Fraudulent practices in certain construction, erection, improvement or repair work.
New Orleans City Code § 26-1
in effectSec. 26-1. - Fraudulent practices in certain construction, erection, improvement or repair work.
(a) No person who is a party to a contract pertaining to the construction, erection, improvement or repair of any building or structure in the city shall do, or attempt, or cause or allow to be done or attempted by his agents or employees any of the following, which are defined as fraudulent practices for purposes of this section:
(1) Misrepresent to the owner of the property in question, or to the agent or representative of such owner, any material fact concerning the work proposed to be done by the contractor or subcontractor or the total price to be paid by the owner, including all financing charges, or the time and/or method of such payment; or make any promise concerning these matters, intended to influence the owner, or his agent or representative, knowing such promise to be false.
(2) Fail to timely begin and to complete; or to abandon, without good cause, the work undertaken to be done.
(3) Misrepresent to the owner of the property in question, or to the agent or representative of such owner, during the term of the contract for the work to be done, or after the execution of any evidence of indebtedness, any material fact concerning work already performed, as to quality or quantity, or concerning materials furnished or labor expended on the work in question.
(4) Wilful departure in any significant manner from the contract or the plans or specifications connected therewith without consent of the other contracting party and without reasonable cause which results in damage to the other party.
(5) Obtain a signed, written contract of the type referred to herein, or a promissory note, mortgage, pledge or other evidence of indebtedness in connection or conjunction therewith or in connection or conjunction with construction, erection, improvement or repair work on real property even without a signed, written contract, in which the full amount of money due to be paid, including discounts, interests, penalties, forfeitures, late charges, attorney fees or whatever, is not clearly and explicitly set forth in one sum or in such a manner as to be apparent.
(6) Fail to comply with all the requirements of the ordinances of the city applicable to such work, including particularly failure to obtain the required building permit and inspections from the city.
(b) This section is not applicable to contractors or subcontractors who have obtained a license and maintained a current license under the provisions of R.S. 37:2151—37:2163 provided that the particular contract involved exceeds $50,000.00.
(Code 1956, §§ 30-48, 30-49)
Source: City of New Orleans, Code of Ordinances and Home Rule Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/la/new_orleans/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH26BUBUREHOST_ARTIINGE_S26-1FRPRCECOERIMREWOFetched: 10/28/2026