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 $58.89 (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.

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 separated into two levels to differentiate an “administrative” delay from a more serious delay or a incomplte registration to bypass the mandatory guarantee plan or with the result that GCR can no longer inspect the dwelling, its construction is either very advanced or completed.

* Level 1 fee: administrative delay.
**Level 2 lee: a more serious delay or a incomplte registration to bypass the mandatory guarantee plan or with the result that GCR can no longer inspect the dwelling.

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 inspections, reducing the risk of claims.

We remind you that 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)

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

Depending on the circumstances, GCR could charge you without notice where appropriate.

Dates of construction work

We also remind you of the importance of indicating the planned dates for the various stages of construction work when registering your buildings with GCR.

In this sense, the start date of work and the end date of the work are essential and must be provided to GCR (and updated, if necessary). GCR points out that a fee of up to $2,000 per dwelling (Level 2 fee) may be charged if GCR is unable to conduct an inspection of a unit due to missing or erroneous information provided during registration, or if ti’s not updated when required.

→ For more information about the various stages of construction.

Registration investigator

GCR has a registration investigator, who confirms the issuing of construction permits by municipalities and travels around Quebec performing checks. When the investigator finds a construction project that is not registered, 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 registration cancellation process exists in case the project is not realized and the contract must be resolved.

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.