Questions to Ask Before Hiring a General Contractor in Los Angeles (2026)

Content current as of June 2026. California contractor law, ADU regulations, and fire rebuild rules referenced in this article reflect the most recent legislative updates at the time of publication.

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Hiring a general contractor in Los Angeles is one of the highest-stakes decisions you'll make as a homeowner. The right contractor turns a kitchen remodel, custom home, ADU, addition, or fire rebuild into the home you actually want.  The wrong one turns it into a legal and financial mess that takes years to unwind. The difference usually comes down to what you ask before you sign anything.

At Built to Perfection, we've been building and remodeling homes across LA County and Orange County since 2001. In 25 years, we've filed 356 building permits under CSLB License #837987, and we typically have around 55 projects running at the same time. We've sat through thousands of contractor interviews from the other side of the table. We know which questions separate homeowners who end up happy from homeowners who end up calling a lawyer. This is the list we wish every homeowner brought to the conversation.

Can I Verify Your CSLB License Right Now?

This is the first question. Not because it's the most interesting, but because it eliminates bad contractors faster than anything else.

California law requires anyone who contracts for or bids on work valued at $1,000 or more in combined labor and materials to hold a current CSLB license. The Contractors State License Board maintains a free, public lookup tool where you can check any contractor's license status, classification, bond, and complaint history in about 30 seconds.

The consequences of skipping this are real. Under California Business and Professions Code §7031, an unlicensed contractor cannot sue to collect payment, and you can sue to recover all compensation paid. An unlicensed contractor also cannot foreclose on a mechanics lien for work valued above $500. In California, "licensed" changes the entire legal map.

What a good answer sounds like: The contractor gives you a license number on the spot and tells you to look it up. They know their classification, expiration date, and bond status without checking.

What a bad answer sounds like: "We're in the process of getting that." "My partner has the license." "You don't need a license for a project this size."

Is Your License Classification the Right Fit for My Project?

Not all contractor licenses cover the same work. California groups licenses into several classifications, and the one that matters for most LA residential remodels, additions, ADUs, and custom homes is Class B General Building.

A Class B contractor can take a prime contract on a project requiring at least two unrelated trades other than framing or carpentry. A Class B-2 license is more restrictive: it applies only to improvements on existing residential wood-frame structures requiring at least three unrelated trades.

Why this matters: A contractor with a B-2 license cannot legally take a prime contract on new construction or an ADU built from the ground up. If the scope of your project doesn't match the license classification, the contractor is operating outside their authority, and the legal protections that come with hiring a licensed contractor may not apply.

Do You Carry General Liability Insurance?

Most homeowners assume that "licensed" and "insured" are the same thing. They're not. California does not require every licensed contractor to carry commercial general liability (CGL) insurance as a condition of licensure. The state requires the home improvement contract to disclose the contractor's CGL status, but a contractor can be legally licensed and carry no general liability coverage at all.

The exception is contractors organized as LLCs. California requires LLC contractors to maintain at least $1,000,000 in liability insurance for five or fewer people on the personnel record, scaling up to a maximum of $5,000,000 depending on size.

Ask to see the policy. Ask for the carrier's name and the policy number. Then call the carrier and verify it yourself.

Good answer: "Yes, we carry CGL through [carrier name], policy number [X]. I'll email you a certificate of insurance today."

Red flag: "We're fully licensed and insured." (This answers neither question specifically.)

Are the Workers on My Property Covered by Workers' Comp?

This is the insurance question that can become your problem overnight.

California requires home improvement contracts to disclose whether the contractor has no employees and is exempt from workers' compensation requirements, or carries workers' comp for all employees. If a contractor tells you they're exempt because they have "no employees" but you see a crew of six on your property every day, something doesn't add up.

The risk is real. If you sign on as an owner-builder (sometimes at the contractor's suggestion), California's Health and Safety Code §19825 warns that you may be liable for damages if an unlicensed person or their employee is injured on the property. You also assume full responsibility for permits, inspections, and code compliance.

The question behind the question: "If one of your workers gets hurt on my roof, who pays?" If the answer doesn't involve an active workers' comp policy, you're carrying risk you didn't agree to.

What Is Your Payment Schedule, and What Triggers Each Draw?

California law is specific about this. Under BPC §7159, the down payment on a home improvement contract may not exceed $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less. Progress payments must be tied to specific phases of work and cannot exceed the value of labor performed and materials delivered. CSLB confirms these restrictions apply to ADUs and declared-disaster rebuilds too.

A legitimate payment schedule is tied to milestones: demolition complete, rough-in inspections passed, drywall finished, cabinets installed. Each draw matches real, verifiable progress.

What a good answer sounds like: The contractor walks you through the draw schedule in writing, with dollar amounts tied to phases. They describe each phase in specific terms ("after framing inspection," not "when we're about halfway done").

Can I Review the Full Contract Before Any Work Starts?

California's home improvement contract law (BPC §7159, updated by SB 517 in October 2025) requires the contract to include the project description, contract price, significant materials and equipment, down payment terms, a detailed progress payment schedule, approximate start and completion dates, change-order language, insurance notices, a mechanics lien warning, and a buyer's cancellation notice. The contractor must provide a signed, dated copy before work starts.

If a contractor resists letting you read the contract on your own time, that tells you something. A professional contractor expects the contract review. We send ours in advance specifically so homeowners can read it, ask questions, and compare it to what other contractors are offering.

What you're looking for: A contract that covers everything listed above without you having to ask for it. The more you have to pull out of the contractor, the less organized their operation is.

Which Parts of My Project Will You Subcontract?

Under SB 517 (effective October 2025), California home improvement contracts must state whether subcontractors will be used. If the answer is yes, you may request a list of subcontractors including their names, contact information, license numbers, and classifications. The prime contractor remains responsible for project completion regardless.

Heavy subcontractor use is not automatically a red flag. In LA residential construction, most general contractors manage specialist trade partners for plumbing, electrical, HVAC, tile, and other specialty work. The real question is whether the GC is transparent about who those partners are and takes responsibility for their work.

As one of our homeowners, the Coridori family, put it after a kitchen and three-bathroom remodel: "All the contractors that he hired in terms of the painters and the plumbers and the electricians, everyone was so reliable and so professional. Just couldn't have asked for a better group of people to trust in your home."

What a good answer sounds like: The contractor names the trades they self-perform and the ones they subcontract. They can tell you who their regular plumber and electrician are. They don't hesitate to provide the list.

What a bad answer sounds like: "Don't worry about that, we handle everything." (That's not an answer.)

How Do You Protect Me from Subcontractor Liens?

This is one of the most important questions homeowners forget to ask.

California's mechanics lien rules mean that even if you pay your general contractor in full, unpaid subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers can record liens against your property and sue to foreclose. Subcontractors and suppliers generally send a Preliminary Notice (which is not a lien) up to 20 days after they start work or deliver materials. That notice preserves their right to file an actual lien later if they don't get paid.

A contractor who manages this well collects conditional and unconditional lien releases at each draw. Some use joint checks for major subcontractor payments, so the sub gets paid directly. CSLB recommends both approaches as risk-reduction tools for homeowners.

What a good answer sounds like: "We collect lien releases from every sub and supplier at each progress payment. I'll provide them to you with each draw request."

What a bad answer sounds like: "That's not really something you need to worry about." (It is exactly something you need to worry about, especially on larger projects with many trades.)

Will You Pull All the Permits in Your Name?

A competent contractor obtains the permits required for the job before work starts. Period. The FTC's consumer guidance and CSLB both say this clearly.

If a contractor asks you to sign as the owner-builder, understand what you're agreeing to. CSLB says the owner-builder assumes full responsibility for all phases of the project, must pull the permits, and takes on the code-compliance burden. Some contractors push the owner-builder route to avoid permit requirements or because their license has issues. Either way, it should concern you.

In Los Angeles, the permitting landscape adds another layer. Properties inside the City of Los Angeles go through LADBS. Properties in unincorporated Los Angeles County go through LA County Building and Safety. Properties in incorporated cities like Pasadena, Santa Monica, and Calabasas each use their own municipal building departments. A contractor who answers the jurisdiction question confidently has probably built in that jurisdiction before. One who seems unsure probably hasn't.

We pull permits across dozens of LA-area jurisdictions every year. The process, timeline, and requirements differ significantly between the City of LA, LA County, and each incorporated city. A contractor who treats "LA permitting" as one thing hasn't done enough work here to know the difference.

Who on Your Team Handles Title 24 Energy Compliance?

California's energy code (Title 24) is among the strictest in the country. Permit applications submitted on or after January 1, 2026 must comply with the 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. LA County's rebuild permit package explicitly lists Title 24 energy plans and calculations as required submittal items.

This is not an optional back-office detail. Code-cycle timing can affect your design, HVAC system, building envelope, lighting, and electrification choices in ways that show up in the budget. If the contractor doesn't bring up Title 24 before you do, they're either unfamiliar with it or they're planning to figure it out later (at your expense).

What a good answer sounds like: The contractor describes their process for energy calculations, names the consultant or team member who handles them, and explains how the current code cycle affects your project.

What Current California ADU Rules Are You Designing Around?

This section reflects California ADU law as of June 2026.

If your project involves an ADU, a contractor who says "ADUs are easy now" is oversimplifying. California's ADU landscape is the product of multiple waves of legislation: AB 68, AB 881, and SB 13 in 2019, followed by AB 2221, SB 897, AB 976, AB 1332, AB 2533, SB 1211, and SB 543 (chaptered October 2025).

A few rules to test your contractor's knowledge:

• Once a completed ADU application is submitted, the local permitting agency must approve or deny it within 60 days (standard) or 30 days for qualifying detached ADUs using preapproved plans

• SB 543 added a 15-business-day completeness determination and a formal appeal process for ADU and JADU applications

• There is no owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs under current state law

• Certain multifamily lots may allow up to eight detached ADUs under SB 1211

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A good contractor won't just know the timelines. They'll know which jurisdiction your lot is in, what local ordinances apply on top of state law, and what the realistic preconstruction timeline looks like before the 60-day clock even starts.

At Built to Perfection, ADU construction starts at $120,000, and we maintain a dedicated ADU line at (818) 340-7721 because the permitting, design, and construction questions for ADUs are different enough from standard remodeling to warrant their own point of contact.

Have You Rebuilt Under the Current Fire Recovery Rules?

This section reflects fire recovery rules as of June 2026, following the January 2025 LA County wildfires.

After the January 2025 wildfires, state and local governments created a separate regulatory track for fire rebuilds in Altadena, Malibu, and Pacific Palisades. This is not ordinary residential permitting.

The differences a contractor should know:

• The Governor's executive actions suspended selected permitting barriers to speed rebuilding

• LA County's "like-for-like" rebuild path allows projects in the Eaton Fire area to exceed prior floor area by 10% or 200 square feet, whichever is greater

• In the City of Los Angeles, eligible Palisades rebuild projects receive expedited review (targeted within 30 days) under a 110% footprint-and-height benchmark

• An ADU on an eligible rebuild lot may receive its Certificate of Occupancy before the main house in qualified scenarios

• One-Stop Permit Centers exist for both Eaton and Palisades survivors

  
  

The real test: "If this is a Palisades rebuild, are you designing to the emergency-order pathway or to current zoning?" A contractor who doesn't know the difference between those two approaches shouldn't be handling your rebuild.

Built to Perfection is IICRC Certified (Firm #70224833) and EPA Lead-Safe Certified (RRP Firm #LBP-F307833-1), both of which matter specifically for restoration work. We have active projects in fire-affected areas and understand the expedited permit tracks, debris clearance coordination, and insurance documentation that these projects require. You can learn more on our Palisades and Altadena rebuild pages.

Do You Have Hillside and Seismic Experience in LA?

If your project involves a hillside lot, this question stops being optional and becomes the one that defines your schedule and budget.

LA County's rebuild permit package demands extra documentation for properties on hillsides with slopes of 3:1 or steeper, in geological hazard areas, in Fire Hazard Severity Zones, or on septic systems. The City of Los Angeles has its own Hillside Construction Regulation (HCR) district rules, including a general cap of 6,000 cubic yards of grading per lot, hauling-hour limits, and special review for very large single-family homes.

California's construction defect statute (Civil Code §896) also expressly treats a structure's compliance with earthquake and wind load resistance standards as an actionable issue. A contractor building in the hills or anywhere in seismic LA should be able to talk about soil conditions, retaining walls, grading requirements, and structural engineering without hesitation.

What a good answer sounds like: The contractor describes specific hillside projects they've completed. They reference the geotechnical report, grading plan, and haul-route requirements without being prompted. They mention their structural engineer by name.

Who Will Manage My Project Day to Day?

This is where the interview shifts from paperwork to relationship. The contractor sitting across from you during the sales process may not be the person you see on your property every day.

Ask specifically: Who is my project manager? Will that person be on site daily? How do I reach them? What's the communication cadence, and what format does it take?

The Coridori family hired us for a kitchen and three-bathroom remodel, and here's how they described the experience with their project manager, Tomer: "He was so reliable, so communicative. Every time we changed our mind, five or six times probably, he was very patient with us... He was there every day. He did exactly what he said he was going to do. He was in contact with us every day. Didn't leave us with any downtime."

That level of daily communication is not the industry default. It's a choice the contractor makes about how they run their operation. If you're comparing two contractors at similar price points, this is often where the real difference shows up.

At Built to Perfection, every project has a dedicated project manager. Our team is family-operated: Asher (founder, 25 years), Tomer (second generation, project management), and Roi (co-owner, lead PM). You know who is responsible for your project before work starts.

Can I See Finished Projects Similar to Mine?

A contractor who has done work similar to yours should be able to show you that work. Not stock photos. Not 3D renderings of what they could build. Actual finished projects with real homeowner results.

Ask to see the portfolio. Ask for references you can call. And when you look at the work, look for whether it matches the scope and style of what you're planning. A contractor with a portfolio full of bathroom remodels might not be the right fit for your custom home, and vice versa.

One of our kitchen remodel homeowners said it well: "I told Roy what my dreams were, and we ended up with this, and I absolutely love it." Another homeowner, from the first meeting, remembered their designer saying, "I understand who the people are. I know what to do for you." That kind of design input, where the contractor listens and then adds ideas you hadn't thought of, is something you can see in the finished work.

We use 3D design visualization on every project so homeowners can see exactly what their space will look like before demolition starts. It's one of the most practical ways to close the gap between what you're imagining and what actually gets built.

What Written Warranty Am I Getting?

California law provides specific warranty periods for qualifying residential construction. Under the Right to Repair Act and related Title 7 provisions:

• 1 year on fit and finish components (cosmetic items, paint, flooring surfaces)

• 4 years on plumbing, sewer, and electrical systems

• 10 years general outside limit for structural claims

  
  

These are California-mandated minimums, not a contractor's optional guarantee. Civil Code §900 requires at least a one-year written limited warranty on specified components, and if the builder fails to provide it, the warranty still applies. The builder also cannot require you to waive these protections in exchange for completing repair work (Civil Code §926).

One important nuance: the SB 800 / Title 7 framework specifically applies to original construction intended to be sold as individual dwelling units. It may not automatically govern every kitchen remodel or bathroom renovation on an owner-occupied property. Ask your contractor how the statutory warranty periods apply to your specific project, and get their written warranty in hand before work starts.

Why Is Your Bid So Different from the Others?

The FTC tells homeowners to get at least three written estimates before hiring. But the point is not to chase the cheapest number. It's to compare scope, materials, and timeline across bids, not just the total.

The BBB warns that a suspiciously low bid is often the hook. The contractor comes in cheap, then "discovers" more work once they've started, expands the price, or threatens to walk off mid-project. The FTC also specifically warns against cash-only or wire-transfer payment demands, high-pressure sales tactics, and "I'm already working in your neighborhood" pitches.

If one bid is dramatically lower than the others, ask what's missing. If one is dramatically higher, ask what's included that the others left out. The most useful comparison is line by line, scope against scope.

The Questions Most Homeowners Forget

If you've made it this far, you have a better interview framework than most homeowners bring to the table. But the research and conversation tend to focus on the obvious topics (license, insurance, price) and skip the ones that matter most in practice.

The three questions homeowners most often forget, in our experience:

1. Who is pulling the permits, and are they pulling them in their own name? This single question exposes permit-avoidance behavior faster than anything else.

2. Which parts of this project are you subcontracting, and can I see the sub list in writing? California law now requires disclosure. If the contractor won't provide the list, you have a problem.

3. How do you handle lien releases at each draw? If the contractor looks confused by this question, they are not managing subcontractor payments carefully enough to protect your property.

   
   

Ready to Start the Conversation?

We've been answering these questions for 25 years, and we're happy to answer them for you. Built to Perfection is a BBB A+ accredited (since 2016), 8-time Best of Houzz Service winner, and Top 1% California contractor by BuildZoom score. We're a family-operated design-build firm that works exclusively with homeowners across Los Angeles County and Orange County.

If you're planning a kitchen remodel, bathroom remodel, ADU, home addition, custom homes, or fire rebuild, call us at (888) 955-0535 or email info@builttoperfection.com to schedule a free consultation. Bring this list. We'll answer every question on it.