Bill 211 explained in plain English
Protecting Contractors Through Prompt Payment Act, 2011
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This Ontario bill requires timely payments for construction work and related goods and services, sets interest rates for overdue payments, and limits retainage.
Bill 211, the Protecting Contractors Through Prompt Payment Act, 2011, aims to ensure that contractors and subcontractors are paid in a timely manner for construction work and related goods and services. It sets out specific timelines for progress payments, requires interest to be paid on overdue amounts, and limits the amount of retainage that can be held. The Act also establishes rules for payment applications and allows for the suspension of work if payments are not made. It clarifies that this Act takes precedence over conflicting provisions in construction contracts or other laws.
- Requires a person carrying out construction work or supplying related goods and services under a construction contract to receive a progress payment on the date specified in the contract or, if no date is specified, at the end of every month during which construction work is carried out or related goods and services are supplied.
- Specifies that progress payments are to be made in the amount specified in the contract or, if no amount is specified, in an amount based on the value of the construction work or goods and services supplied to date relative to the total contract value.
- Mandates that interest be paid at a rate of 18 per cent per year on any unpaid amount of a progress payment.
- Requires payment of an amount due under a construction contract to be made within five days after a payment application is approved.
- States that a payment application is considered approved 10 days after it is received by the owner, an agent of the owner, or the architect or engineer of record, unless specific conditions are met.
- Allows a party to withhold payment for a portion of a contract only if they provide a written statement detailing how the work or services were not carried out or supplied in accordance with the contract.
- Permits a party to a construction contract to give notice of their intention to suspend construction work or the supply of goods and services if they do not receive payment within 20 days after submitting a payment application.
- Limits retainage to a maximum of 5 per cent of the total price of a construction contract, and reduces this to 2.5 per cent upon completion of 50 per cent of the contract.
- States that the provisions of this Act prevail over any conflicting provisions in a construction contract or any other Act.
- Allows for regulations to define terms such as 'construction work' and 'related goods and services' and to prescribe construction contracts to which the Act does not apply.
- Owners
- Contractors
- Subcontractors
- The Crown
- Crown agencies
- Architects
- Engineers
- Right to receive progress payments on specified dates or at the end of each month.
- Right to receive payment based on the value of work completed.
- Right to receive interest at 18 per cent per year on overdue payments.
- Right to have payment applications approved within 10 days of receipt if no objection is made.
- Right to suspend work if payment is not received within 20 days of submitting a payment application.
- Obligation to make payments within five days after a payment application is approved.
- Obligation to provide a written statement to justify withholding payment.
- Limitation on retainage amounts.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Interest is payable on any unpaid amount of a progress payment at the rate of 18 per cent per year.
- The Act does not specify penalties for non-compliance. However, it allows for the suspension of construction work or the supply of related goods and services if payment is not received within 20 days of submitting a payment application.
- The Act may not apply to construction contracts that are prescribed by regulation.
- The Act does not specify penalties for non-compliance, beyond the right to suspend work.
- The definitions of 'construction work' and 'related goods and services' can be further defined by regulation.
- The bill text does not specify which specific construction contracts may be prescribed by regulation as exceptions.
This bill sets limits on retainage that can be held on construction contracts, ensuring it does not exceed 5 per cent of the total contract price, or 2.5 per cent after 50 per cent of the contract is completed. This is in relation to holdback requirements under the Construction Lien Act.
Source: Section 8
If any provision of a construction contract or any provision in any other Act conflicts with the provisions of this Act, this Act will apply instead.
Source: Section 9
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced