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Residential building contractor complaints

Complaints must be submitted in writing before an investigation can begin. Be sure to provide the details of the dispute and include as much information as possible, as well as what you would like the contractor to do to resolve your complaint.

  • Include a daytime phone number and your mailing address on the form.

  • Attach copies of any documents to support your complaint, such as contracts or purchase agreements, canceled checks, correspondence, municipal correction notices, mechanic's lien statements, etc..

We will send a copy of your complaint to the contractor, so do not include statements or other information you do not want the contractor to see.

File a complaint

Mail written complaints to:
Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry
Residential Building Contractors
443 Lafayette Road N.
St. Paul, MN  55155

You may also file a complaint by:

In the email or phone call include the type of licensed service you wish to file a complaint about and your inquiry will be directed to an investigator who handles cases in that industry. The investigator will usually be able to tell you if your complaint is something they are able to investigate. The investigators cannot provide legal advice.

Enforcement actions

View enforcement actions against individuals and businesses.

Limitations

Although we license and regulate residential building contractors, remodelers, roofers and manufactured home installers, our authority is limited to initiating administrative disciplinary action against a contractor's license if they have broken state law.

We have no authority to:

  • compel a contractor to perform corrective work or pay damages; or

  • impose the settlement of contractual or other civil disputes.

These remedies are the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts or the arbitration process.

If your complaint involves workmanship problems

  • We are not able to open a formal investigation unless the contractor has been cited by a local building code enforcement official for a violation of the state building code.

  • In areas where the State Building Code has not been adopted, a consumer must provide a report from a Minnesota certified building official stating the construction defect constitutes a violation of the State Building Code before we can open an investigation.

Warranties and Contractor Recovery Fund

Minnesota law requires builders and remodelers to warrant their work for varying lengths of time depending on the type of defect involved. However, this "statutory warranty" is not interpreted or enforced by any agency of government. It is essentially a tool for homeowners to use in a civil action against their contract to recover the cost of repairing a covered defect.

If a homeowner pursues a civil action against a licensed contractor and obtains a judgment based on the contractor's failure of performance (which would include a breach of the statutory warranty); fraudulent, deceptive or dishonest practices; or conversion of funds, they would be eligible to file a claim for compensation through the Contractor Recovery Fund. We administer the fund and it is the primary consumer protection component of the contractor licensing program.

Questions?

Contact us at dli.contractor@state.mn.us or 651-284-5069.