Toronto Renovation Stories & Expert Advice

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Contractor a no-show?

I received a call from Stanley Funes at the City of Toronto Licensing Department the other day. He'd come across our site and told me it was great and long overdue (hey, we think so too!). It turns out, there is a complaints department at the city for delinquent contractors in the remodelling, heating and plumbing businesses -- unfortunately the department is not as well known as it should be (I tried to look it up online without success). People only hear about the department through word of mouth.

If you're having problems getting your contractor to finish a job, there is recourse before taking him to court. The City of Toronto complaints department acts as a mediator between licensed contractors and clients, usually with a successful outcome. Stanley did tell me, however, that in cases where the gap between the contractor and client is too wide to bridge (usually over $10,000 in dispute), litigation tends to be the next step. Since the city has the ability to revoke a contractor's license if necessary, the contractor is motivated to negotiate with the client.

In the event that the contractor isn't licensed, the contractor will receive a fine from the city, and you, as the injured party will have done your job exposing them. I'm not sure how much more you will get out of them without pursuing legal action. However, writing a review on Homestars will help others avoid this contractor in the future.

The phone number for the complaints department at the City of Toronto is: 416-392-6148.
They handle complaints for licensed remodelling, heating and cooling and plumbing contractors.
In this case, "complaints" is defined as contractors not adhering to City of Toronto by-laws.

Labels: City of Toronto complaints department, general contractors