Searching for a contractor or a licence number: consult the Licence holders' repertory.
Searching for a contractor or a licence number: consult the Licence holders' repertory.
COVID-19: Answers to your questions [Fr]. Please note that Montréal’s service point is closed. However, examinations are still on.
According to our language policy, only certain contents may be translated. Visit the French version to obtain all the information.
If your contractor has failed to fulfill his obligations and the measures you have undertaken to resolve the situation with him have not yielded results, you can file a claim against the licence security.
Before filing a claim, go to the Know your avenues for recourse page for all the steps you can take if your contractor has failed to fulfill his obligations.
The licence security is a financial guarantee, which most contractors licenced by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ), the Corporation des maîtres mécaniciens en tuyauterie du Québec or the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec must obtain. This fund is used to compensate their clients if the work stipulated in the contract is poorly executed, not executed or not completed.
The amount of the licence security depends on the type of licence held by the contractor:
In order for your claim to be eligible, you must:
Should you fail to comply with these criteria, your claim will not be accepted.
Damages covered by the bond must:
The bond does not allow you to be compensated for:
There are two types of claims, subject to eligibility:
If you have obtained a judgement against your contractor, send us:
If you have not obtained a judgement (ex.: your contractor has ceased operating or is bankrupt), you can still file a claim with the RBQ. In this case, the RBQ serves as an intermediary.
You should know, however, that the organization responsible for the contractor’s licence bond must agree to enter into an agreement with you, allowing you to be compensated. To this end, you must send us:
When your contractor has declared bankruptcy, legal proceedings against him are suspended. If he goes bankrupt when you have a claim against him, you have the following options:
You could benefit from more than one type of coverage, depending on your situation. The RBQ will only provide compensation for the part that is unpaid by other guarantees.
Submitting a claim against the licence bond does not prevent you from undertaking measures with another organization (ex: if you are covered by a private guarantee plan).
Note that private guarantee plans generally stipulate a maximum timeframe for filing a claim. Contact your guarantee plan’s administrator as soon as possible to avoid missing the deadline.
If your contractor holds both a licence and an itinerant merchant’s permit issued by the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC), you may possibly be entitled to benefit from both guarantees. If the RBQ notes that your claim relates to work targeted by the itinerant merchant’s permit, it will forward the information to the OPC.
When we receive and accept an initial claim against a contractor, we are required to wait for a period of 6 months before issuing any payment. This regulatory period allows other citizens to add their claim to the file.
For additional information on the payment and amounts paid, go to Obtain payment following a claim.