Planning and Contracting a Commercial Fitup
Everything you need to know about planning, budgeting, and contracting a commercial fitup for an aesthetics clinic or healthcare practice in Ontario. From permits to payment schedules, holdbacks to liens, and managing contractors through to substantial completion.
Start LearningEverything you need to know about planning, budgeting, and contracting a commercial fitup for an aesthetics clinic or healthcare practice in Ontario. From permits to payment schedules, holdbacks to liens, and managing contractors through to substantial completion.
Course Overview
A commercial fitup is one of the most expensive and legally complex things a small business owner will ever do. Most clinic owners go in underprepared, get burned on scope creep or contractor disputes, and end up over budget, behind schedule, or both.
This course covers everything you need to know to plan, budget, and contract a commercial fitup for an aesthetics clinic or healthcare practice in Ontario — from the first conversation with a designer through to occupancy. It is deliberately practical: no theory, no filler, just the information that changes outcomes.
A significant portion of the course covers the Ontario Construction Act — the legislation most clinic owners don't know exists until they're in a dispute. You'll learn how the Act structures payment, what a proper Notice of Non-Payment looks like, how liens work, and what the Prompt Payment and Adjudication regime means for you as an owner. Understanding this before you sign a contract is worth thousands of dollars.
We also cover the contractor selection process honestly — including what competitive bidding actually tells you, what it doesn't, and why the lowest quote is rarely the one that saves you money.
What you'll walk away with:
- A realistic pre-construction checklist covering design, permits, and landlord coordination
- The ability to evaluate contractor proposals and spot bids that are missing scope
- A construction contract framework with the clauses that matter most for small owners
- Working knowledge of the Ontario Construction Act: payment timelines, liens, holdbacks, and adjudication
- A site management approach that keeps the project moving without requiring you to be on-site daily
- A practical playbook for handling delays, deficiencies, and contractor disputes before they escalate
1 Planning Your Fitup
Define scope, budget, design team, and permits before breaking ground.
1.1 Scope Definition — What Do You Actually Need?
1.2 Budgeting Realistically
1.3 The Design Team
1.4 Permits and Approvals
2 Selecting a Contractor
How to find, vet, and choose the right contractor for your clinic buildout.
2.1 General Contractor vs Construction Manager vs Design-Build
2.2 The Bidding Process
2.3 Checking References and Past Work
2.4 Red Flags and Deal Breakers
3 The Construction Contract
Contract structures, essential terms, change orders, and payment under the Ontario Construction Act.
3.1 Fixed Price vs Cost-Plus vs Time-and-Materials
3.2 Essential Contract Terms
3.3 Change Orders and Scope Creep
3.4 Payment Terms and the Ontario Construction Act Holdback
4 The Ontario Construction Act
Understand lien rights, the holdback regime, prompt payment obligations, and how to protect yourself from sub-trade liens on your leasehold.
4.1 Lien Rights and Timelines
Who can lien your project, the 60-day preservation period, the 90-day perfection deadline, and when the clock starts.
4.2 The Holdback Regime
Basic 10% holdback, finishing holdback, proper payment timelines, release after the 60-day lien period, and consequences of premature release.
4.3 Prompt Payment and Adjudication
The 2019 prompt payment amendments, proper invoices, 28-day payment periods, dispute notices, mandatory adjudication, and owner obligations as payer.
4.4 Protecting Yourself from Sub-Trade Liens
Requiring statutory declarations from the GC, WSIB clearance letters, proof of payment to subs, title insurance for lien claims, and what to do when a lien is registered against your leasehold.
5 Managing the Build
Day-to-day project management: OAC meetings, RFIs, inspections, quality control, substantial completion, occupancy, and final project closeout.
5.1 Site Meetings and Communication
Weekly OAC meetings, RFIs, submittals and shop drawings, site instructions, and maintaining a project log.
5.2 Inspections and Quality Control
Municipal building inspections (framing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, final), your own punch lists, deficiency lists, and when you can withhold payment.
5.3 Substantial Completion vs Total Completion
The legal definition under Construction Act s. 2(1), the certificate of substantial completion form, and how it triggers lien and holdback release timelines.
5.4 Occupancy and Final Closeout
Occupancy permit requirements, deficiency holdback, warranty periods, as-built drawings, O&M manuals, and HVAC commissioning and balancing reports.
6 When Things Go Wrong
Managing construction delays, defective work claims, dispute resolution from negotiation through litigation, and termination for cause or convenience.
6.1 Delays — Whose Fault and What's the Remedy
Excusable vs inexcusable delay, concurrent delay, force majeure, time extensions, and acceleration costs.
6.2 Defective Work and Warranty Claims
Notice requirements, contractor's right to cure, back-charges and set-offs against holdback, warranty vs the Limitations Act 2-year discovery period.
6.3 Dispute Resolution
Negotiation, mediation, Construction Act mandatory adjudication, arbitration, Ontario Superior Court litigation, and costs consequences.
6.4 Termination for Cause vs Convenience
Contractual grounds for termination, notice requirements, completing work with a replacement contractor, and termination for convenience payment obligations.
Course Overview
- 6 modules
- 24 lessons
- Moderate complexity
365-day access
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