Registering a building

The guarantee plan ensures that the contractor must fulfill a number of obligations, and covers the following types of new residential buildings exclusively:

• Detached, semi‑detached or row-type single‑family house
• Multifamily building of two to five units, held in undivided co‑ownership (intergenerational, duplex, triplex, etc.)
• Multifamily building held in divided co‑ownership (condo) of no more than four stacked private portions

Exclusions

• Transformation of buildings;
• Building renovations such as extensions or construction of a non‑adjacent garage to the property;
• buildings under construction on a foundation that was retained following the demolition or disaster of an existing building (e.g. fire)*;
• Condominium buildings that have more than four superimposed private portions;
• A home you have built yourself, without the help of a general contractor**.

* The guarantee plan applies when damage has occurred during construction and the foundation has been preserved or when it is a new foundation, but “abandoned” for an extended period of time (e.g.: construction site stopped then resumed). Certain conditions apply, so please contact GCR Technical advisory in these cases.

Mandatory listing of new residential buildings constructed for rental purposes

Sometimes, a building constructed for rental purposes may be repurposed in the 24 months following the completion of work, and its units may be sold instead of rented. In the interest of ensuring adequate coverage for buyers and fair treatment for contractors, GCR would like to share with you the procedure for buildings constructed for rental purposes.

→ Review the details for listing a building constructed for rental purposes.

Prefabricated homes

Prefabricated homes are subject to certain exceptions:

1. If the sales contract is concluded with the manufacturer of a prefabricated home and includes complete home installation (turnkey project), the manufacturer must register the residential unit.
2. If the sales contract and installation contract are concluded with the general contractor (turnkey project), the general contractor must register the residential unit.
3. If the sales contract is concluded with the manufacturer of the prefabricated home and the installation contract is concluded with a general contractor, only the on-site installation work, by the contractor, is covered by the plan.

Self-built homes*

Self-built homes are not generally covered by GCR.

Therefore, a self-builder who organizes and coordinates the construction of a new residential building, whether performing the work alone or hiring a specialized contractor to perform it, cannot be covered by the guarantee plan.

The situation changes if the self-builder hires a contractor to organize or coordinate the work fully or partially. In this case, the contractor will be considered to be acting as a general contractor. The contractor must hold a subclass 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 licence, be accredited under the guarantee plan and register the project with GCR (even if the invoice is issued under the name of the self-builder).

To register a building with GCR, you must follow the steps set out in the Regulation respecting the guarantee plan for new residential buildings.

You must register each building by the time the first of these events occurs:

1. The business contract or preliminary contract is signed (within 30 days of signing)
2. Construction permits are issued
3. Construction work begins on the building to be registered (within 10 days of starting work)

The forms to register a building are available for free in the Zone GCR (in french).

The inspection planning is based on the dates you’ve listed in the Zone GCR on your Registration Form. To the extent possible, these dates must be as representative as possible of the progress of your work. In order to ensure better planning of inspections, here are the most important dates to provide to us: the expected delivery date, the “start of work” date and the “end of work” date.

These respectively stand for:

Registration fees vary based on the Cote Qualité GCR and the building class.

Fees include:

• The fee to register the unit
• Risk management fees (fees for inspections, analysis, tests, etc.)
• The $300 (plus applicable taxes) that is required for the RBQ guarantee fund
• The $60.48 (plus applicable taxes) that has been required by the RBQ since January 1, 2015

→ List of registration fees

If you would like a hard copy of the form for registering single-family residential buildings, you must pay the administrative fee that has been in place since January 1, 2020, which applies to each registration. We encourage you to register all of your new projects in the Zone GCR.

GCR invoices for any building registered to the accredited contractor. The amount charged for each registration will depend on the Cote Qualité GCR and the building category (see section “registration fees”).

GCR wishes to mention that the practice of sending a bill to the consumer for payment of the building registration fee is not recommended. The contractor is responsible for paying these fees for each registration as required by the Regulation respecting the guarantee plan for new residential buildings. It is also important to remember that the registration of any building covered by the mandatory guarantee plan is not optional, but mandatory under current regulation.

Additional documents may be requested depending on the geographical location of the new construction. For example, soil tests or a piling certificate could be required in areas known for soil bearing problems.

Once a building has been properly registered with GCR or GCR receives a signed contract of sale, the buyer will be sent a registration confirmation, along with a document explaining how the Regulation is enforced for pre-acceptance inspection.

Once the contractor has sent GCR the pre-acceptance inspection form, the guarantee certificate will be issued on GCR Zone, a web platform for GCR-accredited contractors. The guarantee certificate will also be sent to the buyer.

Good to know!

The contractor and buyer will receive the guarantee certificate only once the pre-acceptance inspection form has been provided.

Please note that guarantee certificates are no longer personalized with the buyer’s name. This is because buildings guaranteed by GCR can be resold while covered by the guarantee. The guarantee is transferrable, so the new owner is automatically covered for the remaining period.

In 2016, GCR implemented an administrative policy for dwelling registration delays.

The late fee has been updated and split into two levels to differentiate between administrative delays and more serious delays or incomplete registrations meant to:

• Bypass the mandatory guarantee plan

or

• Prevent GCR from inspecting a dwelling or completing the required number of inspections under the 2025–2029 Inspection Program because the dwelling has already been completed or is in advanced stages of construction.

* Level 1 fee: administrative delay.
**Level 2 lee: More serious delay or incomplete registration meant to bypass the mandatory guarantee program or prevent GCR from inspecting a dwelling or completing the required number of inspections under the 2025–2029 Inspection Program.

GCR has a three-step process for late registrations:

1. An initial notification
2. A second notification
3. Imposition of late fees

If the contractor incurs multiple late fees:

• The contractor is downgraded.
• The contractor’s accreditation is cancelled.

This process exists to reduce your risk of claims and, in turn, the claims incurred by GCR. Registering your building on time helps GCR to better plan its mandatory inspections, reducing the risk of claims.

As a reminder, you must register with and pay immediately GCR the premium specified for each class of building upon the occurrence of the first of the following events:

• the signing of the preliminary contract or the contract of enterprise
• the issue of the building permit
• the beginning of construction work on the building covered

(Source: Regulation respecting the guarantee plan for new residential buildings, Schedule II, “Obligations of the Contractor” section)

GCR reserves the right to charge late fees with no notice when called for under the circumstances.

Work dates

Please also remember that you must provide the planned work dates for each stage of construction when registering your buildings with GCR.

The key dates that you must provide to GCR are the work start and end dates and the wall closing date. Please inform GCR of any changes to these dates. You may be charged up to $2,000 per dwelling (level 2 fees) if GCR is unable to perform one or more mandatory dwelling inspections due to incomplete or incorrect information on your registration, or if you do not update this information as required.

→ Learn more about the different stages of construction

GCR’s benchmark: The first document to be signed

Keep in mind that when the advance payment and the signing of the GCR guarantee contract and the contract of enterprise or sale don’t all occur on the same day, whichever one happens first is used to establish the date when the contractor and their clients entered into a contract. The first document signed by the parties prevails, even if it contains terms and conditions the parties must meet (e.g., obtaining funding).

Signing a second contract to avoid late fees

In years past, contractors have asked clients to re-sign a contract with a different date so that they can provide the GCR with the second, newly signed contract and avoid late fees. These contractors have even told clients that the GCR was the one requesting a new contract be signed with a new date. The GCR has never made such a request.

This situation goes against the very spirit of the regulation in effect. As a result, should the GCR become aware of any such situation with a contractor, the contractor could face level 1 late fees, or even lose their GCR accreditation.

Closing walls before the pre-wall closing inspection

For 2025, dwellings registered by contractors with a Cote Qualité GCR of D or N must be inspected prior to the walls being closed. In 2026, dwellings with a Cote Qualité of B and C will also have to undergo a pre-wall closing inspected.

Any contractor who installs drywall before GCR performs this mandatory inspection could face level 2 fees.

For more information, please review GCR’s 2025–2029 Inspection Program.

Investigators

GCR employs investigators who confirm the issuing of construction permits by municipalities and travel around Quebec performing checks. When investigators find an unregistered construction project requiring GCR intervention, a late registration fee will be charged with no prior notice.

Project begun before receiving accreditation

When a contractor starts a project before obtaining GCR accreditation, the case must be analyzed by GCR and its acceptance is not automatic. In addition, late registration fee are applied without notice.

Contingent contract

The Regulation respecting the guarantee plan for new residential buildings does not make a distinction with respect to contingent contracts. The contractor must register the building as soon as the contractor and the buyer enter into a contract, whether or not the buyer has made partial payments. A no-fee registration cancellation process exists in case the project is not realized and the contract must be resolved.

Additional fees for registering rental projects

Any project that was initially intended for rental purposes and is later registered with the GCR will be required to pay an additional 50% of the fees in effect. As a reminder, registration fees vary based on the Cote Qualité GCR and the building class. Click here to view the registration fees.

Any entity looking to construct or sell a new residential building covered by the Regulation respecting the guarantee plan for new residential buildings must be accredited under the mandatory guarantee plan administered by GCR.

Entities must be accredited by GCR and possess a general contractor’s licence issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ), including at least one of the 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 licence subclasses, even in the event that a general contractor constructed the building in question.

A real estate developer is subject to the same obligations as a construction contractor when selling a new residential building covered by the mandatory guarantee plan that GCR administers. As such, they must also register relevant buildings and private portions and oversee the transfer of common portions, if applicable.