Contractors face trust issues
July 9, 2018
A new Reno-Assistance survey conducted by Ipsos across Canada has found that two in three Canadians (64 per cent) do not trust general renovation contractors. Confidence levels are even lower for some specialized contractors. The most trusted building professionals among those surveyed are electricians, yet nearly half (47 per cent) of Canadian homeowners do not trust them either.
Toronto and Vancouver are the cities with the greatest proportion of people who encounter major problems with renovation contractors (63 per cent) compared with other major cities and overall national data.
Vancouverites are less likely than Torontonians to experience more than one major issue on a single project, however.
The Reno-Assistance survey revealed that 70 per cent of Canadians have difficulty finding a contractor they can trust for a renovation of more than $5,000.
In Toronto, this number jumps to 79 per cent for projects greater than $20,000 and carried out in the last three years.
This means, according to the survey, a Toronto homeowner starting an expensive renovation project with a contractor would have more than than a three in four chance of facing at least one potentially damaging financial issue.
Reno-Assistance hopes to change these perceptions. Started in Montreal in 2010, the company has assisted more than 64,000 homeowners and business owners on their renovation projects. Reno-Assistance started verifying contractors in Ontario in 2017 and is now offering its services in the Greater Toronto Area. Reno-Assistance said it conducts a legal background check, and uses a financial health index, past customer survey results and additional information for each contractor.