What Ontario law gives you

Contracts over $50 must be in writing

If your renovation or repair job is worth more than $50, Ontario law requires the agreement to be in writing. A verbal deal and a number scribbled on the back of a card is not a contract that protects you.

Consumer Protection Act, 2002 · Reviewed 2026-09-10

A written contract is also where the scope, the permit responsibility, the payment schedule, and the change-order process get pinned down. Most disputes that reach small claims are disputes about what was actually agreed.

Currency Consumer Protection Act, 2023 — passed, awaiting proclamation. Not yet governing.

Ten days to cancel a contract you signed at home

If you signed a renovation or repair contract worth $50 or more in your own home, you have a 10 calendar-day cooling-off period. You can cancel for any reason, without paying a cancellation fee.

Consumer Protection Act, 2002 · Reviewed 2026-09-10

This exists because contracts signed at the kitchen table, often under pressure, are a different situation from contracts you sought out and signed at a business. The clock is calendar days, not business days.

Currency Consumer Protection Act, 2023 — passed, awaiting proclamation. Not yet governing.

An estimate in the contract caps the final price at 10% over

If your contract includes an estimate, the final price cannot exceed that estimate by more than 10% — unless you agreed to additional work or a new price.

Consumer Protection Act, 2002 · Reviewed 2026-09-10

This is one of the strongest and least-known protections a homeowner has. It is also the reason a contractor may resist putting an estimate in the contract at all. If the number lives only in an email and never in the agreement, this protection is harder to rely on.

Currency Consumer Protection Act, 2023 — passed, awaiting proclamation. Not yet governing.

Keep the deposit small

Ontario's own guidance recommends keeping down payments to no more than 10%. A contractor asking for half up front is asking you to finance their business and carry the risk.

Consumer Protection Ontario guidance · Reviewed 2026-09-10

There are legitimate reasons for a larger deposit — a custom order, special-order windows, long-lead equipment. Ask what specifically the deposit is buying and when it will be spent. A deposit tied to a named material order is different from a deposit tied to nothing.

The holdback is what protects you from a subcontractor's lien

Ontario's Construction Act requires an owner to retain a statutory holdback from payment, and gives unpaid contractors and subcontractors a window to register a lien against the property.

Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 · Reviewed 2026-09-10 (reviewer placeholder — not credentialed sign-off)

The trap: an unpaid subcontractor can lien your home even if you paid your general contractor in full. Retaining the holdback for the required period is the mechanism that limits your exposure. The exact percentage and the number of days are set by the Act and have been amended — confirm the current figures with a construction lawyer or the Act itself before relying on a number.

Ontario has no province-wide general contractor licence

There is no single provincial licence that makes someone a legitimate general contractor for renovation work. Anyone telling you they are "licensed by the province" as a general renovator is describing something that does not exist.

Your municipal building department · Reviewed 2026-09-10 (reviewer placeholder — not credentialed sign-off)

What does exist: specific trades are regulated (electrical through the ESA, gas through the TSSA), new home builders are licensed by the HCRA, and some municipalities — Toronto among them — run their own contractor or renovator licensing. So the right question is not "are you licensed?" but "licensed by whom, for what, and can I see the number?"