As of June 30, 2017, provincial legislation requires all contractors and buyers of construction to use a single site of publication—www.substantialperformance.com—to ensure notice is given when a contract is substantially performed and when a subcontract is certified as complete.

Without proper notice, contractors, suppliers, subcontractors, and employees may not know when these critical stages have been reached, especially if they completed work early and are no longer on-site. These milestones are important because they trigger key timelines under the Builders’ Lien Act, including:

• The start of the period for registering a lien
• The release of holdbacks after a lien-free period

The regulations also clarify what must be included in the notice and how and when it must be published.

Under the new regulations, requirements for both milestones include:

• Posting notice in a prominent location at the job site office and on the publicly available portion of CANS’ website
• Providing notice within 10 days of the relevant milestone

SubstantialPerformance.com was developed by the Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) with broad industry support. This centralized electronic publication site was created to benefit the economy, support the industry, and protect the legal rights and responsibilities of participants. CANS is committed to making this service available at no charge to all users.

• Definitions of key terms
• How to create your account
• How to view today’s notices
• How to submit certificates of substantial completion and subcontract completion

As you navigate the site, hover over fields for definitions and instructions.

Click here to access the Substantial Performance website How-To Guide.