The legal and practical options for renovating your home

You’ve emerged from a treacherous battle – buying a home in Toronto’s real estate market – not quite unscathed, but definitely victorious. Congratulations.

Perhaps you’ve bought the perfect starter house and you’re ready to convert it into your dream home. Or you landed on a property after years of saving and building a business plan and want a quick “fix and flip” for your burgeoning real estate empire. Maybe, it’s finally time for a refresh after living in the same space for 10 years.

Whether this is your first or 15th home, there are certain things to keep in mind before reflecting on which shade of emerald tiles will line the shower, the fine marble that will sit atop the kitchen counter tops, or the particular Hygge & West wallpaper that will take the spotlight in the study. Before starting any renovation project, you should know the professionals you will need to contact to do the work for you and the different structures they operate under.

The key players in your project will include:

a) Design professional: This is a licensed architect or engineer who will create detailed design specifications for your renovation.
b) Consultant: They determine the amount of work that will be performed by the general contractor. The design professional can be and often is also the consultant on a project.
c) General contractor: The general contractor is responsible for overseeing the construction and ensuring the project is done in accordance with the design. They decide the means and methods of construction and manage your subcontractors, including the people supplying your materials and the specialists who need to be hired to do your plumbing and windows.

The type of project delivery model you choose will decide the kind of contract these key players enter with you and each other, and ultimately how much risk each of you will take on. A general overview of common options for residential renovations includes:

1. Retaining a separate design professional and consultant:. In this structure, you, the owner, retain a design professional to produce detailed designs according to your specifications. Once happy with the design plans, you will find a general contractor to execute them in accordance with the design. This allows you to retain complete control over the designs. The general contractor accepts the risks and responsibilities associated with the construction of the project, but not faults in the inherent designs (those are the responsibility of the design professional). You will retain a significant amount of responsibility for the success and failure of the project. And because the design professional and consultant do not have contracts with each other, all claims between the general contractor and designer against each other in the case something goes wrong in the construction process, such as a delay or deficiency, will go through you. Ensure your design professional and consultant indemnify you against claims by the general contractor arising from their negligence.

2. Hiring a designer-builder: In this option, you remove the middleman and retain an entity that does the design and construction (a combination of the designer and general contractor). This model lessens the amount of control you retain over the design, and still requires a consultant (if they are not the same person as your designer) to determine your project requirements. However, because the designer and contractor are one and the same, there is cost efficiency from fewer disputes and changes, as well as the ability to fast-track the project by starting construction before the design is finished. This model limits your risk as an owner to a single point of contact, the designer-builder, as well as shifts most of the risk onto them. However, it may be difficult to accurately project the total cost of the project before completion.

Both models offer a range of advantages and disadvantages. Based on your goals, it is important to fully weigh the costs and benefits of each before embarking on your renovation journey.

It is essential that you retain a lawyer who understands this process and can help guide you through and ensure you are protected in the best way possible.