How to Hire a Contractor in the GTA Without Getting Burned

Almost every protection a GTA homeowner has is written down, and almost none of it works on a handshake. Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, 2002 does three things. It makes a consumer agreement not binding on you unless it was made the way the Act requires. It gives you 10 days to cancel a contract signed in your home. And it stops a contractor billing more than 10 per cent over an estimate that forms part of the contract. The Construction Act makes you hold back 10 per cent of every payment. You are on the hook for that money whether you kept it or not. Toronto fines an unlicensed renovator up to $100,000.

Which consumer law is in force in 2026

Much online advice quotes an Act that has not started. Ontario passed a replacement, the Consumer Protection Act, 2023, as Schedule 1 to Bill 142, which got Royal Assent on 6 December 2023. Section 120 of that Schedule says it "comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor". Proclamation is the separate step that switches a passed law on. We found none. The e-Laws consolidation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, current from 11 December 2025, still opens with the note that it "is repealed on a day to be named by proclamation". So the 2002 Act is what binds your contractor today. If the new Act is switched on mid-project, both deadlines below survive. Section 50 keeps the 10-day cancellation right, and section 51 the one-year right where a contract was not properly made or delivered.

Ontario's e-Laws pages do not load without JavaScript. So every section quoted here was read from the King's Printer's own Word versions, not from a summary.

Four checks you can actually verify

The business exists. Anyone can search the Ontario Business Registry free for basic information, and a filed profile report costs $8. A business you cannot find under the name on its quote is a problem before you get to price.

The HST number is real. A business that passes $30,000 in taxable revenue over four calendar quarters in a row stops being a small supplier and must register for the GST/HST. Passing it in a single calendar quarter does the same. A small supplier sits under that line and need not charge the tax. So a renovator charging you HST has a number you can check in the CRA's registry. On cash deals Consumer Protection Ontario is blunt: avoid them, and if you do pay cash, get a detailed signed receipt.

The City licence. Toronto licenses trades, not just storefronts. Under Municipal Code Chapter 545, § 545-2A(52), anyone in the business of altering, repairing or renovating buildings needs a licence. The exception is a business whose main work is construction. The City's list includes Building Renovator, Drain Contractor, Driveway Paving Contractor, Heating Contractor, Insulation Installer and Plumbing Contractor. Section 545-437 requires "Toronto Licence No." and the number on both sides of the renovator's vehicles, in letters at least 10 centimetres high. It goes on every bill and advertisement too, and on your quote. Section 545-8.5 sets the fine for breaking the chapter at up to $100,000, plus up to $10,000 for each day it continues.

WSIB coverage, with a caveat almost nobody prints. A clearance number is WSIB's proof a contractor's account is in good standing. WSIB says construction work without a valid one is an offence by both the contractor and whoever hired them. Under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, an individual faces a fine of up to $25,000, up to six months in jail, or both. A corporation faces up to $500,000. Convicted of two or more counts of the same offence in one proceeding, it faces up to $750,000 for each conviction (s. 158). WSIB's own summary page still says $100,000. That figure is nowhere in the Act. The page also says: "If a contractor or subcontractor is hired to do home repairs or renovations by a home's resident, occupant or a member of their family, then a clearance certificate is not required". A self-employed renovator working straight for you may be exempt entirely, under WSIB's home renovation exemption. So "no clearance" is not automatically a red flag. But WSIB's examples show where it stops. A renovator with two employees is exempt himself, but still reports their earnings. The electrician and plumber he hires are not exempt, and must give him a clearance. Ask anyway. Clearances are free and valid up to 90 days.

What a contract must contain before it binds you

Section 93(1) of the 2002 Act is the sentence to remember: "A consumer agreement is not binding on the consumer unless the agreement is made in accordance with this Act and the regulations". A court can still hold you to a deal where letting you walk would be unfair. But the default runs your way.

Which rules apply turns on where you signed. A contract made in person somewhere other than the contractor's place of business is a direct agreement, and O. Reg. 17/05 sets the threshold at $50. Signed at their office, it is usually a future performance agreement: you pay or they deliver later. Both must be in writing and handed to you.

Section 35 of O. Reg. 17/05 asks for two things on a direct agreement. The contract must be signed by both of you, and it must set out fifteen items. Those include the names of whoever pitched, negotiated and closed the deal, the date and place of signing, and a fair, accurate description of the work. Also the total payable, the terms of payment, an itemised price list with taxes, and the dates for starting and finishing. It must also carry a statement headed "Your Rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2002". That goes on the first page, in at least 10 point type, with its heading in 12 point bold. It tells you that you may cancel "at any time during the period that ends ten (10) days after the day you receive a written copy of the agreement".

Miss those requirements and section 43(2) lets you cancel a direct agreement within one year. Section 23 gives the same year on a future performance agreement. Section 7(1) makes that waiver-proof: the Act's rights "apply despite any agreement or waiver to the contrary". Section 7(2) voids an arbitration clause as far as it stops you suing in the Superior Court of Justice.

Toronto adds a layer. Under § 545-442 a licensed building renovator must sign a written contract on the City's set form before starting work. And no extra work may be done unless a further contract on the same form is signed first. Ask, and they must give you an itemised bill within 24 hours.

Deposits and the 10 per cent estimate rule

Ontario sets no legal cap on a deposit, but it does recommend one. Consumer Protection Ontario tells homeowners to keep down payments "to a minimum (we recommend no more than 10%)", and never to pay in full before the work is done. It gives contractors the same figure in its business guide.

The estimate rule is harder-edged. Section 10(1): "If a consumer agreement includes an estimate, the supplier shall not charge the consumer an amount that exceeds the estimate by more than 10 per cent". Section 10(2) supplies the remedy most people miss. If they go over, "the consumer may require that the supplier provide the goods or services at the estimated price". Section 116 makes breaking subsection 10(1) an offence. On conviction an individual faces up to $50,000 and two years less a day, a corporation up to $250,000.

Two conditions attach. The estimate only bites if it is part of the contract, which is why Ontario's guidance tells homeowners to insist it is attached. And the cap does not cover extra or different work you asked for. So every change needs a signed change order with its own price.

Cancelling, and what it costs you

You need no reason. Section 92 lets you give notice "in any way" that shows you mean to cancel. A written notice counts as given when it is sent. Send it in a form you can prove, to the address in the agreement. O. Reg. 17/05 section 79(1) then requires a refund of every payment within 15 days.

Letting work begin early costs you. If the contractor started during the cooling-off period you can still cancel, but you are "responsible for reasonable compensation for work and materials that the contractor has provided". Even then, O. Reg. 17/05 s. 35(2) owes that only if you asked for the work and asked them to start within those ten days, and never for goods that can be returned or repossessed. So set a start date after day 10. One rule beats the cooling-off period outright. Furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, water treatment devices and duct cleaning cannot be sold at your door unless you started the transaction. A contract from unsolicited door-to-door marketing is void.

Holdback and liens: the part that cuts both ways

The Construction Act defines "holdback" as "the 10 per cent of the value of the services or materials supplied under a contract or subcontract required to be withheld from payment," and Section 22(1) requires each payer, you included, to hold it until any lien has expired or been paid off. Since January 1, 2026, section 26(8) then requires you to pay it to the contractor within 14 days. A lien is a legal claim registered against your property title.

Section 23(1) is the sting: an owner "is personally liable for holdbacks that the owner is required to retain". Required, not retained. Pay a general contractor in full, and if they never pay the tiler, the tiler can register a lien on your title. You can then be liable for the 10 per cent you should have kept. A second time.

Liens run on a clock. Under section 31 a lien expires at the end of the 60-day period that follows the earlier of two dates. Those are publication of a certificate or declaration of substantial performance, and the date the contract is completed, abandoned or ended. A preserved lien then dies unless it is perfected before the end of the 90-day period following the last day it could have been preserved. Perfecting means starting a court action and registering a certificate of action on title. Section 39 lets a lien claimant ask you in writing for the contract price and a state of accounts, within a reasonable time and no more than 21 days.

Prompt payment binds you too. Section 6.4 requires an owner to pay a proper invoice no later than 28 days after receiving it. The way out is a notice of non-payment within 14 days, on the set form, saying how much you hold back and why. An incomplete invoice is no escape either. Since January 1, 2026, section 6.1(2) deems it proper unless you tell the contractor in writing, within seven days of receiving it, what it lacks and what would fix it. Silence is not a dispute.

When it goes wrong: who to complain to, in order

Write to the business first. The ministry's complaint process expects a letter or email naming the business and how your rights were broken. Then file with the Consumer Protection Branch. It is free, and it replies within 15 business days. It can mediate, order compliance, investigate, and name the business on the Consumer Beware List, where entries stay 21 to 27 months.

Licensing complaints about a Toronto renovator go to Municipal Licensing and Standards through 311, and electrical work to the Electrical Safety Authority. For the money, Small Claims Court handles up to $50,000, raised from $35,000 on 1 October 2025. Most claims must be filed within two years, and the defendant has 20 days to respond.

An infrequent claimant files fewer than 10 claims a year at that court location. Fee waivers exist.