A.R.S. 32-1132.01: The $30,000 Recovery Fund Cap Per Claim

Arizona's recovery fund will not write a blank check. A.R.S. 32-1132.01 sets a hard ceiling: $30,000 for any one claim. It also limits what the money can be used for. The fund pays your actual damages, meaning real out-of-pocket losses, and it subtracts anything you already collected from another source. This page explains the cap, how the math works, and the costs the fund will not touch, so your expectations match the law before you file.

The $30,000 per-claim ceiling

The headline number in this section is fixed and easy to miss in the legalese. The statute states it plainly:

The maximum individual award from the residential contractors' recovery fund is $30,000.

That is per claim, against the contractor's bad work on your home. Two things shape what you actually receive. First, the fund pays only actual damages you suffered as a direct result of the contractor's violation, not punishment money. Second, the statute requires the ROC to subtract what you recover elsewhere:

...not to exceed $30,000.

So if the contractor's bond or a court order already paid you part of your loss, that amount comes off the top, and the fund pays the difference up to the $30,000 limit.

What "actual damages" leaves out

Actual damages means the concrete cost to fix or finish the work, plus direct losses tied to the violation. It does not cover everything a lawsuit might. The recovery fund generally will not pay for emotional distress, pain and suffering, lost time, interest, or your attorney fees. Those may be available in a separate civil case, but the fund itself is limited to real, provable repair and completion costs.

What this means for you

Picture a botched kitchen and bath remodel in Scottsdale. A second contractor quotes $52,000 to tear out and redo the failed work. You win an order against the original builder. The recovery fund reimburses your actual damages up to a hard cap of $30,000 per contractor, minus anything you have already recovered. Here the $8,000 the contractor's bond paid comes off first, leaving $44,000 in unpaid damages. Since that is still more than the cap, the fund pays you its $30,000 maximum, and $14,000 of the loss stays uncovered.

The takeaway: treat the recovery fund as a backstop, not full insurance on a large custom project. On a $1.5 million Rio Verde build, $30,000 is a small fraction. The real protection is hiring a licensed, financially sound builder up front so you never need the fund. Jematell Homes builds with that in mind, but knowing the cap helps you size the risk on any contractor you consider.

How this connects to the rest of the fund rules

This per-claim cap sits inside a larger limit. Even if several homeowners file against the same contractor, A.R.S. 32-1139 caps the fund's total payout per license at $200,000. To claim at all you must be eligible under A.R.S. 32-1132 and file in time under A.R.S. 32-1133 . For the steps, see how to file an ROC complaint and recovery fund claim .

Full text and source

Read the current version, including how recoveries from other sources are applied, on the legislature's site: View A.R.S. 32-1132.01 on azleg.gov .

How the cap applies to your loss depends on the facts, so confirm with the ROC or a qualified attorney before relying on it.