Contractor Gone ยท Utah
Contractor gone in Utah: where the money can come from
Utah's fund is a different animal: it protects a paid-in-full owner from subcontractor liens rather than refunding a deposit. For the deposit itself, the DOPL licensing complaint, small claims to $15,000, and the bankruptcy claim are the paths. The Division of Consumer Protection takes abandoned-job complaints.
The four paths in Utah
| 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 | Residence Lien Recovery Fund, Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL). pays subcontractors, not homeowners; DOPL reports the fund is nearly depleted. Owner-occupied residence, written contract with a licensed contractor, paid in full: the Residence Lien Restriction Act voids sub liens against you, and the fund is where the sub goes instead. verified 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 | Utah's Residence Lien Restriction Act protects an owner-occupant who paid a licensed contractor in full under a written contract: subs and suppliers cannot enforce a lien against your home. The Lien Recovery Fund is their remedy, not yours. |
Is the contractor licensed?
Licensed by the Division of Professional Licensing. Look up the license. The license is what triggers the lien protection. Check it first.
Deposits and the contract
No statute caps deposits or sets a refund clock. confirm
Small claims
Small Claims Court (Justice Court), generally up to $15,000 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 licensing complaint; 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 the Division of Professional Licensing. It pays nothing but it is the pressure that gets refunds.
- 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. Utah's Residence Lien Restriction Act protects an owner-occupant who paid a licensed contractor in full under a written contract: subs and suppliers cannot enforce a lien against your home. The Lien Recovery Fund is their remedy, not yours.
The paperwork, done
The Contractor Gone kit, $39, fills every letter and form above with your facts: the chargeback script, the demand letter with Utah's deposit rule cited, the licensing complaint, the small-claims worksheet, 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.