{"id":23415,"date":"2026-10-28T10:58:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virtulexavocats.com\/?p=23415"},"modified":"2026-10-28T10:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:59:27","slug":"abandoned-construction-site-remedies-when-a-contract-is-not-honoured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virtulexavocats.com\/en\/abandoned-construction-site-remedies-when-a-contract-is-not-honoured\/","title":{"rendered":"Abandoned Construction Site: Your Remedies When a Contract Is Not Honoured"},"content":{"rendered":"

Formal notice, specific performance, contract termination, damages: what the Civil Code really lets you demand.<\/em><\/p>\n

The contract was signed back in February: a kitchen extension, due by Labour Day, $78,000 payable in four instalments. By June, the contractor had cashed $45,000. The frame stands open to the weather, a blue tarp doing duty for the back wall, and the crew hasn’t been back in three weeks. Calls go straight to voicemail. A neighbour says he saw the truck on another job site, over in Aylmer. The family wonders what to do: wait it out? Bring in another contractor and risk being sued? Cancel everything? This all-too-common situation engages a handful of rules from the Code civil du Qu\u00e9bec<\/em>, Quebec’s Civil Code, that are worth knowing before you act \u2014 because the order of your moves matters as much as the moves themselves.<\/p>\n

Step one: put the debtor in default<\/h2>\n

Under Quebec civil law, you cannot exercise your remedies against someone who is not “in default” (en demeure<\/em>) \u2014 the formal, legal state of being officially late in performing an obligation.<\/p>\n

A debtor can be put in default in four ways: through the terms of the contract itself, where it provides that the mere lapse of time will have that effect; through an extrajudicial demand by the creditor; through legal proceedings; or by operation of law alone (article 1594 C.c.Q.).<\/p>\n

That last route \u2014 default by operation of law<\/strong> \u2014 is invaluable on an abandoned site. A debtor falls into this category when the obligation could only be usefully performed within a certain time that has been allowed to lapse, when there was urgency, when the debtor’s own fault made specific performance impossible, or when the debtor has clearly shown an intention not to perform<\/strong> (article 1597 C.c.Q.). A contractor who states in writing that he isn’t coming back is in default without any further step.<\/p>\n

Here’s the catch: default by operation of law still has to be argued, and that argument sometimes fails. A written formal notice<\/strong>, giving a period reasonable in light of the nature of the obligation and the circumstances, costs a lot less than a three-hour debate over the point. Send it, keep proof it was sent, and set a realistic deadline \u2014 a few days to resume work, not a few hours.<\/p>\n

The range of remedies under article 1590<\/h2>\n

Once default is established, the creditor may, without giving up a claim for damages: force specific performance of the obligation; obtain the resolution or resiliation of the contract, or a reduction of his own obligation; or take any other measure provided by law (article 1590 C.c.Q.).<\/p>\n

Specific performance<\/strong> means getting the thing you were promised, not a cheque. Contrary to popular belief, it is the rule, not the exception, in Quebec law. It takes two forms. A court can order the contractor to finish the work \u2014 rarely sought, since you can’t force someone to do good work in your home. Or, far more useful, the creditor can have the obligation carried out by a third party, at the debtor’s expense<\/strong>, once the debtor has been put in default (article 1602 C.c.Q.). That’s the normal route: get two or three quotes, have the job finished, and claim the difference.<\/p>\n

Resolution<\/strong> or resiliation<\/strong> \u2014 retroactive or prospective termination of the contract \u2014 is the other main avenue: a creditor who does not seek specific performance is entitled to have the contract resolved, or, for a contract involving successive performance, resiliated (article 1604 C.c.Q.). One crucial nuance: this right does not exist where the debtor’s default is of minor importance<\/strong>, unless it is repeated in a contract involving successive performance; the creditor is then entitled only to a proportional reduction of his own obligation. A badly installed baseboard does not justify cancelling a $78,000 contract; it justifies withholding the value of the deficient work.<\/p>\n

Terminating the contract yourself: allowed, but risky<\/h2>\n

Do you need a judgment to end the contract? No. “The resolution or resiliation of a contract may take place without judicial proceedings where the debtor is in default by operation of law to perform his obligation, or has failed to perform it within the time allowed in a notice of default” (article 1605 C.c.Q.).<\/p>\n

That’s powerful, and dangerous. You become the judge of your own case. If a court later finds that the default was minor, that your deadline was unreasonable, or that the debtor was never truly in default, you<\/strong> become the party in breach \u2014 with the damages that come with it. Case law is full of owners who fired a contractor too fast and ended up paying for it.<\/p>\n

When in doubt, document everything: dated photos, a site log, written exchanges, a building expert’s report on progress and deficiencies. That file will be worth its weight in gold six months later.<\/p>\n

Withholding payment, the penalty clause, and mitigating your damages<\/h2>\n

The exception for non-performance<\/strong> lets you suspend your own performance: where the obligations under a contract are due and one party fails to substantially perform, or does not offer to perform, the other party may, to a corresponding extent, refuse to perform his own correlative obligation (article 1591 C.c.Q.). So you can withhold the third instalment \u2014 but only “to a corresponding extent”: holding back $45,000 over a $5,000 deficiency puts you in the wrong.<\/p>\n

A penalty clause<\/strong> sets damages in advance for a default, often as an amount per day of delay. Its advantage: you can claim it without proving actual injury. Its limit: a court can reduce the amount if it is abusive, and you cannot claim both the penalty and specific performance together, unless the penalty is meant only to cover the delay (articles 1622 and 1623 C.c.Q.).<\/p>\n

Finally, an obligation that surprises many clients: “A person bound to make reparation for injury is not liable for any aggravation of the injury that the victim could have avoided” (article 1479 C.c.Q.). You have a duty to mitigate your damages<\/strong>. Leaving a wall open all winter “so the judge can see how bad it is” is the surest way to get your compensation reduced. Secure the site, protect it, carry out urgent repairs, and keep every invoice.<\/p>\n

Force majeure: a stricter bar than people think<\/h2>\n

It’s the favourite argument of a debtor in trouble. “Superior force is an unforeseeable and irresistible event, including an external cause with the same characteristics”, and a debtor who proves it is released from liability, unless he has undertaken to make reparation regardless (article 1470 C.c.Q.).<\/p>\n

Both conditions are cumulative and strict. Unforeseeable<\/strong> at the time the contract was made: a materials shortage that had been in the news for six months does not qualify. Irresistible<\/strong>: performance must have become impossible for anyone in the same position, not merely more costly or less profitable. Post-pandemic disputes drove the point home; Quebec courts have generally set the bar high, refusing to treat rising prices, supply-chain trouble, or a labour shortage as superior force, even though some legal scholars argued for a more flexible reading of obligations that had become excessively burdensome. Unlike some other legal systems, Quebec has no general doctrine excusing a party simply because performance became a much worse deal than expected.<\/p>\n

So the real issue is often contractual: your contract’s own force majeure clause can broaden or narrow the legal definition. Read it before you sign, not after.<\/p>\n

Key takeaways<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Before pursuing any remedy, make sure the debtor is in default: through the contract, a written formal notice, or by operation of law.<\/li>\n
  2. Specific performance is the rule; having a third party finish the work at the debtor’s expense is often the most effective solution.<\/li>\n
  3. Resolution isn’t available for a minor default: you’ll instead be entitled to a proportional reduction of the price.<\/li>\n
  4. Terminating the contract yourself without a judgment is allowed, but you bear the risk: document everything before you act.<\/li>\n
  5. You can suspend your payment, but only to an extent proportional to the default.<\/li>\n
  6. Mitigate your damages and keep your invoices: avoidable aggravation of the loss is not compensated.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Further reading<\/h2>\n