What are executions and do they affect a property I am buying?

In Ontario, when a court issues a money judgment against someone, the judgment creditor can file that judgment with the sheriff's office in the county or region where the debtor owns land. This filing is called an execution (or a writ of execution). It effectively attaches to any real property the debtor owns in that jurisdiction and appears in an execution search.

When your lawyer searches title, they also run an execution search against the seller (and, in some cases, all individuals in the chain of title). If an execution is found against the seller, it means a creditor has a claim against the seller's assets — including the property you are buying. The execution must generally be dealt with before you can receive clear title. This is usually done by having the seller discharge it from the closing proceeds or by obtaining a court order.

An undisclosed execution that slips through can become your problem after closing if a creditor tries to enforce against the land. Title insurance protects against losses from executions that were not caught by the pre-closing search or that arose through fraud (for example, someone claiming to be the seller when they are not).