How to Sue a Contractor in PEI Small Claims Court

A contractor taking a deposit and disappearing — or doing shoddy work and refusing to fix it — is one of the most common reasons people file small claims in PEI. The process is straightforward if your principal claim is under $16,000 and you have the right evidence.

Does Your Claim Fit Small Claims?

If the principal amount of your claim, excluding interest and court costs, is $16,000 CAD or less, you can file in the Small Claims Section of the Supreme Court of PEI. Most residential contractor disputes — roofing, renovations, heat pump installations, landscaping, plumbing — fall within this range.

If your principal claim exceeds $16,000, you can either abandon the excess and file in Small Claims (a permanent forfeiture of the amount above the limit) or file in the General Section of the Supreme Court instead.

What Evidence to Gather

Contractor disputes live and die on documentation. Before you file, assemble:

• The contract or written agreement — even a text message confirming the job, the price, and the timeline counts
• Proof of payment — bank transfers, cancelled cheques, e-transfer confirmations showing the deposit and any progress payments
• Photos — before, during, and after the work (or lack of it), with dates
• Written communications — every email, text, and letter between you and the contractor
• Repair estimates — if you hired someone else to fix or finish the job, get written quotes or invoices showing the cost
• The contractor's legal name — check the PEI Corporate Registry. If "Island Reno Pros" is actually "John Smith o/a Island Reno Pros," your claim names both

Calculating Your Damages

You can claim what you lost, not what you are angry about. Common calculations:

• Deposit not returned: The full deposit amount
• Incomplete work: The cost to hire another contractor to finish, minus any value you received from the work already done
• Defective work: The cost to repair or redo the defective portion
• Consequential damages: Additional costs directly caused by the breach — temporary accommodations, storage fees, emergency repairs — as long as they were reasonably foreseeable

Add these up. If the principal damages total is under $16,000, your claim fits within the limit.

The Filing Process

1. Send a demand letter giving the contractor 10–14 days to pay or resolve the issue
2. File Form 7A (Statement of Claim) at the Charlottetown or Summerside registry with your $50 filing fee, attaching the contract, payment proof, photos, estimates, and communications
3. Serve the contractor — personal service through a process server or the Sheriff's office
4. File Form 8B (Affidavit of Service) proving service was completed
5. Attend the hearing with originals of every document plus copies for the judge and the contractor

A Common Trap: Criminal vs. Civil

Homeowners sometimes want to report the contractor to the police for fraud. Criminal fraud requires proving dishonest intent beyond a reasonable doubt — a very high bar. Small claims is a civil proceeding with a lower standard (balance of probabilities). You do not need to prove the contractor intended to defraud you, just that they breached the contract and you lost money.

Pursue the civil claim. If the police separately pursue criminal charges, the two proceedings are independent.

The PEI Small Claims Filing Guide includes a demand letter framework, a damages calculation worksheet, and step-by-step filing instructions for contractor disputes.

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