The service agreement as legal contract

The service agreement is not an optional administrative document. It is the contract binding inspector and client, and it structures everything that follows: scope of work, responsibilities, deadlines, payment, possible remedies. This page describes what the agreement covers and why it is essential in your inspection flow.

What the agreement covers

Whatever the chosen format (AIBQ, APCHQ, BNQ, or custom), a Quebec residential service agreement typically covers:

Identity of the parties — you (with your business number, affiliations, GST/QST/NEQ numbers) and your client (name, address, contact details).
The property — full address and brief description.
Scope of mandate — which inspection is ordered (pre-purchase, pre-handover, pre-sale, etc.), what is included, what is not.
Inspector obligations — visit, examine, report, in compliance with a recognized standard (typically BNQ 3009-500 for residential).
Client obligations — provide access, disclose what they know, read the report.
Exclusions — what the inspection does not cover (destructive testing, specialized environmental tests, future condition guarantee, etc.).
Liability limits — generally a financial cap that limits the inspector’s liability.
Payment terms — amount, taxes, due date.
Dispute resolution terms — remedies, mediation, jurisdiction.

Why you need it

Three concrete reasons:

Professional compliance — your associations (AIBQ, APCHQ) require a signed service agreement for every mandate. It is a condition of your membership and, in some cases, of your errors and omissions coverage.
Legal protection — in case of disagreement or litigation about the inspection scope, what should have been detected, or payment, the signed agreement is your reference. Without one, your position is markedly weaker.
Clarity with the client — the agreement forces you to explain the perimeter before the visit. The client cannot discover after the fact that a particular test was not included, or that the inspection does not guarantee the absence of future problems.

Lumos’s role

Lumos helps you generate, send, and store the agreement:

Generate: from your profile, your affiliations, and project data, Lumos pre-fills your association’s form or your custom template.
Send: the agreement goes out in the same email as the quote, with all relevant documents.
Store: the agreement remains attached to the inspection and the project, accessible at any time.

Lumos does not sign the agreement for you. Signing the agreement is a legal act between you and the client, outside Lumos. See 10.4 Signing the agreement.

When the agreement takes effect

The agreement takes effect at the client’s signature. Until it is signed, your mandate is not formally engaged, even if the inspection is scheduled. In practice, the agreement should be signed before the visit; some associations recommend or require that it be signed and received before any substantial work.

If exceptional circumstances force you to inspect before signature (for example a tight purchase offer deadline), document the context and obtain the signature as soon as possible.

Differences between templates

The substantive obligations are similar across templates, but form and specific clauses vary. The AIBQ and APCHQ templates carry their respective associations’ official branding, which reassures some clients. The BNQ template (Lumos default) is more neutral, valid for any inspector, and compliant with the BNQ 3009-500 standard.

For details on templates available in your account, see 10.2 Available templates.