# How to check a GTA contractor before you hire (2026): licences, contracts and your rights **URL:** \ **Category:** Ontario\ **Tags:** toronto, homeowners, ontario, contractor-tips, permit, gta\ **Created:** [October 31, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/how-to-check-a-gta-contractor-before-you-hire-2026-licences-contracts-and-your-rights/48623 "2026-10-31T13:46:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gary\_From\_LFBuilders](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/gary_from_lfbuilders/32/17159_2.png) [@Gary\_From\_LFBuilders](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Gary_From_LFBuilders)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/how-to-check-a-gta-contractor-before-you-hire-2026-licences-contracts-and-your-rights/48623/1 "2026-10-31T13:46:02Z")
_From LF Builders, the renovation company behind this forum, so read our own listings with that in mind. Rules checked against City of Toronto, ESA, TSSA, WSIB, HCRA and Ontario e-Laws pages on October 30, 2026._ **Short answer:** In Toronto, check that a renovation business has a City **T85 Building Renovator** licence (look it up by name or number in the City’s Business Licence Lookup). For electrical work, hire an **ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor** ; for gas work, a **TSSA-registered contractor** with a certified technician. Get a written contract. Under Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, 2002, a contractor can’t charge more than 10% above their estimate, and a contract signed at your home for over $50 must be in writing with 10 days to cancel. Province-wide licensing (HCRA) and the Tarion warranty cover new homes, not renovations. ## 1. The City licence (Toronto) Toronto requires anyone who repairs or renovates buildings, or advertises that they do, to hold a **Building Renovator (T85)** licence. Plumbing (T94), Plumbing & Heating (T92) and Drain (T87) contractors are licensed by the City too. - Ask for the licence number, then check it in the [City of Toronto Business Licence Lookup](https://secure.toronto.ca/LicenceStatus/setup.do?action=init). You can search by operating name, licensee name or licence number. - Can’t find them? Call 311 (or 416-392-6700). - Municipal Code Chapter 545 requires a licensed renovator to give you a written contract. Outside Toronto, ask your city whether it licenses renovators; the rules differ by municipality. ## 2. Trade licences that apply everywhere in Ontario | Work | Who can do it | How to check | | --- | --- | --- | | Electrical | An ESA Licensed Electrical Contractor (you may do your own work in your own home, after filing an ESA notification) | [ESA contractor locator](https://licensing.esasafe.com/contractor-locator-tool/) | | Gas (furnace, boiler, water heater, gas lines) | A TSSA-registered contractor and a certified gas technician. There’s no homeowner exemption | [TSSA contractor lookup](https://www.tssa.org/fuels-contractor). Ask for the registration number and the technician’s certificate number | ## 3. Workplace insurance (WSIB) When you hire a contractor directly for renovation work on the home you live in, WSIB’s clearance rules generally don’t put the obligation on you. They do apply to your contractor’s subcontractors: your contractor must get WSIB clearances for them. A clearance certificate is free, shows the contractor’s WSIB account is in good standing, and is valid for up to 90 days, so it’s reasonable to ask for one. For anything beyond ordinary home renovation work, check [WSIB’s clearance Q&A](https://www.wsib.ca/en/clearancefaqs). ## 4. The contract and your rights Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, 2002 is the law in force. The 2023 Act has passed but isn’t in force yet. - **Estimates:** a contractor can’t charge more than 10% above an estimate they gave you. Agree any change in scope in writing before the work is done. - **Contracts signed at your home:** over $50, they must be in writing, and you have 10 days to cancel after you receive your copy. - **Permits:** ask who pulls the permit, and get it named in the contract. For a house, the building official has 10 business days from a complete application to issue or refuse it (more in the renovation timelines guide). ## 5. What a provincial licence does and doesn’t mean - **HCRA** licenses builders and vendors of _new_ homes. Renovating an existing home “typically” doesn’t require that licence, so an HCRA licence alone tells you little about a renovator. - **Tarion’s** warranty is for new homes. It won’t cover your renovation. ## Reviews on this forum If you hired someone in the GTA, a short write-up helps the next person more than anything else on this site: what you hired them for, what the quote said versus what you paid, how they handled problems, and the licence numbers you checked. ## Sources - City of Toronto, [Building Renovators licence](https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/permits-licences-bylaws/building-renovators/), [Business Licence Lookup](https://secure.toronto.ca/LicenceStatus/setup.do?action=init), [Municipal Code Ch. 545](https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/1184_545.pdf) - Electrical Safety Authority, [Hiring a Licensed Electrical Contractor](https://esasafe.com/compliance/hiring-a-licensed-electrical-contractor/), [DIY electrical work](https://esasafe.com/compliance/diy-electrical-work/) - TSSA, [Be fuels wise: hire registered and certified professionals](https://www.tssa.org/be-fuels-wise-hire-registered-and-certified-professionals), [Authorized heating fuel contractors](https://www.tssa.org/fuels-contractor); Ontario e-Laws, [O. Reg. 212/01](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/010212) - WSIB, [Questions and answers: Clearances](https://www.wsib.ca/en/clearancefaqs), [Clearance Certificate in Construction](https://www.wsib.ca/en/operational-policy-manual/clearance-certificate-construction) - Ontario e-Laws, [Consumer Protection Act, 2002](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/02c30), [Consumer Protection Act, 2023](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/23c23); Government of Ontario, [Your rights when starting home renovations or repairs](https://www.ontario.ca/page/your-rights-when-starting-home-renovations-or-repairs) - HCRA, [Do I need a licence?](https://www.hcraontario.ca/do-i-need-a-licence/) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_From\_LFBuilders](https://home.renovation.reviews/user_avatar/home.renovation.reviews/gary_from_lfbuilders/32/17159_2.png) [@Gary\_From\_LFBuilders](https://home.renovation.reviews/u/Gary_From_LFBuilders)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://home.renovation.reviews/t/how-to-check-a-gta-contractor-before-you-hire-2026-licences-contracts-and-your-rights/48623/2 "2026-10-31T13:46:03Z")
Pinned on October 31, 2026, 1:46pm UTC