On December 12, 2017, the Construction Lien Amendment
Act, 2017 received Royal Assent. The Construction Lien
Act became the Construction Act (the
"Act").
Under the Act, effective July 1, 2018 and subject to
the Act's grandfathering rules, construction lien
claims under $25,000.00 can now also be referred to the
Small Claims Court.
The key word is referred. Construction lien claims
cannot be commenced ("perfected") by way of a
statement of claim issued in the Small Claims Court.
Under the Act, a perfected lien action may be
referred to the Small Claims Court by a judge of the Superior
Court, provided pleadings have closed.
In other words, a construction lien action must first be
commenced in Superior Court, and a statement of claim and
certificate of action ("COA") must be issued. The COA
must also be registered on title to the subject lands. Then, all
statements of defence – including responses to crossclaims,
counterclaims, and third party claims – must be
