The 2019 prompt-payment amendments (2019, c. 12) and 2022 adjudication amendments (2022, c. 43) are listed as not proclaimed in the official statute table checked for this edition. The government's implementation page describes regulations still being developed. The existing Builders' Lien Act continues to govern current lien and holdback rights. Do not turn anticipated regulation-based payment periods into current legal deadlines.
Existing lien and holdback obligations have their own scope and status. Read the relevant topic before using a figure.
Deadlines and reference points
Read the trigger and conditions with the figure. These are statutory reference points, not calculated dates for your project.
- Holdback retained10%
Apply the statutory calculation base to qualifying work, services or materials. Track main and finishing funds and any separate contractual retention.
NS Builders' Lien Act s. 13(2) (60 days), s. 13(6) (release), s. 13(8) (interest after 65 days) (current)- Holdback release period60 days
The main period runs from substantial performance under section 13, with a separate fund for remaining work. Check claims and the statutory conditions before release.
NS Builders' Lien Act s. 13(2) (60 days), s. 13(6) (release), s. 13(8) (interest after 65 days) (current)
The holdback and its calculation base
Section 13 of the current Builders' Lien Act generally requires 10% of the value of the work, services and materials, retained for 60 days after substantial performance. Section 13(1) defines that event by readiness or actual use and the cost of remaining completion or correction, not simply an invoice date. A separate 10% fund applies to remaining work under section 13(3). These duties are independent of the unproclaimed prompt-payment amendments.
The applicable period and trigger
Check registered liens, written notices, the applicable certificate and statutory release conditions before paying out. The existence of an unpaid progress invoice and the availability of holdback are separate questions; a contract cannot simply erase an applicable statutory holdback duty.
Keep a running fund record and the evidence for main and subsequent work. Obtain the current consolidation and applicable forms when planning a release, particularly where a certificate, lien claim, court security or project scope changes the ordinary sequence.
Holdback is separate from a payment dispute
Distinguish statutory holdback, a contract's additional retention, disputed work, tax and amounts already paid or released. Prompt-payment obligations remain subject to applicable holdback duties. A prescribed notice of non-payment is not a substitute for a lien-fund release analysis.
A practical release record
Identify the fund and work period, governing contract, applicable certificate or publication, triggering date, lien searches and written notices, discharge or security, and the amount otherwise payable. Record who checked each item and retain the evidence. A worksheet balance is arithmetic; it does not certify a safe release.
Pending legislation and existing rights
The pending prompt-payment framework does not make the existing lien statute's holdback requirements optional. Apply the currently operative law to the fund, even where the new payment and adjudication procedures are not yet available.
Apply the current Builders' Lien Act and Interpretation Act to the actual supply, certificate or completion event. Learn's calculators do not calculate Nova Scotia deadlines. Future regulation-based periods remain unprescribed here rather than being borrowed from Ontario.
Questions about this guide
What holdback rate applies in Nova Scotia?
Section 13 of the current Builders' Lien Act generally requires 10% of the value of the work, services and materials, retained for 60 days after substantial performance. Section 13(1) defines that event by readiness or actual use and the cost of remaining completion or correction, not simply an invoice date. A separate 10% fund applies to remaining work under section 13(3). These duties are independent of the unproclaimed prompt-payment amendments.
When can the holdback be released?
Check registered liens, written notices, the applicable certificate and statutory release conditions before paying out. The existence of an unpaid progress invoice and the availability of holdback are separate questions; a contract cannot simply erase an applicable statutory holdback duty. Keep a running fund record and the evidence for main and subsequent work. Obtain the current consolidation and applicable forms when planning a release, particularly where a certificate, lien claim, court security or project scope changes the ordinary sequence.
Is a clean lien search enough to release all holdback?
No. The statutory period and trigger, relevant fund, written notices, discharge or security, contractual entitlement and other statutory conditions all need checking. Keep the evidence for the particular release.
Read the shared explanation
Compare the general concepts, then return to the local rules before acting. Each tool states its supported scope.
Open the general guideSources & scope
Edition: 9 October 2026. General education, not advice on a specific contract. Confirm the current law, project scope and transition before relying on a deadline. This edition has not been represented as independently reviewed by a lawyer.
Builders' Lien Act — current consolidationNova Scotia statute table — unproclaimed amendments2019 Bill 119 — prompt-payment amendmentsNova Scotia government — development of implementing regulationsSource register & editorial method