Why can general contractors utilize non-licensed subcontractors?
If general contractors, in addition to specialized trade contractors, were allowed to subcontract work directly to non-licensed specialty trade subcontractors such as concrete, framing and roofing, and entire home, except for the electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems could be farmed out to, and constructed by, non-licensed, non-City-qualified subcontractors. As a result, the “playing field” would be tilted, legitimizing a vast unregulated “underground” industry of non-licensed subcontractors at the expense of established licensed specialized trade contractors. Moreover, under such a scenario, general contractors would then be free to subcontract out all work (except HVAC, electrical and plumbing) to virtually anyone. Such a “free-for-all” would open the floodgates to unqualified workers at immense disservice to the Community.
