Nova Scotia will soon have an amended and renamed
Builders' Lien Act, which will introduce a prompt
payment scheme, as well as an adjudication process to be followed
in the case of non-payment.
Bill 119, the bill to amend the Builders' Lien Act,
received royal assent on April 12, 2019, but will not come into
force until officially proclaimed by the Governor in Council. While
no date has been set for the proclamation, it is important to be
aware of the pending changes, as the Builders' Lien and
Prompt Payment Act (as it will be renamed) may be proclaimed
into force shortly, and the industry needs to be in a position to
hit the ground running once that occurs.
Before getting into the details of the amendments, it is worth
noting that current contracts may subsequently be controlled by the
amended Act. At present, the new scheme provides no grandfathering
clause, so the new prompt payment scheme could apply to all
construction projects, even those with pre-existing
