Amendments to Builders’ Lien Act

Service Alberta introduced additional legislative amendments to the Builders’ Lien Act as part of the Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act, 2021 on April 8, 2021. The legislative amendments are in addition to the changes introduced in Fall of 2020 and add further details to Prompt Payment including:

• Change adjudication decisions from final and binding to interim and binding.
• Allow prompt payment rules to be extended to professional consultants, such as engineers and architects.
• Clarify prompt payment rules for public-private partnerships (P3s).
• Permit electronic sharing of the Certificate of Substantial Performance in addition to posting notices on the job site.

Service Alberta is also delaying the into force date of Prompt Payment from July 2021 to October 2021 to allow additional time to appoint Nominating Authorities and train/educate a roster of adjudicators. BILD Alberta is actively participating in additional engagement sessions with Service Alberta and will communicate updates as they become available.