The legal hypothec and the date of completion of the work: mandatory deadline!

Some myths surround the date of completion of work in industry, in particular that the date of occupancy of the building coincides with the date of completion of the work. That is not always the case.

Another myth is that the completion date is the date when all work, including corrective work, was completed. This is not the case, since the execution of corrective work does not affect the date of completion of the work.

This question of the date of completion of the work is crucial for the contractor and the subcontractor in terms of their right to publish a legal construction hypothec.

In fact, once the work is completed, the contractor or other beneficiaries of the legal construction hypothec must publish a mortgage conversation notice no later than 30 days after the date of completion of the work.

Thus, case law has defined the date of completion of the work as being the date when all the work provided for in the plans and specifications has been completed in full and the building is used in accordance with its intended use. ¹.

This deadline is mandatory and a legal construction hypothec published after this period is void and invalid. Thus, the date of completion of the work is regularly the subject of disputes in court, which has a direct impact on the validity of the legal construction hypothec.

This principle applies even if there were several phases with several stakeholders on the project.² . There is therefore a single end date for all contractors and other beneficiaries of the legal construction hypothec.

For example, the contractor who excavated the foundation of the building does not have to publish his legal construction hypothec within 30 days after the end of the excavation work. Instead, the 30-day period will begin on the date the building is completed as a whole.

Abandonment of work

If the work is not entirely carried out as provided for in the plans and specifications due to an abandonment of the work, the end date of the work will take place on the date of the abandonment of the work. A court will consider this question in order to determine whether there was an abandonment of the work or a simple suspension of the construction site.

Indeed, the temporary suspension of a construction site does not make it possible to agree on a date for the end of the work.

Thus, contractors must remain vigilant and closely monitor their billing in order to protect their use of the legal construction hypothec mechanism, especially contractors intervening later on a construction site. However, the deadline for publishing a notice of conservation of a legal construction hypothec has garnered a lot of attention and must be analyzed in the light of specific facts and case law.

Do not hesitate to contact a legal advisor to ensure that your company complies with all the formalities to use the legal construction hypothec mechanism and that it can be maintained within the required deadlines!

1. Diamantopoulos v. Construction Dompat Inc., 2013 QCCA 929, para. 66.2 Idem.

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