{"id":1074,"slug":"construction-act-prompt-payment-oct-2019-jan-2026","title":"Ontario Construction Act prompt-payment regime — Oct 1, 2019; Bills 216 and 60 amendments effective Jan 1, 2026","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["regulatory-compliance","gc-vertical","regulatory-signals","construction-act"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Ontario's Construction Act (formerly the Construction Lien Act) prompt-payment regime came into force **October 1, 2019**. Under the Act:\n\n- **Owner pays the contractor within 28 days** of a proper invoice.\n- **Contractor pays subcontractors within 7 days** of payment from the owner.\n- Disputes are resolved by **adjudication through ODACC** (Ontario Dispute Adjudication for Construction Contracts), with decisions **interim-binding**.\n\n**Bills 216 and 60** brought further amendments **effective January 1, 2026**, broadening adjudication scope, mandating annual holdback release, allowing private adjudicators, and tightening \"proper invoice\" deeming rules.\n\n**Source:** Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 (as amended); ODACC: <https://odacc.ca>.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**For Candid:** Construction Act compliance is part of the **regulator-validated credibility signal stack** Ontario GCs have access to ([[ontario-regulatory-stack-as-credibility-substrate]]). A builder client whose payment-practice page references prompt-payment compliance (and means it) is signalling something U.S. importers cannot match. Useful in long-form Candid content addressing sophisticated owners or commercial counterparties.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-brief-psychology-gc-marketing-aversion-may-2026","title":"Research brief: the psychology of marketing aversion among general contractor owners (May 2026 foundation)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"ontario-regulatory-stack-as-credibility-substrate","title":"Ontario regulatory stack as credibility substrate — HCRA + Tarion + Construction Act + RenoMark differentiate Ontario GCs from U.S. imports","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-24T23:24:06.368Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T23:24:06.368Z"}