Single-family renovations and rooms for rent – RBQ license and CCQ cards

You are renovating a building into a single-family home in which you and your family will live.

You wish to carry out some renovations in certain rooms in order to be able to rent them.

So, what jobs can you do yourself and what is the procedure for renovating the rooms for rent?

 

How does the Régie du bâtiment intervene in your project?

The Régie du bâtiment particularly applies the Building Act ( RLRQ., C. B-1.1 ) and its regulations, including the Regulation respecting the professional qualification of contractors and owner-builders ( RLRQ., C. B-1.1 r.9 ) relating to contractor licenses.

 

The RBQ license

Subject to a few exemptions, a license is required for the contractor or owner-builder who performs  or have construction work carried out, carried out on the site itself and on the job, in particular a building.

You can refer to articles 2, 41, 46 and 48 of the Building Act (RLRQ., C. B-1.1) following  :

Here are some exemptions in reference to the situation  described in this article and for which the  owner-builder is not required to have a license.

Interpretation

1)      When the owner is  a physical person  and that the work is aimed at a “single-family house” (eg isolated, semi-detached or in a row) or a “structure  »(Eg garage)  intended for his personal use or that of his family. (Building Law, Article 49 paragraph 2)

If you are renovating your building into a single-family home and want to rent rooms there, you cannot take advantage of this exemption because with the rental of rooms, your residence is no longer only intended for your personal use and that of your family.

Your building qualifies more as a ”  bedroom house  “.

What the Building Act says

 

2)      The owner-builder is a natural or legal person, and has  all  construction work for the same project by  a  only contractor holding an appropriate general contractor’s license.

(Building Law, Article 49 paragraph 1)

 

3)      The work in question is authorized by license subcategories of  annex III  only (eg paint, gypsum, etc.). This work may be carried out, in whole or in part, by the owner-builder with the help of his employees or by contractors holding an appropriate license, regardless of the estimated amount of the work.

You can consult appendix III of the regulation and the list of sub-categories of the RBQ to find out what work you can do yourself with your employees.  :

• Annex III of the Regulation respecting the professional qualification of contractors and owner-builders
• List of subcategories (RBQ link)

4)      The owner has all the work carried out  Annex II  through  just one  general contractor or by  just one  contractor holding a specialized contractor’s license including all the license sub-categories required for this work, regardless of the estimated amount of the work. The contract may also include work from Annex III. The owner-builder may, for the same project, carry out himself with the help of his employees or entrust contractors with appropriate licenses,  of the work of Annex III. The owner-builder must therefore hold an appropriate license if he awards more than one contract (more than one contractor) for Annex II work.

 

What the Building Act says  :

Remember that all the work referred to in Annex II must be entrusted to ONE SINGLE contractor.

 

5)      He holds a contractor’s license with the subcategory (s) relevant to the work he wishes to perform on his property (s).

A contractor does not need to hold an owner-builder’s license when the work that he performs or has performed on his own account corresponds to the subcategories of his construction contractor’s license.

Note that the work must be performed on the property of the contractor (company). This exemption does not apply to the manager (s) of the company who wish to carry out construction work on their personal property.

 

What the Building Act says  :

Note that for each of these cases and except exemptions provided by regulation, all contractors working for the owner-builder must have an appropriate license (or with the required subcategories) for their part of the work.

A general contractor in small buildings (1.2) can take out a contract for an industrial building classified F2 of not more than three floors and a building area of not more than 600 m2 (including the extension if necessary).

You can consult authorized works for each of the sub-categories on the RBQ website.

 

How does the CCQ intervene in your project?

The competence of the workforce (worker competency card) is governed by the Act respecting labor relations, vocational training and workforce management in the construction industry (RLRQ., C. R-20 ) and the Regulation respecting the vocational training of manpower in the construction industry. These regulations are administered by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ).

 

CCQ skills cards

What the Law R-20  says:

Explanation

You do not have to hold a license as a natural person for the renovation of parts of the building intended for your personal use and that of your family, except for work related to an installation intended to use gas, to a product tanker or an electrical installation.

For renovation work on the private part of your residence, you can carry out all the work in Annex III without holding a license.

To see the complete list of these works, consult the Annex III of the List of subcategories  –  PDF  (131  KB) .

For all work carried out in the rooms you wish to rent, a license from the RBQ is required.

Concerning the CCQ skills cards, the work carried out in the parts of the building where you and your family will live will benefit from the exceptional regime granted to residential renovation, therefore may be carried out by employees who do not hold a skills card. .

However, all renovations to the rooms you wish to rent are subject to the Act respecting labor relations, vocational training and workforce management in the construction industry (RSQ, c. R-20), and must be carried out by qualified workers, holders of skills cards issued by the CCQ and paid according to the terms of the collective agreement for the residential sector.

 

Some precisions

Repair  : Repair is a repair following deterioration due to lack of maintenance or obsolescence (age). Ex  : Repairing a hole in a drywall.

Interview  : Maintenance work consists of keeping property in good condition on a regular basis. This work helps prevent deterioration or wear.

Renovation  : These are operations aimed at improving or modernizing a good or a structure, without changing its purpose or the use for which it is intended.

Modification  : Unlike renovation, modification results in structural changes made to a building, room or structure, to meet a new use. Ex  : A bedroom is separated into two distinct rooms to create a new space.

The law allows the owner of a dwelling or a single-family house to carry out maintenance, repair, renovation and modification work himself in the dwelling he lives in.

On the other hand, if the same work is done in the tenant’s accommodation, that it is not minor maintenance and repair work carried out by a concierge and since this space is rented, then the renovation and repair work must be carried out. modification by a contractor holding an RBQ license and employees who have valid certificates of competence for the required trades. (Law R-20 excludes minor work when it is carried out by permanent employees, hired by an employer other than a ” professional employer  “. If your business activities are not related to construction, you are not a professional employer.)

For work on the common portions of an income property, it must be carried out by a contractor holding a license issued by RBQ and employees holding valid certificates of competence.

For work on a garage that is only used for the owner’s personal use, or on a shed adjacent to a non-profit single-family house, these are not governed by law R-20.

On the other hand, if part of the garage is used as storage for tenants, the work must be carried out by a contractor holding an RBQ license with employees holding the required skills certificates, since the garage is no longer used for exclusive and personal purposes. to the owner.

In summary, work excluding electricity, plumbing and gas, carried out by the owner occupying his residential home is exempt from skills cards but for rental or commercial, skills cards are mandatory.

 

 

”  Please note that this article was written for the case described. It may not be applicable to other cases. It cannot also be interpreted as a legal opinion and does not in any way replace the regulations in force. Official texts have legal value in the event of a dispute.  “