How can your notary help you at the time of construction of a building?

You are a contractor or sub-contractor that holds a license under the Building Act or a construction worker? You are an architect or an engineer? You are a supplier of materials? You want to construct a building? You enter one of these categories and you have participated in the construction or in the renovation of a building which is not in the public domain?

If you belong to one of these groups, the Civil Code of Quebec confers you the right to a legal hypothec of construction (also known as legal mortgage of construction) which can be published in registry office the land register. This hypothec eventually allows you to recover the cost of works, materials or services supplied, the accrued interest during the year when the hypothecary action (also known as mortgage action) is instituted and those of the previous 3 years, the GST and the QST as well as the expenses incurred.

You have at first to determine if you belong to a group that must give a notice of his contract to the owner of the building. If this is the case, for lack of payment, you will want to protect your rights and, to do so, it will be necessary for you to publish your legal hypothec (also known as legal mortgage) of construction or of renovation.

Your notary can inform you about the works which are eligible or not to the protection granted by the legal hypothec of construction.

Your notary can inform you about the essential question of the end of works. This step is essential because the legal hypothec of construction survives until 30 days after the end of works without having to be published, during this period, it is said to be "occult". The date of the end of works is a question of fact and it is a real estate professional, an architect, an appraiser or an administrator, who will determine it. Beyond this period, a notice must be published for its preservation and this notice must be acted upon within 6 months following its publication (a prior notice of the exercise of a hypothecary right or an action before the courts).

It is possible for the owner to offer to the holder of the legal hypothec (also known as legal mortgage) of construction to substitute another security such as, for example, an irrevocable banking letter of guarantee or, within certain conditions, a suretyship, to the initial legal hypothec of construction.

Your notary can make, for you, a summary search in the land register, draft and publish your legal hypothec (also known as legal mortgage) of construction on the accurate cadastral description.