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Ontario

Contract administration on Ontario construction

The contract forms, payment statutes and notice regimes that decide when you get paid and what you have to serve to keep the right.

8 authorities, 4 statutory, 6 free to read.

StatutoryFree to readConsolidation period from 1 January 2026; e-Laws currency date 12 August 2026; last amendment 2025, c. 14, Sched. 2

Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30

Legislative Assembly of Ontario, consolidated on e-Laws

the content test for a proper invoiceprompt payment deadlines and notices of non-paymentstatutory holdback and its releaseliens and the substantial performance regime
StatutoryFree to readConsolidation period from 11 December 2025; e-Laws currency date 12 August 2026; last amendment 2025, c. 24, Sched. 5

Consumer Protection Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sched. A

Legislative Assembly of Ontario, consolidated on e-Laws

direct agreements negotiated away from the supplier's premisesthe cooling-off period and cancellation rights for consumer contractsthe cap on charges exceeding an estimateunfair practices and consumer remedies

The statute a contractor doing residential work is actually judged against today. The definition of direct agreement turns on the place of negotiation or conclusion rather than on the nature of the work, which is why it captures ordinary renovation contracts that nobody thinks of as door-to-door selling. Section 43.1 is worth separate attention for anyone supplying the prescribed goods it names, as it prohibits the solicitation outright rather than merely regulating it.

StatutoryFree to readConsulted at e-Laws currency date 12 August 2026

O. Reg. 17/05 (General), made under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002

Government of Ontario, consolidated on e-Laws

the prescribed monetary threshold engaging the direct agreement content rulesthe prescribed content of a direct agreementthe prescribed cancellation statement and its typographyprescribed content for internet and remote agreements

The operative document for the homeowner contract template: the Act says a direct agreement must contain prescribed content, and this regulation is what 'prescribed' means. Held separately from the Act because it will be revoked and replaced on a different timetable from the parent statute, and because the fifteen-head content list is the part that changes when it does.

De facto standardPaywalled

CCDC standard construction contract documents and forms

Canadian Construction Documents Committee

standard forms of construction contract used across Canadastandard progress payment application and statutory declaration formsstandard definitions of substantial performance and payment procedures
Common practiceFree to read

OAA Practice Tips, PT.10 series on the Construction Act (prompt payment, holdback release, interim adjudication)

Ontario Association of Architects

contract_admincost_controldocument_control

Because e-Laws pages render client-side and resist automated fetching, these OAA PDFs are the most practical route to current, correctly-dated Construction Act procedure. They are written for architects acting as payment certifier, which is exactly the perspective a payment application template needs.

LegacyFree to readAs enacted, consolidation period from 6 December 2023; NOT YET IN FORCE as at e-Laws currency date 12 August 2026

Consumer Protection Act, 2023, S.O. 2023, c. 23, Sched. 1 (enacted by the Better for Consumers, Better for Businesses Act, 2023)

Legislative Assembly of Ontario, consolidated on e-Laws

the future consumer protection regime replacing the 2002 Actdirect contracts and their cancellationrequired disclosure before entering a consumer contractthe cap on charges exceeding an estimate

The rest of the Ontario register

Code complianceHealth and safetyCost controlAll of Ontario

The register tells you what. The back office does it.

AEC Stack carries the registrations, the insurance certificates, the payment notices and their deadlines, and the documents a buyer wants before they let you start. Across Canada, built deepest for Ontario.

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