Construction & Renovation:

Question: What should an Ontario homeowner or contractor do if there’s a dispute about defective or incomplete construction work?

Answer: If you have a dispute over defective or incomplete construction or renovation work in Ontario, a paralegal can help you quickly document issues, gather evidence (like photos, invoices, contracts, and any inspection report), assess whether the claim fits within the Small Claims Court $35,000 limit, and outline next steps to address workmanship standards and related issues like payment holdback, unjust enrichment, or failure to mitigate.   In practice at DK Legal Practice, we focus on evidence quality and clear claim preparation so your case is easier to evaluate and defend, and we can discuss options early before the matter escalates.   Call (416) 906-6663 to get started.

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Common Disputes Affecting Contractors

Court disputes between a property owner and a contractor hired for a construction or renovation project frequently arise.  In some courts, especially the Small Claims Court, cases involving contractors and homeowners are prevalent.  In such cases it is common that a property owner will accuse a contractor of poor quality work; and in turn, the contractor accuses the property owner of failure of payment.

Challenges

Construction law cases can be very challenging to litigate due to the extent of laws involves as well as the extent of evidence usually involved and the need for independent witnesses to inspect and provide expert reports as to what constitutes as proper workmanship and thus whether the trade standards or the contractual specifications for the project were met, valuation of the portion of work properly completed, among other things; and accordingly, even the seasoned legal professional may find construction law cases as burdensome to litigate.  These cases are often extra challenging and troublesome due to the conduct of the parties involved and breach of various legal duties occuring prior to the obtaining legal advice.

Furthermore, lawsuits involving construction or renovation projects commonly include legal issues that go beyond defective workmanship issues and may also include concerns such as unjust enrichment, consumer protection laws, failures to mitigate, among other concerns.