The bill to force real estate developers to have their buildings inspected three times during construction will better regulate the work of “the cabochons” who produce hidden defects.
• Also read: Condos and hidden defects: three mandatory inspections will be imposed on new constructions
“Listen. This is something that was expected of the industry,” noted the Minister of Housing, France-Hélène Duranceau. “These were measures that were expected, requested. We have seen some rather disastrous situations that need to be managed. I think good players do things well. And, those who are a little more unusual will be better supervised,” said the minister.
His colleague Jean Boulet tabled the bill Wednesday in the National Assembly to prevent new condo owners from having to deal with costly hidden defects.
Three mandatory inspections
In order to achieve this and protect buyers from the horror stories that are commonplace, Quebec will impose three mandatory inspections on all new constructions.
“The bill sets out the obligation for the contractor or the owner-builder to have his construction work inspected at, at least, three pivotal stages of construction, determined by a site monitoring plan, and that of obtain a certificate of their compliance with the Construction Code or construction standards adopted by a municipality,” confirmed the Minister of Labor.
The contractor or owner-builder must enter into an inspection contract before undertaking work.
Currently, only new structures of four storeys and less are systematically inspected by the non-profit organization Garantie de construction supérieur.
This is not the case for large condo towers.
Jean Boulet explains that the legislative document aims to “increase the quality of construction and public safety.”
– With the collaboration of Geneviève Lajoie
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