What to check before you sign an HVAC contract in Ontario
Home-comfort agreements run for a long time and are signed quickly, often on a day when the house is already cold. These are the parts worth slowing down for, in the order they usually cost people money.
1. How long is the term, and what happens at the end of it
These are two separate questions and the second one is the one people miss. A term that ends with the equipment becoming yours is a very different deal from one that simply continues. Find the sentence that describes the end of the term. If there is not one, that is the answer.
2. What it costs to get out, and when that price is set
A buy-out price fixed on the day you sign, on a schedule that only falls, is something you can plan around. A buy-out calculated at the time you ask is not. Ask which one you are signing and ask to see the schedule.
3. Whether the monthly amount can change
Look for "adjustment", "escalation" or "CPI". Whether it is capped matters more than the first year’s figure, because the increase compounds across the term. There is a whole guide on this one.
4. What gets registered, and against what
Financed equipment usually carries a security interest under the Personal Property Security Act, registered against the borrower and describing the equipment. That is normal. Anything registered against the title to your home is a different thing entirely, and Ontario banned notices of security interest on consumer goods in 2024. Ask which applies and get the answer in the agreement.
5. Who the creditor is
If you are financing, somebody is lending you money, and the agreement should name them. It may be the installer, or it may be a finance company you have never heard of who now owns the relationship. That determines who you call when something goes wrong and whose collection practices apply to you.
6. The cancellation window, and when it starts
A cancellation window is only useful if you know when the clock started. From the day you order and from the day it is installed can be weeks apart if you are booking ahead. Arctic’s 30-day trial is on rentals, and the 30 days run from the day the equipment is installed.
7. What service actually includes
"Service included" can mean anything from full parts-and-labour cover to one inspection a year. Ask what is excluded rather than what is included, because the exclusion list is shorter and more honest. Damage from flooding or from another contractor’s work is commonly out, and that is reasonable.
8. What happens if a payment misses
There will be a returned-payment charge and an interest rate on overdue amounts. These are normal and every provider has them. What you want is to have read them before rather than after, and to know that calling first is an option.