenses contractors and requires permits for almost any structural work. Unlicensed contractors skip permits, do substandard work, and disappear — leaving you with a violation, a lien, or worse.

What You Need to Verify Before Signing Anything

NYC makes this easier than most people realize. Before you hand over a deposit or sign a contract, take five minutes and check three things:

1. NYC Department of Buildings license lookup
Go to nyc.gov/buildings and use the "BIS" (Building Information System) portal to look up any contractor's license number. Home improvement contractors working in NYC must be licensed by the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) — not just the DOB. Look them up at nyc.gov/consumers. A valid Home Improvement Contractor license is required for any job over $200.

2. Check for open violations and complaints
The DCWP license lookup also shows complaints filed against a contractor. One or two complaints over many years is normal. A pattern of unresolved complaints is a red flag.

3. Verify the permit
For any job that requires structural work — roofing, pointing, electrical, plumbing, adding a room — there should be a permit pulled before work starts. You can verify permits on the DOB BIS portal by address. If a contractor tells you a permit "isn't necessary" for work that clearly is structural, walk away.

The Deposit Rule

New York State law limits how much a contractor can require as a deposit. For most home improvement contracts, the legal maximum upfront deposit is one-third of the total contract price. Anyone asking for 50%, 75%, or full payment before starting work is either inexperienced or setting you up.

Get everything in writing before any money changes hands: scope of work, materials, timeline, payment schedule, and what happens if they find additional problems once they start. Verbal agreements are essentially unenforceable.

The Permit Pulls Protect You, Not Just the City

A lot of homeowners think permits are just a government formality — something to avoid to save time and money. That's backwards. When a permit is pulled and the work is inspected, you have documentation that the work was done correctly and to code. That matters when you sell, when you refinance, and when something goes wrong.

Unpermitted work discovered during a sale can kill a deal or cost you tens of thousands in price concessions. Unpermitted electrical or structural work that causes a fire or injury can create liability that your homeowner's insurance won't cover.

The permit is your protection. Make sure it gets pulled.

Quick Reference

Metro Intel is NYC homeowner intelligence — no fluff, no spin. Forward this to anyone about to start spring work on their home.