Quebec does not have a builders lien. The equivalent security is the legal hypothec of construction under the Civil Code of Quebec, and it works differently: you register and serve it within 30 days of the end of the entire project, then bring an action within 6 months, and there is no mandated holdback. If you do not have a direct contract with the owner, you must also serve the owner a prior written notice before you start work, or you lose hypothecary rights for everything done before that notice. On top of that, a prompt-payment regime now applies to public construction contracts only, phased in from 8 September 2025. Private residential and private commercial work is not covered.
The legal hypothec, not a lien
A common-law contractor moving to Quebec for the first time gets caught out by assuming the lien rules carry over. They do not. The right to charge the property for unpaid construction work comes from articles 2726 to 2732 of the Civil Code of Quebec. It is called the legal hypothec of construction (hypotheque legale de la construction). It exists automatically from the moment work begins; registration is what preserves it, not what creates it. Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers of materials, workers, architects and engineers who take part in the construction or renovation at the owner's request can claim it.
The prior-notice trap for subcontractors and suppliers
This is the rule that obliterates out-of-province subs. If you do not have a direct contract with the owner (most subcontractors, material suppliers, architects and engineers), you must give the owner a prior written notice describing your contract and its value, before you start work or at the latest before you supply. Only work performed after the owner receives that notice is covered by the hypothec. Miss it and you lose hypothecary rights for everything done before the notice landed. There is no grace period and no standard government form, so prepare it carefully. Direct contractors and labourers are exempt from this notice requirement.
The two deadlines: 30 days, then 6 months
The hypothec runs on a project timeline, not your own last day on site:
- Register and serve within 30 days of the end of the work. You register a notice describing the property and stating the amount of your claim at the Quebec land registry (registre foncier) and serve it on the owner. "End of the work" means completion of the entire construction project, not the last day of your trade. If the owner replaces a terminated contractor, completion is when the replacement finishes, unless the owner abandons the project.
- Bring an action within 6 months of the end of the work. To keep the hypothec alive beyond 6 months you must either publish a court action against the owner, or register and serve a prior notice of exercise of a hypothecary right. That notice gives the owner a 60-day period to pay before you proceed to a forced sale or taking in payment.
A real advantage: the legal hypothec of construction ranks ahead of other registered hypothecs, including mortgages, for the added value your work brought to the property.
No holdback, but watch the prompt-payment regime on public jobs
There is no statutory holdback in Quebec. Do not expect a 10 percent fund to be sitting there the way it would in Ontario or Alberta; payment is governed by your contract.
Separately, Quebec adopted a prompt-payment regulation that applies to public construction contracts only, phased in by value: Phase 1 from 8 September 2025 (larger contracts), Phase 2 from 8 September 2026, and Phase 3 from 8 September 2027 (all public contracts). It runs on a monthly calendar, not elapsed days: a general contractor submits its payment request by the 1st of the month, the public body pays by the last day of that month, the contractor pays the subcontractor by the 5th of the second following month, and the sub pays its own sub by the 10th, plus 5 days per extra tier. A refusal to pay must be in writing by tight monthly deadlines, and if it is not issued in time the request is deemed valid. Disputes go to an accredited third-person decider, not to a lien.
Private residential and private commercial work in Quebec is outside the prompt-payment regime entirely, so on those jobs your protection is the legal hypothec plus your contract.
How the RBQ and the CCQ fit in
Two Quebec bodies matter, and neither runs the payment regime. The Regie du batiment du Quebec (RBQ) handles contractor licensing and the Building Act. The Commission de la construction du Quebec (CCQ) administers the mandatory collective-agreement system: wages, hours, benefits and the monthly CCQ report. Your CCQ wage and reporting obligations run in parallel and are completely separate from getting paid for the contract; complying with the CCQ does not affect your hypothec, and the hypothec does not change what you owe your workers under the CCQ.
Common mistakes
- Treating it like a lien. It is a hypothec, with different deadlines and a prior-notice rule.
- Skipping the prior notice. Subs and suppliers without a direct owner contract who fail to serve it lose rights for all earlier work.
- Counting from your own last day. The 30-day and 6-month clocks run from the end of the whole project.
- Expecting a holdback fund. Quebec mandates none, so negotiate retention terms in your contract.
Know someone who needs this?
Keep reading
Was this guide useful?
Didn't find what you were looking for?
Spotted something wrong or out of date? Email us at hello@kilnguides.co.uk.
In crisis? 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline (call or text 988) ·