Obtain the payment after a claim against the licence security

Claims by all clients wronged by the same contractor are compiled in his file with the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) for 6 months following the filing of a first claim. During this period, the claims of other citizens can be added to the file. Go to Outstanding Claims.

Amounts paid

The maximum compensation paid to beneficiaries as a whole is $20,000 from specialized contractors and $40,000 from general contractors.

If claims exceed the amount of the bond, the money is divided among beneficiaries on a prorated basis. Natural persons are paid before legal persons and partnerships.

Payment

As stipulated in the Regulation respecting the professional qualification of contractors and owner-builders, a 6-month period starts when the first claim with judgement is received and accepted or as soon as an agreement is concluded between the bonding organization and the first to submit a claim without judgement. This period is needed to allow all who have claims the time needed to submit them.

If your claim is eligible, at the end of the six-month period, you will be notified of the decision and issued the compensation cheque from your contractor’s licence security. In fact, the money you will receive does not come from the RBQ, which acts solely as an intermediary.

If you file a claim after the 6-month period, it can be accepted only if funds remain in the licence bond.

Review of the decision

It is possible to request a review of an RBQ decision relating to the licence bond.

Two choices are open to you:

1. You can appeal the RBQ’s decision to the Tribunal administratif du travail (the Tribunal). There are no costs attached to this measure. Go to the “Cautionnement” section of the Tribunal’s website for information on the procedure involved.
2. You can request a review of the RBQ’s decision. To this end, you must:
   • Complete the Application for a File Review [Fr] – PDF (134 KB).
   • Send your form to the RBQ no later than the 30^th day following the date on which a decision was handed down, along with a cheque payable to the RBQ. These costs will be refunded if the initial decision is modified in your favour. If you mail the document, you must ensure that it will be received by the required date. For the amount required, go to the Fee structure for citizens page.
   • Present your point of view at an audience to which you will be summoned by an officer. Following the review, the initial decision may be upheld, overturned or modified by the RBQ.