Problems with a contractor

If you are the victim of a fraud, never hesitate to lodge a complaint to the police department of your municipality, or to the Sûreté du Québec. Indeed, dodgers or fraudulent operators rely on their victims’ silence, since they will too often put off reporting a dodger, either by shame or by fear of the consequences of contacting the police. By exposing the situation to a police officer, you will contribute to put an end to the activities of such fraudulent, fly-by-night operators.

In addition, the RBQ receives complaints about contractors who carry out work without holding the right licence and who are untrustworthy.

All contractors holding a contractor’s licence issued by the RBQ, the Corporation of Master Pipe Mechanics of Québec (CMMTQ) or the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ) detain a licence security.

For the consumers, this requirement is an additional coverage since it provides them with compensations if they suffer a prejudice linked to the poor performance or non-performance of the construction work.

However, general contractors exclusively registered in the new residential buildings subclass are exempted from this requirement, since this category of work is already covered by a mandatory guarantee plan (granted that the new building is covered).

Go to Problems with your contractor to know the steps to make a claim against the licence security.

To learn about the guarantee plan for new residential buildings, visit the guarantee plan website.

See the Problems with your contractor page to learn what to do.

The RBQ has the power to have a licence cancelled or suspended for any of the reasons provided in article 70 of the Building Act. This act also empowers the RBQ to issue licences containing restrictions under article 65.1.

You have every right to access the site. The only restriction imposed to the client by the Civil Code (art. 2117) is to not interfere with the work flow. This provision is aimed at improving the state of balance between both parties by protecting the client while avoiding to place too heavy a burden on the contractor.

You are a victim of a fraud:

1. Do not hesitate to call the police department of your municipality or the Sûreté du Québec.
2. Contact us, it is important that we have all the information. It could be useful for the investigation or for the analysis of a licence application. Please note that you can choose to lodge an anonymous complaint.
3. In this situation, you can make a claim against the licence security to cover any payment. Go to Problems with your contractor to know the steps to follow.