The contract decides what you are entitled to receive, what happens when something goes wrong, and whether you have any recourse at all. Ontario has no mandatory standard contract form for renovation work. A contractor can hand you a comprehensive agreement, a one-page letter, or an emailed quote with "accepted" at the bottom. The difference is entirely your risk to carry. Here are the twelve things a renovation contract needs, plus the rights Ontario gives you whether it mentions them or not.
Two statutes matter most.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2002. Where the total payable exceeds $50 and performance is not complete at signing, which describes essentially every renovation, the agreement must be in writing with the content the regulations prescribe, and a signed copy delivered to you within fifteen days.One correction to advice you will see elsewhere: a verbal renovation agreement is not simply unenforceable in Ontario. It can still bind at common law, and a contractor may still recover the reasonable value of work performed. What the Act gives you is more specific: if your agreement lacks the required content, you can cancel it within one year. That is a remedy, not a void contract.
The Construction Act. It governs holdback, trust obligations, prompt payment, adjudication and lien rights. Most of it cannot be contracted out of, and significant amendments took effect on January 1, 2026. One local point: in Toronto, a business that repairs or renovates buildings needs a Building Renovator licence under Municipal Code Chapter 545, and that by-law requires licensed renovators to have a written contract with the homeowner. Other GTA municipalities differ.
The contract must describe the work in enough detail that two people reading it would produce the same result. Not "kitchen renovation," but which cabinets, counters, fixtures, electrical scope, flooring and trim. Vague scope is the primary mechanism by which costs grow during construction. If the contract says "kitchen renovation," almost anything can later be argued to sit outside it and billed as an extra.
Every material should be identified by brand, product name, model, colour or finish code, dimensions, thickness and grade. "Quartz countertop" is not a specification. It permits the cheapest quartz on the market. "Caesarstone Calacatta Nuvo, 3 cm, 2-inch mitred edge" is a specification. Where something is not yet selected the contract carries an allowance. Two things must be written down: the dollar amount and what it covers. An allowance covering material only means the labour to install your eventual choice arrives later as a separate charge. This is the most common source of overrun in the GTA and it is entirely preventable at the contract stage.
Read this section first, not last. It tells you what the price does not contain. A good contract lists standing exclusions such as hazardous material remediation, existing code deficiencies, concealed structural repairs, utility upgrades, engineering and survey fees, appliances and deep cleaning, plus a project-specific list. A contract with no exclusions section is not generous. It is incomplete, and the gaps surface during construction.
The contract should state the price basis, fixed or cost-plus, and show HST separately with the contractor's registration number. Then the provision almost no article mentions. Under section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, where your agreement includes an estimate, the contractor cannot charge more than ten per cent above it unless you agree in writing to an amended price or you request additional or different work. If they do, you can require the work at the estimated price. Ontario courts have applied this to residential renovation. That protection only exists if the estimate is written into the agreement. A verbal indication that it might run over triggers nothing.
Payments should be tied to completed milestones, not calendar dates or the contractor's cash flow.
Deposit. Ontario's consumer guidance recommends no more than ten per cent. A schedule taking forty per cent before construction begins leaves you very little leverage.
Holdback. Section 22 of the Construction Act requires you to retain ten per cent of the value of the work in every payment. It is a legal obligation, not an optional retention, and it protects you against unpaid subcontractors. It is released sixty days after publication of the certificate of substantial performance, or sixty days after completion where none is published, provided no lien has been preserved. Since January 1, 2026 holdback must also be released annually on each anniversary of the contract date, which matters on projects running past twelve months.
Prompt payment. A proper invoice is payable within twenty-eight days unless you deliver a notice of non-payment in the prescribed form within fourteen days.
Liens. Subcontractors and suppliers can lien your property if the contractor does not pay them, even where you have paid in full. Require a statutory declaration with each draw confirming everyone has been paid. Amounts the contractor receives are trust funds under Part II of the Construction Act.
The contract needs a commencement date, a substantial performance date, a final completion date and permitted working hours. Expect a list of excusable delays: permits, concealed conditions, your own changes and late selections, supply chain, weather. That list is reasonable. What matters is that the contract requires written notice with revised dates, so the schedule is managed rather than quietly abandoned. One right worth knowing: if the contractor fails to commence within thirty days of the stated start date, you can cancel under the Consumer Protection Act, unless you agreed to a later date or work has begun.
The contract must say that no change to scope, price or schedule proceeds without a written change order signed by both parties in advance, and that the contractor has no authority to incur costs outside the agreed scope without your written authorization. Each change order should show the description, the reason, the price effect, HST, the schedule effect and the new running total. Name who on each side can issue and sign them. A narrow emergency exception is legitimate: work necessary to prevent injury or property damage, with written notice within one business day and a change order to follow. Be careful in the other direction. If you email "yes, go ahead" and the work is done in reliance on it, you may be liable for its reasonable value even without a signed form. Ask for a priced change order first.
The contract should allocate, item by item, who obtains and pays for the building permit, plumbing permit, mechanical approval, ESA electrical notification, TSSA gas permit, and any minor variance, conservation authority, heritage or condominium approval. Note the terminology: electrical work in Ontario runs through the Electrical Safety Authority, not the municipal building permit, and the notification is filed by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, not pulled by you. Permit drawings must come from a designer holding a Building Code Identification Number, an architect licensed with the OAA, or a professional engineer, and structural work generally needs a P.Eng. If the contract is silent on permits you have no documented basis for requiring them, and unpermitted work creates fines, insurance problems and complications at resale.
The contract should reference Commercial General Liability coverage, commonly $2,000,000, by insurer and policy number, and confirm WSIB registration. Note the term: it is CGL. A certificate that says something else has usually not been issued properly. Do not accept a photocopy from the contractor. Ask the broker to send the certificate directly, and verify WSIB clearance yourself. Both take minutes and both are free.
The contract must state the warranty period, what it covers, what it excludes, when it starts and how to claim. One to two years on workmanship is typical in Ontario. "We'll come back if anything goes wrong" is an assurance, not a warranty. And nothing in a warranty clause can exclude the implied condition under the Consumer Protection Act that services be of reasonably acceptable quality. If the project is effectively a rebuild, ask whether it falls under Tarion and the New Home Construction Licensing Act instead.
The contract should say what happens when something unexpected is found: work stops in that area, you are notified in writing within a stated period, and options with pricing follow before anything proceeds. One duty runs the other way, and homeowners are usually surprised by it. Under section 30 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act the owner must determine whether designated substances such as asbestos are present before the project begins and provide that list to every contractor pricing the work. If your house predates 1990, get a survey. It converts the largest source of mid-project cost shock into a known number.
The contract should set out a sequence: direct discussion, then mediation, then a final forum, and name the jurisdiction. Correcting a common claim: without a dispute clause, disagreements do not default to expensive litigation. Interim adjudication under Part II.1 of the Construction Act covers disputes over valuation, payment and change orders, including unapproved ones, and cannot be contracted out of. Small Claims handles claims up to $35,000, and Consumer Protection Act remedies remain available regardless of what the contract says.
Read every clause and ask about anything vague. If a contractor pushes back on permits, change orders, the payment schedule or the holdback, treat the resistance as information about how the project will be run.
Does a renovation contract have to be in writing in Ontario?
For a consumer agreement over $50 where performance is not complete at signing, yes, with prescribed content and a copy delivered within fifteen days. A verbal agreement is not automatically void, but a non-compliant one can be cancelled within a year.
Can a contractor charge more than the contract price?
Not more than ten per cent above a written estimate, unless you agree to an amended price or request additional work.
How much deposit should I pay?
Ontario guidance recommends no more than ten per cent, with the balance tied to completed milestones.
What is the ten per cent holdback?
A legal requirement under the Construction Act. You retain ten per cent of each payment, released after the lien period expires, to protect against unpaid subcontractors.
Maple Leaf Quality Renos issues a written contract with specified scope, allowances stated in dollars with their coverage defined, a milestone payment schedule, written change orders, permits managed in house and a documented warranty.
Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation and a detailed written estimate.
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