Vetting a contractor before signing: check license status, confirm liability insurance + WSIB or workers’ comp coverage, call 3 recent references, and require a written scope with milestones.
Hiring the wrong contractor is one of the most expensive mistakes a homeowner can make. After hearing too many stories on this forum and in our own neighborhood, we put together a checklist that our team at LF Builders uses as the baseline every time before a job goes to contract.
Before You Even Call Them
- Check their license status on your province’s licensing board website (Ontario: check the Home Construction Regulatory Authority at HCRA.ca)
- Look them up on the Better Business Bureau — not just the rating, but the actual complaints filed
- Search their company name plus “reviews” and read past the first page of results
- Ask neighbours, local Facebook groups, or neighbours who recently renovated for honest word-of-mouth
During the First Conversation
- Ask for proof of liability insurance AND workers’ compensation coverage (WSIB in Ontario). Both documents, not just a verbal assurance
- Request at least 3 references from jobs completed in the last 12 months — and actually call them
- Ask about their honest start timeline. A contractor who can start “next week” on a major job may be a sign they are less in demand than they imply; quality trades in the GTA are typically booked 4-8 weeks out
- Get everything in writing: scope of work, materials specified by brand and grade where it matters, payment schedule, start date, and an estimated completion window
Red Flags to Walk Away From
- Requesting more than 10-15% deposit upfront before materials are ordered
- Refusing to put the agreement in writing with a clear scope
- Applying pressure to decide immediately due to a “special price” or “limited availability”
- Unable or unwilling to provide a physical business address
- Review profiles that are either suspiciously perfect or show a sudden cluster of reviews posted in a short window
Payment Best Practices
A defensible payment structure for a GTA renovation looks like this: 10% deposit at signing, 30% at rough-in stage, 30% at substantial completion, and the final 30% on the full punch-list walkthrough. Never pay in full before any work starts. Pay by cheque or credit card — cash with no receipt is not a business transaction.
Companion Reading
Once you have a contractor shortlisted, the 5 most expensive bathroom renovation mistakes thread is worth reviewing before the scope is locked. The Ontario Home Renovation Savings Program rebate guide covers which 2026 rebates are worth baking into the contract upfront. If you are doing work that might require a permit, the GTA renovation permits guide is a clear reference before the scope conversation.
About LF Builders
LF Builders has worked across the GTA for over 50 years, completing more than 30,000 projects. We have seen what separates a good contractor relationship from a bad one, and the framework above reflects what works. If you are looking for a trusted team for your next project, lfbuilders.ca is the starting point. We are also proud backers of Samm Simon’s 251 km charity run for cancer research — follow and donate at sammsimon.ca. For project inspiration and seasonal guides, visit blog.lfbuilders.ca.
Feel free to save this checklist or share it with anyone about to hire for a renovation. Drop additional tips below — the more knowledge shared on this forum, the fewer homeowners get burned.
Good checklist. A few Ontario-specific additions I’d layer on top, since I see a lot of homeowners miss these:
Verify with the right Ontario bodies, not just “a licensing board”:
- For anything involving new builds, additions, or major reno on a home under 7 years old, check the contractor on the HCRA (Home Construction Regulatory Authority) registry. If they’re not there and the work needs a builder license, walk away.
- WSIB Clearance Certificate — ask for a current one. Takes the contractor 10 seconds to pull online. If they hedge, that’s your answer. This protects you from being on the hook if someone gets hurt on your property.
- Confirm their trade certification with Skilled Trades Ontario if it’s a compulsory trade (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, sheet metal, etc.).
Ask about the permit before the price:
If the scope touches structure, plumbing/HVAC, a new bathroom or bedroom, a deck, or fire separations, it needs a permit. A good contractor will tell you who pulls it and budget it in. A contractor who says “we don’t need one” on a permit-required job is telling you they plan to do unpermitted work — which becomes your problem at resale.
One more red flag for 2026: anyone who hands you a quote with no mention of the 2024 Ontario Building Code updates (new envelope/insulation requirements, radon rough-in on new houses) hasn’t been keeping up. Doesn’t mean they’re bad, but it’s worth a second conversation.
And one positive signal I look for: a contractor who brings up contingency themselves — 15-20% on newer homes, 20-25% on anything pre-1960 Toronto — is someone who has actually opened up old walls before and knows what’s in there.
Quick Ontario-specific addendum for anyone hiring in the GTA this spring, since a few code and permit things changed this year and they affect how you vet a contractor:
Ask about 2026 code awareness, not just “licensed”
A contractor can be licensed and still be sloppy on the updated Ontario Building Code. The big ones that came into effect for 2026 work:
- Expanded AFCI (arc-fault) protection requirements — if you’re doing any electrical, ask them specifically how they plan to handle the new AFCI coverage zones.
- EV-ready rough-in expectations on new panel work. Even if you don’t have an EV today, it’s cheaper to run the conduit now.
- Tighter air-sealing and vapor barrier requirements on exterior envelope work — this is where corner-cutting shows up two winters later as mold or rot.
- Updated GFCI protection zones in bathrooms and outdoor areas.
If a contractor shrugs when you mention these, that’s a real signal.
Toronto permits actually move fast right now
The City’s FASTRACK program is approving zoning-compliant residential permits under 100 m² in 5–10 business days. Contractors who tell you permits “always take 6–8 weeks, so let’s just start without one” are either out of date or hoping you’ll skip the inspection. Neither is good.
Canadian-specific holdback
In Ontario under the Construction Act, there’s a statutory 10% holdback you’re required to retain until 60 days past substantial performance. Good contractors know this and price for it. If yours is pushing for “final payment on completion day,” they either don’t know the law or they’re planning to be gone before lien deadlines run.
Anyone else running into contractors who still quote pre-2026 code standards? Curious what others are seeing out there.
Great base checklist — let me add the Ontario-specific layer, because a lot of the generic US-focused vetting advice misses the stuff that actually bites you up here:
Licensing / registration to verify in Ontario
- HCRA (Home Construction Regulatory Authority) — if they’re building or selling new homes, vacant-land condos, or doing major additions that qualify as new construction, they must be licensed. Look them up on the public HCRA register. No license, no conversation.
- ESA (Electrical Safety Authority) — any electrical contractor pulling permits must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor (LEC). Ask for their LEC number and verify on the ESA site. If they’re subbing it out, ask who the LEC is.
- TSSA — any gas work (furnace, water heater, gas line relocation for a kitchen reno) needs a TSSA-registered contractor. Ask. Verify.
- WSIB clearance certificate — request a current one (free, takes 10 seconds to pull). If it’s expired or they “don’t carry WSIB because they’re a sole prop,” that’s your risk, not theirs, if anyone on the jobsite gets hurt.
- Municipal trade-specific licenses (Toronto plumbing, drain work) — city-issued, separate from provincial.
Warranty / consumer protection angle
- If it’s a new-home build or a qualifying major addition, Tarion coverage is mandatory. Confirm the builder is enrolled. No enrolment, no sign.
- On reno work that doesn’t fall under Tarion, make sure the contract spells out the workmanship warranty period clearly. One year is standard; two is better; “we stand behind our work” with no document is not a warranty.
Lien rights — the one most homeowners don’t know about
- Under Ontario’s Construction Act, contractors and subs have lien rights on your property for unpaid work. A title search on your house mid-project is not paranoid — it’s smart. A lien from a sub your GC forgot to pay becomes your problem fast.
- Hold back 10% statutory holdback for at least 60 days past substantial performance. Most reputable GCs already know this and will structure the contract around it. If yours doesn’t, that’s a red flag on its own.
On the “booked out” point
Seconding this hard. In the GTA, any half-decent contractor starting a $50K+ job within two weeks of the first call is either lying about their schedule or has a subcontractor situation you don’t want to inherit. Summer reno slots for 2026 were already filling up by February for most of the shops I know.
Pinning this one in my head — it’s the checklist I wish every homeowner walked in with.