RGCQ Brief – Compliance Attestations for Residential Buildings

The Regroupement des gestionnaires et copropriétaires du Québec (RGCQ) submitted a brief as part of the consultation conducted by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) regarding the Draft Regulation respecting compliance attestations applicable to construction work for certain categories of buildings.

The RGCQ welcomes the objectives pursued by the draft regulation, which forms part of the implementation of the Act mainly to improve construction quality and public safety. We recognize the importance of strengthening construction site oversight, improving the quality of construction work, and promoting better traceability of interventions carried out during the construction process.

Better Integration with New Co-ownership Obligations

In our brief, however, we emphasize that the draft regulation was developed primarily from the perspective of technical compliance and does not sufficiently take into account the unique realities of divided co-ownership. Syndicates of co-ownership inherit buildings over which they exercised no control with respect to design, construction, or site supervision, while subsequently assuming full responsibility for their preservation, maintenance, and management.

We also believe that the draft regulation lacks harmonization with the recent obligations introduced in divided co-ownership through Bill 16. While syndicates are now required to establish a maintenance logbook, obtain a contingency fund study, and ensure greater documentary transparency, the draft regulation provides no clear mechanism for integrating inspection reports, testing results, findings of non-compliance, or corrective measures carried out during construction into these new governance tools.

Ensuring Continuity Between Construction and Building Management

Our brief also highlights the practical consequences of this situation. In the absence of complete and structured transmission of the technical information produced during construction, syndicates may be required to manage buildings whose construction history remains incomplete, thereby complicating the planning of major repairs, increasing the risk of disputes, and undermining the protection of the collective property assets of co-owners.

Finally, we put forward several recommendations aimed, among other things, at strengthening the transmission of technical documentation to syndicates of co-ownership, ensuring greater continuity between the construction phase and the building management phase, and fostering better alignment between the new construction site oversight regime and the governance mechanisms introduced under Bill 16.

Documents [in French only]

• RGCQ Brief – Draft Regulation respecting compliance attestations applicable to construction work for certain categories of buildings
• Draft Regulation respecting compliance attestations applicable to construction work for certain categories of buildings
• Act mainly to improve construction quality and public safety (Bill 76)