{"id":1107,"slug":"ontario-construction-act-2026-mandatory-annual-holdback-release","title":"Ontario Construction Act Jan 1 2026 — mandatory annual release of accrued 10% holdback for contracts > 1 year","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["gc-vertical","builder-economics","construction-act"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Effective January 1, 2026, **annual release of accrued holdback is mandatory** for contracts longer than one year (previously optional). Mechanics:\n\n- Owners must publish a Notice of Annual Release within **14 days** after each contract anniversary\n- Owners must pay accrued holdback **no earlier than 60 and no later than 74 days** after publication, provided no lien is preserved\n- The basic 10% holdback continues to apply to every payment in the construction chain\n\n**Source:** O'Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP (2026), \"2026 Changes to Holdback — Amendments to the Construction Act.\" https://www.omh.ca/news-and-insights/publication/2026-changes-to-holdback---amendments-to-the-construction-act. Robins Appleby LLP (2026).\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**For Candid:** Even with mandatory annual release, a GC carrying $1M of WIP at any given time is structurally short of cash relative to billings — 10% locked for up to a year, 28-day owner cycle, 7-day sub payment. The mismatch between when costs are incurred and when revenue lands is the structural source of the short time horizon that defeats long-payback investment. The 2026 amendments *narrow* but do not eliminate this gap.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-brief-risk-aversion-post-failure-may-2026","title":"Research brief: risk aversion, loss aversion, and post-failure decision patterns in GC and trades-business decision-makers (May 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"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","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"ontario-construction-act-2026-7-day-deeming-rule","title":"Ontario Construction Act Jan 1 2026 — new 7-day \"proper invoice\" deeming rule; 28-day owner-to-contractor clock runs from deemed receipt","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[]},"created_at":"2026-05-25T13:13:31.026Z","updated_at":"2026-05-25T13:13:31.026Z"}