Home improvement and home solicitation: right to cancel contracts: notice.

Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry's legislation modernizes California's home improvement and solicitation contract regulations by expanding how consumers can cancel these agreements. The bill permits cancellation notices to be delivered by email or telephone, adding contemporary communication methods to existing mail and in-person options.

The measure modifies several consumer protection provisions in both the Business and Professions Code and Civil Code. Home improvement contractors must now include their email addresses in contracts and accept emailed cancellation notices. The legislation also explicitly allows buyers to cancel contracts orally by phone, providing an alternative to written notification.

These changes apply to the state's established cancellation periods: three business days for standard contracts, five days for senior citizens, and seven days for disaster repair agreements. The bill maintains existing consumer safeguards while making the cancellation process more accessible through modern communication channels.

For contractors and sellers, the legislation requires updates to contract templates and notices to reflect the new cancellation methods. Contracts must specify email addresses for cancellation notices and acknowledge that oral cancellation by phone is permitted. The measure preserves all other contract requirements, including typeface specifications, mandatory disclosures, and notice formatting rules.

The bill retains special protections for senior citizens, including their extended five-day cancellation window for contracts entered into after January 1, 2021. It also keeps the seven-day cancellation period for contracts involving repair of disaster-damaged properties under declared emergencies.