Adjudication and Your Dispute Routes

When a payment dispute hits, you have four tools, and picking the right one first matters. Prompt-payment adjudication gives a binding interim decision in roughly 30 days and is the fastest way to free up disputed money. A builders lien secures your debt against the property. Small claims or court delivers a final judgment. Arbitration is a private route if your contract requires it. The short rule for an unpaid sub: protect the lien deadline immediately because it is the shortest clock, run adjudication for speed where the regime is in force, and keep court or small claims as the long-stop.‍‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‍

The four routes

• Prompt-payment adjudication. A statutory fast track. An independent adjudicator delivers a binding interim decision, typically within about 30 days, that is enforceable like a court order. It is interim: either party can still go to court later for a final ruling, but in the meantime the money moves. Available only where prompt-payment law is in force.
• Builders lien (or, in Quebec, the legal hypothec). Security, not a decision. A lien attaches your claim to the land so the owner cannot sell or refinance with your debt unpaid. It does not by itself get you paid; it forces the issue.
• Small claims or court. The route to a final, enforceable judgment (see Small Claims Court: A Trade's Guide). Cheaper and quicker in small claims; slower and pricier in the superior court for larger amounts.
• Arbitration. A private process where a chosen arbitrator decides. It applies only if your contract has an arbitration clause, and it generally replaces a court trial for that dispute.

The three clocks that run at once

This is the part that catches people out. For an unpaid sub, three deadlines run independently and they are not aligned:

• The lien clock is the shortest and cannot be extended. Preservation deadlines run from your last day of supply: commonly 60 days in Ontario, Alberta (90 days for concrete or oil-and-gas), Nova Scotia and several others; 45 days in BC and Nunavut; 30 days in Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon and for Quebec's hypothec; 40 clear days in Saskatchewan; and 60 days in Manitoba. Miss it and the lien is gone for good, even though your right to sue survives.
• The adjudication clock is tied to the invoice and notice deadlines under the relevant Act. In Ontario, post-January-2026 amendments allow a referral up to 90 days after the contract is completed, abandoned or terminated, and a court action and adjudication can now run at the same time.
• The limitation clock is the longest: 2 years from discovery in most provinces, 3 in Quebec (see Limitation Periods Explained).

Which route first?

The order that protects you:

1. Mark the lien deadline the day the invoice is unpaid. Count 60 days (or your province's number) from your last day on site, in red. This clock does not pause for negotiations.
2. Send a demand letter with a 10-to-14-day deadline. Often this alone gets you paid.
3. Use adjudication for speed where prompt payment is in force (Ontario, federally, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba on new contracts, NWT). Serve a notice of non-payment and refer the dispute; you can get an interim payment order in about 30 to 42 days without waiting for the owner-and-contractor fight to resolve.
4. Register the lien before the deadline if you are still unpaid. Do not wait until the last day; a registered lien must then be perfected by starting a court action within the further period your province sets.
5. Sue in small claims or court as the long-stop, within the limitation period, especially if you missed the lien but are still inside 2 years.

You can run several of these at once: preserve the lien and file in small claims, or adjudicate and litigate in parallel. They are not mutually exclusive.

Quebec stands alone

Quebec does not use the builders-lien model. Its security is the legal construction hypothec (arts 2724 to 2726 of the Civil Code), which must be published in the land register within 30 days of your last day of work and enforced by an action within 6 months. That is separate from the 3-year prescription on the debt itself. Quebec's prompt-payment regime is being phased in on public projects rather than across the board. Treat Quebec on its own code path throughout.

Common mistakes

• Negotiating past the lien deadline. The lien clock does not stop while you talk, and it cannot be revived.
• Waiting for the court fight before adjudicating. Adjudication is built for speed and runs in parallel.
• Assuming adjudication exists everywhere. It is in force in only some provinces; check before you rely on it.
• Applying the lien model in Quebec. Quebec uses a hypothec with a 30-day publication window, not a lien.

How this site is funded →

Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email us at hello@kilnguides.co.uk.

In crisis? 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline (call or text 988) · Mental health support

How this site is funded →