Contractor Gone ยท Alabama
Contractor gone in Alabama: where the money can come from
Alabama licenses residential builders through the Home Builders Licensure Board, and the Board runs a recovery fund for homeowners hurt by a licensed builder. The fund is a last resort with a claim process of its own; confirm the current cap and filing window with the Board before you count on it. Unlicensed work is a licensing complaint and a small-claims case, not a fund claim.
Run the free check for Alabama
The four paths in Alabama
| Card chargeback | Same in every state. Dispute for services not rendered within 120 days of the promised completion, no later than 540 days after the payment. Each payment has its own clock. |
| State fund | Homeowners' Recovery Fund, Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. Cap: confirm with the Board (commonly cited as $20,000 per claim). Precondition: Licensed home builder; loss from the builder's conduct; claim through the Board. Deadline: confirm. confirm Agency page |
| Bankruptcy claim | If the company filed, a proof of claim (Official Form 410) with the court by the bar date. A deposit for personal or household services is a priority claim up to $3,800 for cases filed on or after April 1, 2025 (11 U.S.C. 507(a)(7)); the rest is general unsecured. |
| Lien exposure: Mostly protected | For subcontractors and suppliers, Alabama's lien is an 'unpaid balance' lien: it reaches only what you still owe the contractor when you get their notice. If you paid in full before any notice arrived, the sub's lien should be worth nothing against you. |
Is the contractor licensed?
Licensed by the Home Builders Licensure Board (residential work over $10,000); General Contractors Board for larger commercial work. Look up the license. Pool builders doing residential work over $10,000 need the HBLB license.
Deposits and the contract
No statute caps deposits or sets a refund clock. confirm
Small claims
Small Claims Court (District Court), generally up to $6,000 as of 2025; confirm the current limit on the court's site before filing. Above the cap, the regular civil docket, where a lawyer is optional but usual. confirm
In order
- Pull the contract, every receipt, and your card or bank statements. The contract page shows where each number lives.
- Check the license at the link above. Licensed opens the fund; unlicensed means small claims and a report to the licensing body.
- If you paid by card, call the issuer today and open a dispute for services not rendered. The window closes; everything else waits.
- Send the demand letter by certified mail. It starts the clock the licensing body and the court will want to see.
- File the complaint with Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board. The fund claim hangs off it.
- Search PACER for the company. A bankruptcy filing stops the letters and the lawsuit and replaces them with a proof of claim.
- Answer any subcontractor notice in writing with proof of what you paid. For subcontractors and suppliers, Alabama's lien is an 'unpaid balance' lien: it reaches only what you still owe the contractor when you get their notice. If you paid in full before any notice arrived, the sub's lien should be worth nothing against you.
The paperwork, done
The Contractor Gone kit, $39, fills every letter and form above with your facts: the chargeback script, the demand letter with Alabama's deposit rule cited, the licensing complaint, the fund application, the lien-defense letter, the proof of claim worksheet, and a checklist for hiring the contractor who finishes the job. What's in it, or run the check first; the answers carry into the kit.
Page written 2026-09-07. Rows marked verified were read on the agency page or statute on the date shown in the data; rows marked confirm are from general knowledge and should be checked with the agency. Spot an error? Email jon@homestillworks.com and it gets fixed the same day.