Can a subcontractor lien my house after I’ve already paid the contractor?
Researched by the LokalMatch editorial team1 answer
The contractor is paid in full and a supplier is now saying they were never paid and will register a lien.
Answers (1)
LokalMatch EditorialLokalMatch editorial
They can register one, and in Ontario your exposure is measured by the holdback you were supposed to keep — not by what you actually kept. The Construction Act requires every payer on a contract or subcontract to retain a holdback equal to 10 per cent of the price of the services or materials as they are supplied. A lien is a charge on that holdback.
Where the contractor is the one who failed to pay, the Act says the owner’s personal liability to a lien claimant does not exceed the holdbacks the owner is required to retain. Read that phrase again: required to retain. If you paid every invoice in full as you went and held nothing back, the cap does not shrink to nothing — you can end up paying that 10 per cent a second time.
So keep it. Hold 10 per cent of each payment, release it only after the lien period has run, and ask the contractor for written confirmation that the subcontractors and suppliers on the job have been paid before you do.
Answers come from pros and are reviewed by LokalMatch before they’re published. They’re general information — for regulated or safety-critical work, have a licensed professional assess your situation.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from.
Construction Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.30 — Government of Ontario (accessed September 21, 2026)