Hiring Someone

Template:Consumer Law Guide TOC Suppose you hired someone to do renovations on your home. You agreed to hire the person, and he or she agreed to do the work. That is a contract. A contract is a legal agreement. It can be verbal or it can be in writing. This section of the booklet looks at what you can do if the home repairs are not satisfactory.

The law says that in any contract, the person you hire:

• must use reasonable care,
• must do the work in a proper and workmanlike manner and
• must use materials of reasonable quality.

You have a right to expect that the work will be:

• finished by the date you have agreed or within a reasonable time if you haven't agreed on a date and
• provided at the cost you have agreed or at a reasonable cost if you haven't agreed on the cost.

When you hire someone to do work for you, it is best to have a written contract that is clear about what you have agreed.

What should I put in a written contract?

Get a written contract from the person or company you hire. The contract should include the following information:

• name and address of the contractor,
• your name and address,
• type and amount of work to be done,
• who is going to do the work,
• who is going to get building permits and approvals,
• who is going to order and pay for materials,
• total cost (cost of labour plus cost of materials used on the job),
• when work will start and when it will end,
• when payments will be made, and
• what will happen if you and the contractor cannot agree.

When agreement is not possible you could say something like:

If we have disagreements under this contract, we will first try to resolve it with the help of a mediator. We will each pay half of the mediator’s fees.

Tips about hiring a contractor

Some useful tips when hiring a contractor are the following:

• Do not hire anyone to do the job that does not use a written contract.
• Do not hire a contractor who comes to your home and says:
  

• • they can give you a special price or
    
  • your home looks like it needs immediate repairs.
    

• Get at least three estimates from contractors who live in your area.
• Ask contractors for the names and phone numbers of people they have worked for in the past. Phone the numbers and ask about the contractors and the quality of their work.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has a sample renovation contract at www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/renoho/refash/refash_019.cfm

Tips about paying for repairs

When paying for repairs you should:

• put down no more than 10-15 percent of the total cost as a deposit when you sign the contract. Do not pay in cash because that means you do not have a record of the payment;
  
• by law, you are supposed to withhold 10 percent of the total cost upon completion of the work for 55 days. This is your protection against claims by people who supplied the materials. They could make a claim if they did not get their share of the payments you made to the contractor.

An agreement between two or more people, giving them obligations towards each other that can be enforced in court. A valid contract must be offered by one person and accepted by the other, and some form of payment or other thing of value must generally be exchanged between the parties to the contract.

A mandatory direction of the court that is binding and enforceable upon the parties to a court proceeding. An "interim order" is a temporary order made following the hearing of an interim application. A "final order" is a permanent order, made following the trial of the court proceeding or the parties' settlement, following which the only recourse open to a dissatisfied party is to appeal. Failing to abide by the terms of an order may constitute contempt of court. See "appeal," "consent order," "contempt of court," "decision" and "declaration."

(1) The assertion of a legal right to an order or to a thing; (2) the remedy or relief sought by a party to a court proceeding.