ArtBuild template ArtBuild guide · All of Canada
Payment delay and upstream payment guide
Start here: when you are told you will be paid only when the owner pays.
- Version
- 2026.1
- Last updated
- October 24, 2026
Prepared by ArtBuild to help you organise your paperwork. It is general information, not legal advice, and it has not been reviewed by a lawyer. Check the rules for your province or territory before you act.
Part of the Pay-When-Paid Protection Kit: start with its guide, and download the whole kit there.
Start here
Use this kit when you are a subcontractor or supplier and you are told you will be paid only when the owner pays the contractor.
Do these three things today
- Read the payment clause in your subcontract with the Pay-When-Paid Clause Review. "Pay when paid" and "pay if paid" wording are treated differently.
- Check whether prompt-payment rules apply. In Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and on federal projects, the law sets payment times for subcontractors; see the "Key time limits" table.
- Keep your lien time limit in view while you wait. Waiting for the owner does not stop it.
Ask for the owner's payment status in writing (Payment Status Information Request) and keep the reply.
What is in this kit
| Document | Use it to |
|---|---|
| Payment delay and upstream payment guide | Start here: when you are told you will be paid only when the owner pays. |
| Pay when paid clause review | Read your pay-when-paid or pay-if-paid clause and record what it says. |
| Subcontract payment terms checklist | Check your subcontract payment terms before you rely on a date. |
| Payment status information request | Ask the contractor in writing whether and when the owner paid. |
| Construction Invoice Tracker | Track invoices, owner payment status and amounts due to you. |
| Payment Deadline Calculator | Count dates from a trigger you have confirmed, with the basis recorded. |
| Owner payment verification checklist | Record what you know about the owner's payment to the contractor. |
| Construction lien rights review checklist | Collect the facts for a lien review while you wait for payment. |
| Formal payment request for delayed subcontract payment | Ask in writing for a delayed subcontract payment. |
| Prompt payment and adjudication review guide | Prepare for prompt-payment and adjudication rules where they apply. |
| Upstream payment dispute evidence pack | One indexed file of the payment dispute for your adviser. |
| Official sources by province and territory | Official payment and lien laws by province and territory. |
Key time limits: construction liens
A lien (in Quebec, a legal hypothec) is a claim against the property you improved. It is lost if it is not registered in time, and a registered lien is lost if the next step is not taken in time. The periods below are quoted from each statute as checked on 2026-10-24. The event that starts the clock depends on your contract and role, and some Acts count "clear" days, so read the section for your situation and act well before the last day.
| Province | Register the lien within | Then, to keep it |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta — Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act | 60 days (90 days for concrete work or materials and for oil or gas well sites), counted from the last day you supplied work or materials, or from abandonment (s. 41) | Start a court action and register a certificate of lis pendens within 180 days after the lien is registered (s. 43(1)) |
| British Columbia — Builders Lien Act | 45 days after a certificate of completion is issued, or otherwise 45 days after the head contract (or the improvement) is completed, abandoned or terminated (s. 20) | Start a court action and register a certificate of pending litigation within 1 year after filing; an owner (or another claimant who has sued) can shorten this to 21 days by serving a notice (s. 33(1) and (2)) |
| Manitoba — The Builders' Liens Act | 60 days after substantial performance or abandonment (materials: 60 days after the last materials, whichever comes first) (s. 43) | The lien ends 2 years after registration unless an action is started first; this can be shortened to 30 days by a notice to start an action (ss. 49(2) and 50) |
| New Brunswick — Construction Remedies Act | 60 days after the earliest of substantial performance being certified or declared, or the contract being completed, abandoned or terminated (ss. 59 to 61) | The lien ends 90 days after registration unless an action to enforce it is started first (s. 64(2)) |
| Newfoundland and Labrador — Mechanics' Lien Act | 30 days after the contract or subcontract is completed or abandoned (materials: 30 days after the last delivery; services: 30 days after completion) (s. 22) | A registered lien stops existing 90 days after the work is completed or the materials are provided, unless an action is started first (s. 24(1)) |
| Ontario — Construction Act | 60 days after the earlier of publication of the certificate or declaration of substantial performance, or the contract being completed, abandoned or terminated (s. 31) | Perfect the preserved lien (start the action and register a certificate of action) within 90 days after the last day it could have been preserved (s. 36(2)) |
| Quebec — Civil Code of Québec (legal hypothec of persons who took part in construction) | The hypothec lasts 30 days after the work is completed; to keep it, register a notice describing the property and the amount before those 30 days end, and serve it on the owner. A subcontractor or supplier without a contract with the owner is protected only for work supplied after written notice of its contract to the owner (arts. 2726 to 2728) | It is extinguished 6 months after the work is completed unless an action is published against the owner or a prior notice of exercise of a hypothecary right is registered (art. 2727) |
| Saskatchewan — The Builders' Lien Act | 40 clear days after the triggering event (a copy of the certificate of substantial performance being given, or completion or abandonment of the contract) (s. 49) | Only a registered lien can be enforced by action; the action must be set down for trial within 2 years after it is started (ss. 54 and 55(1)) |
Time limits not included in this edition: Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Yukon. Read the Act on the government website.
Key time limits: prompt payment
Where prompt-payment rules apply, an owner must pay a "proper invoice" (an invoice with the content the Act requires) within a fixed time, and can refuse only by giving a notice in time.
| Where | Owner pays | To dispute | Paying subcontractors | Section |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 28 days after receiving a proper invoice | Notice of non-payment within 14 days of receiving it | Pay subcontractors within 7 days after receiving payment; if the owner has not paid, by day 35 unless a notice of non-payment is given | Construction Act ss. 6.4 and 6.5 |
| Alberta | 28 days after receiving a proper invoice | Notice of dispute within 14 days of receiving it | Pay subcontractors within 7 days after receiving payment; if the owner has not paid, by day 35 unless a notice of non-payment is given | Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act ss. 32.2 and 32.3 |
| Saskatchewan | 28 days after receiving a proper invoice | Notice of non-payment within 14 days of receiving it | If the owner has not paid in full, pay subcontractors by day 35 unless a notice of non-payment is given | The Builders' Lien Act s. 5.4 and following |
| Manitoba | 28 days after the proper invoice is given | Notice of non-payment within 14 days, giving every reason | Pay subcontractors within 7 days after receiving payment; if the owner has not paid, by day 35 unless a notice of non-payment is given | The Builders' Liens Act ss. 90 to 94 |
| Federal projects only (federal real property or immovables) | No later than the 28th day after a proper invoice is received | Notice of non-payment under the Act | Contractor pays subcontractors no later than the 35th day; each further tier adds 7 days | Federal Prompt Payment for Construction Work Act ss. 5, 9 and 10 |
These rules apply only to contracts covered by each Act (transition rules decide which contracts). British Columbia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador had no prompt-payment provisions in the statutes checked. The periods are counted from receipt of a proper invoice, which must contain the information the Act requires.
Separate the explanation from the payment obligation
Use this kit when a contractor says it cannot pay because the owner or another party has not paid. Record the explanation accurately, then check the subcontract, invoice evidence and applicable law. Neither an upstream non-payment claim nor the phrase pay when paid decides the outcome automatically.
- Identify the exact contracting debtor and the upstream entity being discussed.
- Preserve the original explanation with sender, role, date and attachments.
- Reconcile your invoice, credits and payments before challenging the explanation.
- Locate the complete payment clause, definitions, incorporated prime-contract terms and amendments.
- Separate confirmed owner receipts, reported non-payment and unknown information.
- Record any actual notice received and seek review of uncertain deadlines promptly.
Initial response
Ask which upstream invoice includes your work, when it was submitted, what amount is affected and whether the stated delay relates to your scope or another dispute. Request relevant redacted supporting records through authorized contacts; do not seek unauthorized banking access.
Build the contractual and factual comparison
| Question | Record to obtain | Why it matters operationally |
|---|---|---|
| What starts payment timing? | Complete clause and defined event | Do not substitute an owner receipt for a different contractual trigger. |
| Was the work invoiced upstream? | Application number and allocated scope | Identify an omission or mismatch. |
| Has any payment arrived? | Relevant remittance and allocation | Separate partial receipt from total non-payment. |
| Is the work disputed? | Itemized reason and notice | Keep valuation questions separate from funding explanations. |
Fictional example
Your gross invoice is CAD 12,000, with CAD 500 credits and CAD 4,000 receipts, leaving CAD 7,500. A reported CAD 3,000 owner payment is not another payment to you until it is received and allocated to your account. Keep upstream status in supporting evidence; do not subtract it from your ledger.
The deadline calculator performs only confirmed calendar-day arithmetic entered by a reviewer. It supplies no statutory period and does not decide the legal effect of the clause.
Choose the next action on evidence
- Send the information request and retain the response or lack of response.
- If accounting differs, exchange a line-by-line reconciliation.
- If clause interpretation is disputed, provide the complete contract and chronology to a qualified reviewer.
- If a statutory payment or adjudication regime may apply, verify scope, transition, notices and process separately.
- Review lien preservation and enforcement questions independently; a payment discussion does not itself preserve rights.
- Do not suspend work, waive rights or assert that the clause is automatically valid or invalid based on this kit.
- Review owner and next communication target
- Unverified facts and legal questions
- Confirmed procedural dates and source
This guide is an operational process, not a conclusion that upstream payment excuses or cannot excuse non-payment.
Before you act: this document is general information prepared by ArtBuild to help you organise facts and paperwork. It is not legal advice and has not been reviewed by a lawyer for your situation. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time. Check the official source for your project, and for deadlines, liens, court or insolvency steps, speak with a lawyer licensed where the project is located.