Problems that arise after acceptance of the building

As mentioned before, you will draw up the list of any work that is still to be completed at the time of the pre-acceptance inspection with the contractor. When you sign this document, you are accepting the building. Therefore, the date on which you sign is very important, because it marks the starting point of a number of time limits.

Valid claims that can be made after acceptance of your property

For a house, claims are related to the following types of coverage:

The completion of work declared in writing at the time of acceptance or within 3 days following the acceptance if you have not moved in
The repair of apparent defects and poor workmanship declared in writing at the time of acceptance or within 3 days after acceptance if you have not moved in
The repair of defects and poor workmanship that exist, but are not apparent, at the time of acceptance and that are discovered within one year after acceptance
The repair of latent defects that are discovered within 3 years after acceptance
The repair of faulty design, construction, or production, or the unfavourable nature of the ground that are discovered within 5 years following the end of work
Expenses for relocation, moving and storage of your property if you cannot live in your home while the corrective work is being carried out
Restoration of the building and repair of material damages caused by the corrective work

For a condo, claims are related to the following types of coverage:

For the private portion, the completion of work declared in writing at the time of acceptance or within 3 days after acceptance if you have not moved in
For the common portion, the completion of minor work declared in writing at the time of acceptance
For both the private portion and common portions of the building:
- The repair of apparent defects and poor workmanship declared in writing at the time of acceptance or within 3 days after acceptance if you have not moved in
- The repair of defects and poor workmanship that exist, but are not apparent, at the time of acceptance and that are discovered within 1 year after acceptance
- The repair of latent defects that are discovered within 3 years after acceptance
- The repair of faulty design, construction, or production, or the unfavourable nature of the ground that are discovered within 5 years following the end of work
- Expenses for relocation, moving and storage of your property if you cannot live in your condo while the corrective work is being carried out
- Restoration of the building and repair of material damages caused by the corrective work.

Summary of the guarantee period according to the problem
Problems covered by the guarantee	Guarantee period
Existing or non-apparent poor workmanship at the time of acceptance	1 year from the acceptance
Latent defects	3 years from the acceptance
Faulty design, construction, or production, or the unfavourable nature of the ground	5 years from the acceptance

Time limits to send a claim

Claims relating to completion or correction of the work must be sent to your contractor in writing, and a copy sent to the plan manager, within a reasonable amount of time from the date agreed upon with your contractor, at the time of the pre-acceptance inspection, for carrying out this work.

Procedure to follow

You are facing problems with your house or your condo, and you have discussed the matter with your contractor, but no satisfactory solution has been suggested?

Follow the steps below in order to benefit from the guarantee available after the acceptance of your house or your condo:

Be vigilant! You must comply with the time limits for claims, otherwise the plan manager could reject it.

Within a reasonable amount of time following the discovery of a defect or a poor workmanship, expose in writing the defect of construction to your contractor, and send a copy of this to the plan manager in order to preserve your right of recourses.
At least 15 days after you sent your claim to the contractor, if they have not taken action or responded to your satisfaction, you must notify the plan manager of the situation in writing and preferably by registered mail. At this point, you will have to pay $100 to the plan manager to open a file for you. This amount will be refunded to you if your request is completely, or even partially, accepted or if an agreement is reached with the contractor.
The plan manager must write to the contractor within 15 days following receipt of your written notice and request that they take action, and that they inform the plan manager of the measures they intend to take to remedy the situation. The contractor has 15 days to respond.
If the contractor has not responded to inform the plan manager of the measures they intend to take to remedy the situation within 15 days following the expiry of the response time granted to the contractor, the plan manager must go on-site to carry out an inspection of the building (if required, based on the type of claim you are making).
Following the inspection, the plan manager has 30 days to send you a detailed, written report by registered mail stating whether or not the situation has been settled between you and the contractor. This document constitutes the decision of the plan manager. If the plan manager cannot do so within 30 days, they must inform you of this in writing and provide reasonable grounds for the delay. They must also inform you of when they will render a decision.
If the plan manager finds that the disagreement with your contractor has not been settled, they will make a ruling on each of the elements presented in your claim. If the plan manager finds your claim to be well-founded, the contractor can be ordered to either reimburse your partial payments, or to complete or correct the work, as the case may be, within a reasonable time limit agreed with you indicated in his decision.
In the event that the contractor fails to reimburse you or to complete or correct the work and there is no recourse to mediation or the plan manager’s decision is not contested in arbitration by one of the parties, the plan manager shall make the reimbursement or take charge of completing or correcting the work within 30 days following the expiry of the time period agreed in the preceding paragraph. To do so, they agree on a time limit with you and prepares a corrective plan and a call for bids, chooses contractors, and supervises the work to be done.
Within 30 days following the expiry of the time limit agreed, the plan manager must inform you, in writing, of the anticipated time frame for completing the various steps involved in correcting the work.

Smart idea

Send your claim by registered mail so that you can keep the receipt as proof and protect your rights.

YOU DON'T AGREE?

If you disagree with a decision made by the plan manager, recourse is available.