Legal hypothec in Quebec: how to protect your home

When you renovate your home, the contractor is often not alone: subcontractors, material suppliers and workers also take part in the work. The Civil Code of Québec gives them a special security on your property, the legal construction hypothec. If one of them is not paid, they can enforce it against your home, even if you paid your contractor. Here is what the law says and the simple steps that protect you. This guide summarizes the legal articles; for a specific situation, consult a notary or a lawyer.

1. Who can obtain a legal hypothec on your home

Under articles 2724 and 2726 of the Civil Code, persons who took part in the construction or renovation of an immovable can hold a legal hypothec. It can charge only the property where the work was done, and it exists only in favour of architects, engineers, material suppliers, workers, contractors and subcontractors, for work requested by the owner or for materials and services supplied or prepared for that work. It exists without needing to be published, so without your signature.

2. The deadlines: 30 days, then six months

Article 2727 sets the deadlines:

• the hypothec subsists, even unpublished, for the 30 days after the work ends;
• it is preserved if, before that period expires, the creditor registers a notice describing the property and stating the amount of the claim; the notice must be served on you;
• it is extinguished six months after the work ends, unless the creditor publishes an action against the owner or registers a prior notice of the exercise of a hypothecary right.

Registrations on a property appear in the Québec land register (Registre foncier).

3. The declaration of contract: the letter not to ignore

Article 2728 states that the hypothec secures the increase in value the work gave the property. But when the person did not sign a contract with you (a subcontractor or supplier hired by your contractor), their security is limited to the work, materials or services supplied after the written declaration of their contract to the owner. Workers are not required to declare their contract.

If you receive a letter from a subcontractor or supplier telling you about their contract with your contractor, that is a declaration (dénonciation): keep it with your contract and note who sent it and when. That list is what you will use when paying.

4. Paying the contractor safely

Three Civil Code articles on contracts for work govern payments:

• Instalments (article 2122): during the work, the contractor may require instalments only if the contract provides for them, for the value of the work done and the materials needed. Before that, they must give you a statement of the amounts paid to subcontractors, material suppliers and others who took part in the work, and of the amounts still owed to them to finish the work. Ask for this statement with every instalment.
• Holdback (article 2123): when paying, you may withhold from the price an amount sufficient to pay the claims of workers and of persons who declared their contract to you, for work done after the declaration. The holdback is valid until the contractor gives you a release (quittance) for those claims, unless they give you sufficient security covering them.
• End of the work (article 2111): you are not required to pay the price before acceptance of the work, and you may withhold an amount sufficient for the apparent defects or poor workmanship noted at acceptance until they are corrected, unless the contractor provides sufficient security.

In practice: put an instalment schedule tied to progress in the written contract, require the statement of amounts before each payment, and ask for a written release from each subcontractor or supplier who declared their contract before paying the balance. To read a quote, see comparing quotes.

5. A contractor without the proper licence

The Building Act (section 50) provides that a person who signed a construction contract with a contractor who does not hold the proper licence may apply to have it annulled. The owner may also apply to have a legal hypothec registered by such a contractor struck off. These applications are not admissible if it is shown that the owner knew the contractor did not hold the proper licence. Before signing, check the RBQ licence and the company's subclasses: see checking an RBQ licence and general or specialty contractor.

6. If a legal hypothec is registered on your home

Under article 3061 of the Civil Code, the registration can be cancelled at the request of any interested person when, within six months after the registration or the end of the work (whichever is later), no action has been brought and published and no prior notice of exercise has been published. The request must state these grounds and be served on the creditors at least 10 days before it is presented to the Land Registrar (Officier de la publicité foncière). If an action has been brought, or if you want to sell or refinance during these periods, see a notary or a lawyer.

Got a hypothec notice in Montréal, Laval or Longueuil? Where to get help

To find out whether a notice has been registered on your property, you usually need the lot number: the Registre foncier home page (in French) notes that an interactive map lets you find it for free from the address. To understand the notice and your options, several resources exist in Greater Montréal (pages read on November 1, 2026):

• Montréal: Info Justice Montréal, a community justice centre, offers free and confidential consultations with general-practice lawyers, by appointment, to residents of the City of Montréal; it cannot represent you in court. The Barreau de Montréal referral service directs you to a lawyer practising on the island; the first one-hour consultation is billed $60, plus taxes if applicable.
• Laval and the North Shore: Info Justice Laval-Laurentides-Lanaudière offers free consultations with lawyers, by appointment, to people in Laval, Thérèse-De Blainville, Les Moulins and L’Assomption, among others.
• Longueuil and the South Shore: Info Justice Montérégie, in Brossard, sees residents of the Longueuil agglomeration, Roussillon, Marguerite-D’Youville and Vaudreuil-Soulanges, among others, by appointment, with general-practice lawyers and notaries.

For the next stage of the work, a company that hands over its releases without fuss is a good sign: compare renovation contractors in Montréal, companies in Laval or those in Brossard.

7. Checklist

• RBQ licence checked before signing, written contract with an instalment schedule.
• Declaration letters kept, with the date received.
• Statement of amounts paid to subcontractors and suppliers requested before each instalment.
• Releases obtained before the final payment; holdback if one is missing.
• End-of-work date noted: it starts the 30-day and six-month periods.

For a large project, see also kitchen renovation steps. Planning work with several subcontractors? You can describe the project and get quotes, then require the statement of amounts paid in the contract for every instalment.