October 2, 2014 – Amendments introduced today to Nova Scotia’s Builders’ Lien Act expand on changes made in 2013 and, according to the government, bring more clarity and consistency to the act.

Previous amendments allow owners and contractors to release holdback money to subcontractors as stages of a large project are completed. Before then, commercial builders would hold back 10% of the total cost and could not fully release the holdback until the entire project was complete.

Minor amendments now being made include:

• Allowing an owner to continue to make payments to a contractor, up to 90%, after receiving notice of a lien.
• Requiring an owner to pay interest if they do not make a payment within 65 days of being permitted to, after a subcontract has been certified complete.
• Allowing a holdback to be released if a lien has been vacated or cancelled.
• Aligning language introduced in the 2013 amendments with the language of the act.