5 Red Flags When Hiring a General Contractor in Ontario

Knowing the warning signs of a risky general contractor is one of the most valuable things an Ontario homeowner can learn. The right hire protects your home, your budget, and your legal standing — the wrong one can leave you with unfinished work, voided permits, and no recourse.

Here are five concrete red flags to watch for, and what to do at each step.

Red Flag 1: They Ask for a Large Upfront Cash Deposit

A deposit is normal. A demand for 40–50% of the total project cost in cash before a single tool hits your property is not.

Legitimate general contractors in Ontario typically ask for a reasonable deposit — often in the range of 10–20% — tied to a written contract and a clear payment schedule linked to project milestones. When a contractor pushes for a large lump sum upfront, especially in cash, it removes your leverage entirely. If the work stalls or the contractor disappears, recovering that money is extremely difficult.

Cash-only arrangements also raise a separate concern: they can signal that the business is operating informally, without proper insurance or WSIB coverage. If a worker is injured on your property and the contractor has no WSIB account in good standing, you — the homeowner — can be held liable for those costs under Ontario law.

What to do instead: Request a written contract with a milestone-based payment schedule. Verify the contractor has an active WSIB account by using the WSIB's online clearance certificate tool before any work begins.

Red Flag 2: No Proof of Liability Insurance

Every reputable general contractor working in Ontario should carry general liability insurance. This protects your property if something goes wrong — a wall is damaged, a pipe is cracked, a subcontractor causes an accident.

A contractor who hesitates, deflects, or outright refuses to provide proof of insurance is a contractor you should walk away from. The same applies to contractors who show you a certificate but cannot tell you the policy limits or the insurer's name.

Insurance is not optional in a professional renovation context. It is a baseline indicator of business seriousness.

What to do instead: Ask for a current certificate of insurance before signing anything. The certificate should name your address as the project site and show adequate coverage limits for the scope of work. Call the insurer directly to confirm the policy is active if you have any doubts.

Red Flag 3: They Discourage You from Pulling Permits

This is one of the most damaging things a contractor can say: "We don't need a permit for this — it'll just slow things down and cost you more."

In Ontario, most structural work, additions, basement finishing, electrical upgrades, and HVAC changes require a building permit from your local municipality. Permits exist so that a building inspector — not just your contractor — verifies the work meets Ontario's Building Code. Without that inspection, you have no independent confirmation the work is safe or code-compliant.

Unpermitted work creates serious downstream problems. When you sell your home, unpermitted renovations can derail a sale or require expensive remediation. Your home insurer may deny a claim related to unpermitted work. And if something fails — a fire, a flood, a structural issue — you may have no legal protection.

A contractor who suggests skipping permits is either cutting corners, working without the credentials to pull permits properly, or both.

What to do instead: Contact your local municipality's building department to confirm what permits your project requires. Insist that your contractor pull the required permits and include permit costs in the written contract. General contractors across Ontario who operate at a professional level handle permits as a standard part of the job.

Red Flag 4: Their Online Presence Doesn't Hold Up to Basic Scrutiny

A slick website or a handful of five-star reviews is easy to manufacture. What's harder to fake is a consistent, verifiable track record across multiple data sources over time.

When you search a contractor's business name, you should be able to find: a registered business, consistent contact information, reviews that span more than a few months, and responses to any negative feedback. A contractor who has only glowing reviews posted within the last 90 days, no verifiable business address, and no presence beyond a single platform deserves a closer look.

Major review platforms give you one dimension of a contractor's reputation — customer sentiment. But sentiment alone doesn't tell you whether the business is insured, whether workers are covered by WSIB, or whether the contractor's credentials are current and legitimate.

ProScore's Trust Index addresses this gap directly. Rather than relying on a single source, it draws on 10+ data sources and 20+ trust signals — blending verified credentials, business transparency, and customer sentiment into a single 0–100 score displayed publicly as a tier: Elite, Trusted, Good, Basic, or Caution. With 16,400+ contractors scored across 880+ Ontario cities and 39,000+ reviews analyzed, the Trust Index gives you a more complete picture than any single review site can.

What to do instead: Search the contractor on ProScore. Check that their business is registered with the Ontario Business Registry. Look for reviews across multiple sources and read the negative ones carefully — how a contractor handles complaints often tells you more than the five-star reviews.

Red Flag 5: The Quote Comes Without a Written Contract

A verbal agreement is not a contract in any meaningful sense when something goes wrong. Yet many Ontario homeowners still proceed with major renovations based on a handshake and a rough number texted to them.

A proper written contract for a general contracting project in Ontario should include: a detailed scope of work, the materials to be used, a start and estimated completion date, a milestone-based payment schedule, what happens if the scope changes (a change order process), and the contractor's business name, address, and contact information.

Without a written contract, you have no agreed standard to hold the contractor to. Disputes about what was included, what the price covered, and who is responsible for what become nearly impossible to resolve.

Ontario's consumer protection legislation does provide some rights for homeowners in renovation contracts, but those protections work best when there is a written agreement in place. If a contractor refuses to put anything in writing, treat it as a serious warning.

What to do instead: Never pay a deposit without a signed written contract. If the contractor won't provide one, find a contractor who will. General contractors in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, and other Ontario cities who operate professionally expect to provide written contracts — it protects them as much as it protects you.

How to Vet a General Contractor Before You Sign

Beyond watching for red flags, here is a practical checklist for Ontario homeowners:

Taking an hour to work through this list before signing can prevent months of stress and thousands of dollars in losses.

What Ontario's Scam Environment Looks Like Right Now

Summer is peak season for contractor fraud in Ontario. Police services across the province — including the OPP — regularly issue warnings during warmer months about door-to-door contractors who offer suspiciously low quotes, demand immediate decisions, and disappear after collecting a deposit.

Common summer scams include unsolicited driveway sealing, roofing "inspections" that find damage that wasn't there, and renovation crews who start work without a permit and then demand more money to finish. These operators often have no fixed business address, no insurance, and no WSIB coverage.

The best defence is not speed — it's verification. A legitimate contractor will not pressure you to decide on the spot. Take the time to check credentials, read reviews across multiple sources, and look up their Trust Index score before committing.

For any trade — not just general contractors — ProScore covers all trade categories across Ontario, so you can search for verified professionals in your area before you pick up the phone.

FAQ

What should a general contractor's written contract include in Ontario?

A proper contract should cover the full scope of work, materials to be used, project timeline, a milestone-based payment schedule, a change order process for scope changes, and the contractor's full business name and contact information. Never pay a deposit without a signed contract in hand.

Is a general contractor required to have WSIB coverage in Ontario?

Many general contractors in Ontario are required to have WSIB coverage for their workers, and homeowners can be held liable for workplace injury costs if they hire a contractor without it. Always request a WSIB clearance certificate before work begins — you can verify it for free on the WSIB website.

How does ProScore's Trust Index help me evaluate a general contractor?

The Trust Index blends a contractor's verified credentials, reputation, customer sentiment, and business transparency into a single 0–100 score, displayed as a public tier (Elite, Trusted, Good, Basic, or Caution). It draws on 10+ data sources and 20+ trust signals, giving you a more complete picture than any single review source. You can learn more about how it works on ProScore's methodology page.

If you're ready to find a vetted general contractor in your area, search ProScore's general contractors across Ontario and filter by your city or region.