When must a construction lien be preserved and perfected in Ontario?
In Ontario a lien is preserved within 60 days, by registering a claim for lien on title or, where it cannot attach, giving the owner a copy. It is perfected within 90 days of the last day to preserve, by starting an action and registering a certificate of action, and the action is set down for trial within 24 months.
Preserve, perfect, set down
Three windows run one after the other. The lien is preserved within 60 days of the triggering event, perfected within 90 days after the last day it could have been preserved, and the action that perfected it is set down for trial within 24 months of starting. The 90 days run from the last day of the 60 day preservation period, so up to about 150 days from the triggering event.
A contractor's lien for supply up to substantial performance expires 60 days after the earlier of publication of the certificate or declaration of substantial performance and completion, abandonment or termination of the contract; for later supply, or with no certificate, 60 days after the earlier of completion and abandonment or termination (s 31(2)).
| Duty | Window and section | If missed |
|---|---|---|
| Preserve a lien within 60 days, by registering a claim for lien on title or, where the lien cannot attach to the premises, giving the owner a copy | 60 dayss 15, 16, 31(2)-(7), 34(1), (3)-(5); O. Reg. 304/18 s 11, 11.1 | the claim is barredMissed claims |
| Perfect a preserved lien within 90 days after the last day it could have been preserved, by starting an action and registering a certificate of action on title | 90 dayss 36(1)-(6) | the claim is barredMissed claims |
| Have the action that perfected a lien set down for trial, or an order for trial made, by the second anniversary of the action | 24 monthss 37(1), (2) | the claim is barredMissed claims |
| Publish a notice of termination within 7 days after a contract is terminated | 7 dayss 31(6)-(8), 87.4(6); O. Reg. 303/18 s 2(8); O. Reg. 304/18 s 1, 8 | no penalty statedMissed claims |
| Publish the certificate of substantial performance on a construction trade news website within 7 days of receiving the signed copy | 7 dayss 2(1), 32(1)-(4); O. Reg. 303/18 s 2(9); O. Reg. 304/18 s 1, 9 | no penalty statedDisputes |
| Answer a written request for contract or subcontract information within a reasonable time, not more than 21 days | 21 dayss 39(1)-(6) | damages onlyDisputes |
What the library notes on each duty
Quoted a whole sentence at a time from the library's note on each row.
Preserve a lien within 60 days, by registering a claim for lien on title or, where the lien cannot attach to the premises, giving the owner a copy
s 15, 16, 31(2)-(7), 34(1), (3)-(5); O. Reg. 304/18 s 11, 11.1 · 60 days · the claim is barred
- A contractor's lien for supply up to substantial performance expires 60 days after the earlier of publication of the certificate or declaration of substantial performance and completion, abandonment or termination of the contract; for later supply, or with no certificate, 60 days after the earlier of completion and abandonment or termination (s 31(2)).
- A subcontractor's or supplier's lien runs from the earliest of publication, its last supply, the contract's completion, abandonment or termination, and the subcontract's certified completion (s 31(3)).
- A contract is deemed complete when what remains costs no more than the lesser of 1% of the price and CAD 5,000 (s 2(3)).
- If a notice of termination is published, the termination date is the publication date (s 31(7)).
- A lien does not attach to a Crown, municipal or railway right-of-way premises and is preserved by giving the copy to the prescribed Crown office, the municipal clerk or the railway (s 16, 34(3)-(4); O. Reg. 304/18 s 11, 11.1).
- The claim states the matters in s 34(5); a wilfully exaggerated claim makes the claimant liable for damages (s 35).
Perfect a preserved lien within 90 days after the last day it could have been preserved, by starting an action and registering a certificate of action on title
s 36(1)-(6) · 90 days · the claim is barred
- A preserved lien not perfected in time expires (s 36(2)).
- Where the lien does not attach to the premises, starting the action perfects it (s 36(3)(b)).
- A preserved lien is also perfected by sheltering under another claimant's perfected lien on the same improvement, as to the defendants and relief in that claim (s 36(4)).
- The 90 days run from the last day of the 60 day preservation period, so up to about 150 days from the triggering event.
Have the action that perfected a lien set down for trial, or an order for trial made, by the second anniversary of the action
s 37(1), (2) · 24 months · the claim is barred
- A perfected lien expires immediately after the second anniversary of the commencement of the action unless, on or before it, the action is set down for trial or an order is made for its trial (s 37(1)).
- An expired lien may be dismissed on motion (s 37(2), 46).
- Expiry of the lien does not end other legal rights to the debt (s 38).
Publish a notice of termination within 7 days after a contract is terminated
s 31(6)-(8), 87.4(6); O. Reg. 303/18 s 2(8); O. Reg. 304/18 s 1, 8 · 7 days · no penalty stated
- This text is in force from 1 January 2026 (Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025, Sched. 2, s. 6); the earlier s 31(6) and (7) continue for a notice published before that day (s 87.4(6)).
- The owner, the contractor or any other person whose lien is subject to expiry publishes Form 8 on a construction trade news website.
- Once published, the publication date is the termination date for lien expiry (s 31(7)), and the termination can still be contested (s 31(8)).
- The Act states no consequence for not publishing.
Publish the certificate of substantial performance on a construction trade news website within 7 days of receiving the signed copy
s 2(1), 32(1)-(4); O. Reg. 303/18 s 2(9); O. Reg. 304/18 s 1, 9 · 7 days · no penalty stated
- On the contractor's application, the payment certifier (or, if there is none, the owner and the contractor jointly) decides whether the contract is substantially performed: ready for use and completable for no more than 3% of the first CAD 1,000,000 of the price, 2% of the next CAD 1,000,000 and 1% of the rest (s 2(1)), and signs Form 9.
- The certifier gives a copy to the owner and contractor within 7 days of signing, or is liable for the resulting damages (s 32(1) para 4, 32(4)).
- The contractor publishes it on the Daily Commercial News, Link2Build or Ontario Construction News; if it has not within 7 days, anyone may (s 32(1) paras 5, 6).
- The certificate has no effect until published (s 32(1) para 10), and publication starts the 60 day lien periods (s 31).
- Refusing to certify within a reasonable time when performance is clear makes the certifier liable for damages, and a court may declare it (s 32(1) para 7, 32(3)).
Answer a written request for contract or subcontract information within a reasonable time, not more than 21 days
s 39(1)-(6) · 21 days · damages only
- Anyone with a lien, a trust beneficiary under Part II or a mortgagee may ask.
- The owner or contractor gives the parties, contract date, procurement start, contract price, a state of accounts (price supplied, amounts paid, holdbacks, balance and set-off, s 39(4.1)) and any payment bond; the contractor or a subcontractor gives the same for a subcontract (s 39(1)).
- The contractor must also confirm the date and place the certificate of substantial performance was published, within a reasonable time with no day count (s 39(4)).
- Failing to answer, or knowingly or negligently misstating, makes the person liable for the requester's damages (s 39(5)), and the court may order compliance (s 39(6)).
Liens and holdback
The holdback is retained until the liens that may be claimed against it have expired or been discharged. A preserved lien that still stands holds back the annual release.
What this page is, and is not
It is the section text this library holds for Ontario's Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 (Ontario), the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1 (Ontario) and Construction Projects, O. Reg. 213/91 (Ontario), with the window and the consequence. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the Acts, the regulations and the contract you signed.
Demiton does not yet track Ontario projects. These pages set out the duties; the product does not run these checks on an Ontario job today.
No library of law is complete, and Demiton never says this one is. An obligation the library does not hold, and you did not add, is not protected. You can add your own to any job.