RBQ glossary: letter L

Labour and material payment bond (cautionnement des obligations pour gages, matériaux et services)

A bond in which a surety guarantees that the contractor will pay for the labour, materials and services supplied for the contract. A public body must require it, together with the performance bond, for a contract estimated at $2,000,000 or more (C-65.1, r. 5, s. 11). At the BSDQ, the surety’s letter of intent covers both bonds, each for 50% of the tender price, if they are required.

See also: Performance bond (cautionnement d’exécution), Legal construction hypothec (hypothèque légale de la construction), Subcontractor (sous-traitant)

Project and site management examSource: LégisQuébec, C-65.1, r. 5, art. 11

Legal construction hypothec (hypothèque légale de la construction)

A security the law grants, without any contract, to the architect, engineer, supplier of materials, workman, contractor and subcontractor on the immovable built or renovated at the owner’s request (art. 2726 of the Civil Code). It exists without publication for 30 days after the work ends. To preserve it, a notice served on the owner must be registered within that time, then an action must be published or a prior notice of exercise registered within six months after the work ends (art. 2727).

See also: Notice of contract (dénonciation de contrat), Contract of enterprise (contrat d’entreprise), Subcontractor (sous-traitant)

Administration examSource: LégisQuébec, C.C.Q., art. 2727

Liability for loss of the work (perte de l’ouvrage)

Under art. 2118 of the Civil Code, the contractor, the professionals who directed or supervised the work and the subcontractor for its own work are solidarily liable for loss of the work occurring within five years after the work ends. The loss may come from faulty design, construction or production, or from defects in the ground. Art. 2119 limits the ways to be relieved of it, for example by proving the defect comes from the plans of the professional the client chose.

See also: Warranty against poor workmanship (garantie contre les malfaçons), Contract of enterprise (contrat d’entreprise), Guarantee plan (plan de garantie)

Administration examSource: LégisQuébec, C.C.Q., art. 2118

Licence bond

A financial guarantee a contractor gives the RBQ. It compensates a client who suffers a loss (deposits, unfinished work, poor workmanship, defects found within one year). Amount in force: $40,000 when the licence has any general subclass, $20,000 when it has specialized subclasses only. Owner-builders do not provide one.

How to get an RBQ licenceSource: RBQ, obtaining a bond (French)

Licence maintenance (maintien de licence)

The annual payment of duties and fees that keeps a licence in force, due on the anniversary of its issue (r. 9, s. 15). In 2026 it costs $989.81 for a licence with any general subclass and $547.53 for a specialized-only licence. The RBQ mails a notice of assessment 60 days before the due date. A licence not paid by the due date ceases to have effect (s. 71 of the Building Act), and a new application is then required.

See also: Contractor’s licence (licence RBQ), Suspension and cancellation of a licence (suspension et annulation de licence), Licence bond, Priority processing

Licence fee calculatorRBQ fees 2026Source: LégisQuébec, B-1.1, r. 9, art. 15

Definitions written by RBQexam from the statutes and the RBQ’s pages, without reproducing their text. If in doubt, the official source prevails.