The RBQ (Régie du Bâtiment du Québec) is a 
Government agency that supervises and regulates all construction and renovation entrepreneurs in the province of Quebec. The RBQ has 5 basic missions:
- To make sure the updates of the building norms are being communicated to all construction workers.
- To receive complaints and ensure that all contractors understand and apply the standards in the Construction Code.
- To strike back when The Construction Code hasn’t been respected via a complaint from you.
- To protect you financially in the case of fraud or tax evasion.
- To pursue in law court all entrepreneurs operating without a license via your complaint.
Did you know?
- All renovation and construction entrepreneurs (self-employed or incorporated) must have a license handed out by the RBQ after passing 3 tests (administrative, safety and technical). This includes the individual or company you are looking to hire to paint your bedroom or to tile your washroom.
- If a non-licensed entrepreneur does a job for you and you feel he messed up, he has no legal recourse to collect you because he is considered an illegal worker even if he pays his income tax.
Common superstitions:
- An entrepreneur does not need “cards” (or tickets) to work on a private residence; only a license. Cards refer to What the CCQ or Commission de la Construction du Québec hand out to qualified workers. Although it is a good thing if your workers have them in their pocket, it is only mandatory for non-private-residence projects (business building, commercial building or industry).
Findecor Inc. has it’s license in order and this can be verified with this RBQ link.
Happy Renovating!
Dave Beaupré
Findécor’s President
Tags: Construction laws, construction painter, painting laws, painting norms, professional painter
Hello,
Could you confirm what you meant by this statement?
Thank you!
If a non-licensed entrepreneur does a job for you and you feel he messed up, he has no legal recourse to collect you because he is considered an illegal worker even if he pays his income tax.
Bonjour Lise,
Thank you for your comment. Although arguably unethical, it is true. Quebec Law states that any worker that submits an invoice or even an estimate without being personally holder of an RBQ license– or being a rep of a company which has one– is committing a crime… One needs to have been approved as competent (through exams) and must be bonded for tax fraud and so forth (through a special insurance policy.) An RBQ (or Régie du Bâtiment du Québec) License is automatically cancelled or impossible to obtain if the person is not up to date. It’s a serious thing.
Therefore, he is not in right to write a bill and therefore, a bill is a fraudulent document and therefore you have no legal obligation to pay it– and he/she has no legal power to claim it. It would become a laughing case in court.
A few elements for thought are:
a) beware, he may think that damaging your car is a proper payback! (ouch!)
b) Ceteris Paribus, is it a fair approach? Did he deserve not getting paid via a lousy job? Or does he deserve getting paid because he did an outstanding work?
c) Are you sure you’re not burning your bridges? Some contractors get black listed in some areas– but so do clients!! It’s a small world…
d) Did you know that, even if he’s got his tax numbers in order– if he doesn’t pay them, the government can come knocking at your door and oblige you to pay them again with penalty and interest because he didn’t have bonding insurance? (ouch!)
e) You have no guarantee on the work unless you have his Social Insurance Number to track him down with?
Food for thought!
Regards,
Dave-The-Painter
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