A subcontractor worked on two nearby job sites for the same general contractor. The general contractor argued that the subcontractor’s lien rights on one of the sites had already expired.
The Ontario Superior Court disagreed.
In Bradley-Kelly Construction Ltd. v. GIP Construction Ontario East Ltd., 2026 ONSC 5180, released September 11, 2026, the Court considered whether work performed on two parcels should be treated as separate improvements for the purposes of Ontario’s construction lien legislation.
On the facts of this case, the answer was no.
One improvement, not two
The subcontractor had supplied services to two nearby properties. The general contractor argued that the lien period should be calculated separately for each site, meaning that the lien relating to one property had been preserved too late.
The Court took a different approach.
The two parcels were contiguous, the work was coordinated toward a common purpose, and there was a single certificate of substantial performance.
Those circumstances supported treating the work as one “improvement” for purposes of the Construction Act.
That mattered because the Act imposes strict timelines for preserving construction lien rights. The 45-day period ran from the subcontractor’s last supply to the combined improvement — rather than being calculated separately for each civic address.
The lien was therefore preserved in time.
The Court also determined that the remaining holdback was payable to the lien claimant.
The takeaway
For contractors, subcontractors and their counsel, the timing can be critical.
When work spans multiple parcels, don’t automatically assume that each property has its own separate lien clock.
Where the lands are contiguous, the work is coordinated toward a common purpose, and the project is treated as a single improvement, the Court may treat the properties together for lien purposes.
Here, that meant the subcontractor’s lien was on time.
The case is a useful reminder that when a project involves multiple parcels, the way the work is connected and documented can matter just as much as the individual civic addresses.
