A contractor's payment schedule requires the owner to pay 80% of the price before any materials arrive or work begins. This violates §7159 because:

Explanation

B&P §7159.5(a)(5) is the rule: except for the downpayment, the contractor 'shall neither request nor accept payment that exceeds the value of the work performed or material delivered', and the bar extends to advance payment in whole or in part from any lender or financier. Eighty percent before anything arrives on site fails that test on day one, and §7159.5(a)(3) separately caps the downpayment at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever is less. (a) restates the violation as if it were the cure. (d) invents an equal-instalment rule; §7159.5(a)(4) requires each payment to reference the work it buys, which almost never produces equal amounts. (c) invents a cash requirement, which would defeat the joint-check protection the Mechanics Lien Warning urges on the owner.