Post-Ike, Mayor White wants all roofers to register with the city:
Mayor Bill White’s plan to require roofers to register with the city and show proof of insurance before they can begin work on thousands of Ike-damaged homes ran into a storm of opposition at the City Council table Wednesday.
Council members were almost unanimous in their objections to the measure, prompting White at times to grow visibly frustrated and raise his voice as he reiterated a need to “protect consumers.”
“This will end up penalizing only the legitimate roofers,” Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck said. She said “the bad guys” simply will continue to flout the rules.
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The new ordinance would require companies to register as roofers before they can obtain permits to do any work. The process would cost $75 and take about 15 minutes, city officials said.
Questions: If/when it passes, does all repair work have to come to a halt until companies register? Who’s going to drive around the city enforcing the registration requirement? What recourse do Houstonians have if they used a roofer who didn’t register/pay?
