Deposit and Payment-Schedule Rules for Bathroom Remodels, by State

Washington: no hard cap, but real advice

Washington does not set a statutory ceiling on a bathroom remodel deposit, but state guidance is direct: pay as phases of the work finish, not on a calendar, and hold off on paying in full until the job is done.^[1]

On a project over 6,000 dollars, that same guidance suggests asking the contractor to post a performance bond of their own.^[1]

A separate disclosure statement is required on any job of 1,000 dollars or more at a home of four units or fewer, spelling out the registration number and bond.^[2]

California: a number in the statute

California sets an actual ceiling: a down payment cannot exceed 10 percent of the contract price or 1,000 dollars, whichever figure is smaller. The one exception is a contractor who has filed a specific bond, a Blanket Performance and Payment Bond, directly with CSLB.^[3]

Any home improvement job over 500 dollars combined for labor and materials needs a written contract in the first place, and every later change has to be documented in writing too.^[3]

Florida: the deposit is tied to the permit clock

Florida does not cap the deposit amount directly. Instead, it regulates the aftermath: once a first payment climbs past 10 percent of the price, a clock starts, 30 days to apply for the permit, 90 days to begin work once the permit is issued.^[4]

Why the approaches differ so much

California controls the deposit directly with a dollar figure. Florida lets a bigger deposit happen but attaches a deadline to it. Washington skips a hard number in favor of a phased-payment norm and a disclosure requirement instead.

If a contractor pushes past the rule

A California contractor who asks for more than that 10-percent-or-1,000-dollar figure, and who cannot point to that specific bond filing, is asking for something state law simply does not allow.^[3]

The rest of the payment schedule, not just the deposit

None of the three states stops at regulating the first check. Washington's phased-payment norm, California's written-change-order rule, and Florida's permit-timing clock all keep applying for as long as the job runs.^[1],[3],[4]

What to put in writing before the first payment

A schedule tied to finished phases, not calendar dates, protects you in all three states even where it is only a recommendation rather than a hard rule. Get it written into the contract either way.^[1]

Questions people ask

Is a 50 percent deposit ever normal?

In California, that figure only clears the law with the specific bond filing described above; absent it, 50 percent overshoots the state's own cap by a wide margin. Washington and Florida set no flat percentage limit, but a deposit that size still cuts against the general advice to pay as work gets completed.^[1],[3]

What happens if a Florida contractor blows past the 30-day permit deadline?

The statute ties that deadline directly to taking more than 10 percent as a first payment, so missing it after collecting that much upfront is a violation of the payment-timing rule itself.^[4]

Should the final payment wait until after a home inspection?

Holding the last payment until the work passes its own final inspection, where one applies, is consistent with the general advice in all three states to avoid paying in full before a job is actually finished.^[1]

Does a bigger job justify a bigger deposit percentage?

Not under California's rule, which caps the deposit by a flat dollar figure or percentage regardless of the total contract size. A larger job simply means a larger dollar amount still has to wait for completed phases.^[3]