Choosing the Right Contractor for Your New Condo

July 27^th 2021 - Divided co‑ownership is a housing type that has become popular in Quebec in recent years. If you’re thinking about buying a new condo—undoubtedly a significant milestone in your life—you’ll find helpful tips in this article on choosing the right contractor.

Is your project covered by the mandatory guarantee plan?

The first thing to know is that there are several types of new buildings held in co‑ownership. The mandatory guarantee plan for new dwellings in Quebec, administered by Garantie de construction résidentielle (GCR), covers buildings held in divided co‑ownership that have no more than four private portions stacked one above the other, as well as detached, semi-detached or row-type single-family houses held in co-ownership.

New high‑rise condos, commonly called condo towers, are not covered by GCR. If the project you’re interested in is held in this type of co‑ownership, you will have to see if it’s covered by an optional private guarantee plan.

Are your contractor and your project fully compliant?

If you’re mulling over the possibility of buying a new condo covered by the mandatory guarantee plan, you need to make sure that:

1. Your contractor has all the required qualifications. More specifically, you need to make sure they hold a contractor’s licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) with at least one of the 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 licence subclasses and that they are accredited by GCR.
2. Your project is registered with GCR!

Why? Because if a problem crops up during the project, you’ll benefit from various types of coverage provided by the mandatory guarantee plan.

Making sure you’re fully protected is quick and easy with GCR’s Accredited Business Directory.

How can the Directory help me?

GCR’s Accredited Business Directory is a tool—and the first of its kind—that gives consumers all the information they need to choose the right construction contractor. It’s a simple way to check whether your contractor is accredited and whether your project is registered with GCR.

You’ll also find other useful information, such as the number of incidents of non‑compliance found upon inspection, categorized by level of seriousness, as well as the number and type of claims filed and admitted and the addresses of all the buildings constructed by the company and registered with GCR.

Purchasing a new condo is an exciting project, and it’s definitely worth using all the resources available to you to choose the right contractor and the right project!