Who fixes ESA defects before closing?

The buyer and seller negotiate responsibility, but the electrical repair must be done properly

The contract decides who pays; electrical safety law decides who is allowed to correct the defect. In a home sale, the seller may agree to fix the ESA defects before closing, the buyer may accept a credit or holdback, or the parties may change the closing condition through their lawyers. We cannot give legal advice on who is responsible under your Agreement of Purchase and Sale. Your realtor and lawyer should decide that part.

What cannot be negotiated away is the electrical correction itself. If there is an ESA defect notice, a failed inspection, or a lender or insurer asking for proof, the work has to be corrected to the Ontario Electrical Safety Code and handled through ESA where notification is required. For hired electrical work in Ontario, use a Licensed Electrical Contractor. City Power Electrical Services is a Licensed Electrical Contractor, ECRA/ESA #7015314, and we schedule inspection and repair work across Toronto and the GTA when closing dates are tight.

The common pre-closing situations are:

• Seller has an open ESA defect notice. The notice lists defects and usually gives a correction timeline. The seller often needs proof of clearance before closing.
• Buyer’s inspection found unsafe or unpermitted work. The buyer may ask for a licensed electrical inspection, written repair quote, or ESA follow-up.
• Lawyer asks for proof before releasing funds. An invoice alone may not be enough if ESA clearance is the issue.
• Insurer or lender flags wiring. Knob-and-tube, aluminum wiring, fuse panels, missing grounding, amateur basement wiring and overloaded panels can affect underwriting.

If nobody knows exactly what is open with ESA, start with a written electrical safety inspection. A comprehensive inspection in the GTA typically runs $250–$400 and covers the panel, grounding, outlet and GFCI testing, detector checks and identification of older wiring concerns.

An ESA defect notice needs correction, re-inspection and proof of closure

An ESA defect is not cleared because someone says it was fixed; it is cleared when the required correction is inspected or otherwise accepted by ESA. The defect notice normally identifies the issue, the location, the applicable concern and a compliance date. The exact deadline depends on the defect and ESA’s instructions, so use the date on the notice, not a general rule from the internet.

For a closing file, the important documents are:

A typical correction path looks like this:

• Review the ESA defect notice, purchase condition or inspection report.
• Confirm whether an ESA notification already exists or must be filed.
• Trace the defective circuit or equipment, not just the visible symptom.
• Repair the work to current OESC requirements for that scope.
• Label the panel and restore safe access for the inspector.
• Book or coordinate the ESA inspection.
• Provide the seller, buyer, realtor or lawyer with the repair invoice and ESA proof once available.

Some defects are simple: missing GFCI protection, open junction boxes, reversed polarity, unsupported cable, missing panel blanks, wrong breaker size, unlabelled circuits or improper splices. Others are bigger: unsafe basement apartment wiring, active knob-and-tube, aluminum terminations, overloaded service equipment, damaged service conductors or a panel that has been modified without proper approval.

If you need the broader steps, our guide to the ESA notification process in Ontario explains how notification, inspection and acceptance fit together. If the question is who opens the file, see who files an ESA notification.

Closing-date repairs should be triaged by risk, inspection timing and utility involvement

The fastest way to protect the closing is to separate small code corrections from work that needs parts, access, utility coordination or a service shutdown. A missing cover plate and an open splice are not the same scheduling problem as a 60-amp fuse service, a panel replacement or a meter base issue.

When we review a pre-closing ESA defect list, we sort it into three buckets:

Same-visit or short-turnaround defects

These are often repairable quickly if the panel is accessible and the wiring is otherwise sound. Examples include replacing damaged receptacles, installing proper box covers, correcting polarity, adding GFCI protection where required, closing open knockouts, replacing missing panel fillers and securing exposed cable.

These still need proper testing. For example, a GFCI that trips on the device button but not on an external tester may be wired incorrectly. A three-prong receptacle in an older home may look updated but have no equipment grounding conductor. The closing file needs the defect corrected, not cosmetically hidden.

Defects that need investigation before pricing

These need diagnosis because the visible issue may be the last point in a larger wiring problem. Examples include repeated breaker trips, mixed aluminum and copper terminations, ungrounded circuits, buried junctions, basement renovation wiring with no clear circuit layout, or signs that a previous owner added outlets without boxes or strain relief.

For these, a written inspection is often the cleanest starting point. It gives both sides a neutral scope: what is unsafe, what must be corrected for ESA, what is recommended, and what can be priced separately.

Defects that can affect the closing date

Panel upgrades, service changes, meter base work, overhead service entrance repairs and some large rewires can involve ESA plus the local utility, such as Toronto Hydro, Alectra, Hydro One or another GTA utility. These jobs may need a disconnect/reconnect appointment, service layout confirmation, material availability and inspection timing.

If the notice involves the service, do not wait until the final week. A 100A-to-200A panel upgrade in the GTA typically lands at $3,200–$4,500 including the panel, labour, ESA permit and inspection, but timing depends on access, utility coordination and whether related defects appear once the panel is opened.

For sale files where the defect list is unclear, book the electrical inspection and repair scheduling first, then decide whether a repair quote, ESA filing, or closing holdback discussion is needed. Your lawyer should advise on holdbacks and amendments.

Do not rely on unlicensed repairs, old invoices or verbal assurances

For closing purposes, proof matters almost as much as the repair. A buyer, lawyer, insurer or ESA inspector may reject a vague invoice that says “electrical fixed” if it does not connect to the defect notice or show licensed correction. The safer package is a written scope, photos where useful, an invoice describing the corrected items, and ESA proof when ESA inspection is required.

Be careful with these common closing problems:

• A handyman says the defect is minor. Minor electrical defects can still require proper correction and testing.
• The seller has an old invoice. It may not relate to the current defect notice.
• The panel is blocked during inspection. ESA and the contractor need safe access to the panel, meter area, attic hatch or basement ceiling where relevant.
• A buyer accepts a credit without pricing the work. Some defects look small but trace back to inaccessible wiring or service limitations.
• The parties assume ESA approves all old work automatically. ESA can inspect and accept certain completed work, but the process depends on what was done and what can be verified. See can ESA approve completed electrical work.

If ESA has already issued a notification or defect notice, ask for the notification number, the exact notice, the due date and any correspondence. If an ESA certificate or acceptance record is being offered as proof, make sure it matches the address and scope. Our guide to an ESA Certificate of Acceptance in Ontario explains what that document is used for.

The practical answer is simple: let the lawyers and realtors decide who is responsible under the deal, but let a licensed electrical contractor correct the defects and coordinate ESA proof. If the closing date is near, call as soon as the defect notice appears. The earlier we see the notice, the better chance there is to separate quick corrections from work that needs ESA, utility coordination or a written holdback arrangement.