Ontario Construction News staff writer
Ontario’s leading architectural and general contracting associations have released a new joint guide for project close-outs, updated to align with the Construction Act and incorporating the CCDC’s “Ready-for-Takeover” milestone for the first time.
The Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) and the Ontario General Contractors Association (OGCA) published the “OAA-OGCA Document 100-2025” on Nov. 3.
The document, titled “Recommended Procedures Concerning Substantial Performance, Ready-for-Takeover, and Completion Take-Over of Construction Projects,” is an educational guideline intended to standardize the final stages of a construction contract for all parties, including owners, consultants, contractors and subcontractors.
A key addition to the 2025 edition is the formal inclusion of the “Ready-for-Takeover” concept, which was introduced in the CCDC 2-2020 stipulated price contract.
The new guide provides procedures for determining this milestone (Stage 6), which verifies that specific prerequisites defined in the contract have been met.
The document clarifies that when Ready-for-Takeover is used, it should serve as the new trigger for the commencement of the contractor’s one-year warranty period (Stage 10). If the concept is not used, the warranty period begins on the date of substantial performance.
The new document replaces a 2018 version and is fully aligned with the provisions of Ontario’s Construction Act. It provides detailed procedures for certifying substantial performance (Stage 4) and deemed completion (Stage 7).
Deemed completion is achieved when the cost of completion, or correction of a known defect, is not more than the lesser of one per cent of the contract price or $5,000, as defined in the Act.
The guide also provides critical clarification on how adjudications under the Construction Act can affect the release of holdback.
Stage 5.7 of the document notes that if a matter becomes the subject of an adjudication near the end of the lien expiry period, the lien period itself could be extended. The standard 60-day period could be extended by an additional 45 days, for a potential total of 105 days.
The procedures now recommend that contractors provide written confirmation to the owner that no adjudications are ongoing to ensure a smooth release of holdback.
With the release of the 2025 edition, the associations stated that the previous “Guide to Project Close-out Procedures” published in 2010 is now considered obsolete and has been withdrawn. Two timelines from the old guide have been revised and included as appendices in the new Document 100-2025.
