Is it legal for my unlicensed neighbor to do home-improvement projects at my house?

If your neighbor is pitching in for free, he can do anything you ask him to do. But if you’re paying him more than $1,000, he needs a license.
 
Same goes for the handyman who does odd jobs for people around the neighborhood or for your handy brother-in-law who is willing to volunteer a couple of weekends to help you build your backyard patio.
 
Here’s what the law says: Anyone who accepts $1,000 or more for home-improvement work must have a license from the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.

That license must be for the specific kind of job the contractor is doing. If he’s fixing your roof, he needs a roofer’s license. If he’s also going to replace your copper plumbing pipes with plastic ones, then he also needs a plumber’s license.
 
Don’t hire someone for a big home-improvement job if he doesn’t have a valid contractor’s license. The license proves your contractor is bonded and that the state has deemed him knowledgeable and qualified to perform work up to industry standards.
 
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