1000 plain-language Q&As about real estate. Browse below, or search the whole library.
No — a lender's title insurance policy protects only your mortgage lender, not you personally. This is a common and important misunderstanding. When a…
Read the full answer →Generally, no. A letter of intent (LOI) in a commercial real estate deal is usually meant to summarize the parties' negotiated business terms, such as…
Read the full answer →A licence is simply permission — a personal arrangement letting you use part of your neighbour's land for some purpose, without creating an actual…
Read the full answer →A life estate is a form of property ownership where one person (the life tenant) has the right to use and occupy the property for the duration of their…
Read the full answer →For the core question of whether a boundary fence needs to be built or repaired, and how the cost should be split, the Line Fences Act's fence-viewer…
Read the full answer →"Line fence" is the specific term used in Ontario's Line Fences Act to describe a fence built on or near the common boundary between two adjoining…
Read the full answer →There isn't a single fixed formula or universal percentage written into the Line Fences Act that automatically splits fence-building costs a set way…
Read the full answer →The Line Fences Act applies across Ontario by its terms — it isn't restricted to rural or farm properties, even though it's historically associated…
Read the full answer →There's no automatic fixed rule saying neighbours simply split every boundary fence cost down the middle. In Ontario, disputes over who pays to build…
Read the full answer →Local improvement charges are municipal levies assessed against properties that benefit from specific local infrastructure works — such as sidewalk…
Read the full answer →Every transfer of land registered in Ontario must be accompanied by a Land Transfer Tax Affidavit, which is completed and submitted electronically…
Read the full answer →Ontario land transfer tax is payable upon registration of the transfer, and a refund can be available in limited circumstances where a registered…
Read the full answer →Land transfer tax and HST are two entirely different charges that can both apply to Ontario property purchases, but they operate under different rules.…
Read the full answer →Yes, Ontario provides a rebate mechanism for the Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) in certain circumstances, including when a purchaser who paid NRST…
Read the full answer →An assignment of a purchase agreement transfers the buyer's contractual rights under that agreement — not the land itself — to a new purchaser. Because…
Read the full answer →When a builder purchases your home back from you, that is a standard real estate transaction — a sale of land — and Ontario land transfer tax…
Read the full answer →Ontario land transfer tax applies to commercial property purchases using the same graduated rate structure as residential properties, although the…
Read the full answer →Transferring real property to or from a corporation in Ontario generally triggers land transfer tax, even if no cash changes hands. Because a…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Land Transfer Tax Act includes a specific exemption for transfers of property between spouses (including same-sex spouses) in certain…
Read the full answer →When real property passes from a deceased person's estate directly to a beneficiary under a will or on intestacy, the transfer is generally exempt from…
Read the full answer →When a lender sells a property through power of sale in Ontario, the ultimate buyer of that property is generally responsible for land transfer tax in…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Land Transfer Tax Act applies not only to outright purchases but also to transfers of interests in land, which can include long-term leases…
Read the full answer →Yes, land transfer tax applies to new construction condos in Ontario. You pay LTT when the deed is registered in your name — typically at the occupancy…
Read the full answer →Granting an option to purchase property does not in itself transfer land — it merely gives the option holder the right to purchase at a future date.…
Read the full answer →Adding another person to the title of your Ontario property is a transfer of an interest in land and can attract land transfer tax. The LTT is…
Read the full answer →Yes, land transfer tax is determined by the underlying real property transaction — not by how the buyer signs or completes the closing. Using a power…
Read the full answer →A property exchange (swap) in Ontario involves two simultaneous land transfers, and each buyer owes LTT on the consideration they are receiving. The…
Read the full answer →Ontario land transfer tax applies to transfers of interests in land, not only to transfers of full ownership (fee simple). Whether LTT applies to the…
Read the full answer →Ontario land transfer tax is triggered by a transfer of land, so even transfers between family members can attract LTT — whether or not money changes…
Read the full answer →Yes, Ontario land transfer tax can still be owed even when no money is directly exchanged in a property transfer. The LTT is calculated on the "value…
Read the full answer →Yes, Ontario land transfer tax applies to purchases of vacant land just as it does to improved property. Whenever a deed or transfer of ownership of…
Read the full answer →Ontario land transfer tax becomes payable on the date that the transfer is tendered for registration in the land registry system. In practice, this…
Read the full answer →Yes, Ontario's land transfer tax rate schedule includes a higher marginal rate on the portion of a residential purchase price that exceeds a specified…
Read the full answer →Yes, the Ontario Ministry of Finance has the authority to reassess land transfer tax long after a transaction closes. The Ministry can audit LTT…
Read the full answer →Yes, the Ontario first-time home buyer land transfer tax rebate applies to condominiums as well as detached houses, semi-detached homes, townhouses,…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Land Transfer Tax Act does not provide a specific rebate or exemption based solely on the buyer having a disability. The standard LTT regime…
Read the full answer →In most cases, you do not need to file a separate rebate claim after closing — your real estate lawyer applies for the Ontario first-time buyer LTT…
Read the full answer →Yes, inheriting real property generally counts as acquiring an ownership interest in land, which can disqualify you from the Ontario first-time home…
Read the full answer →The Ontario first-time home buyer land transfer tax rebate has a maximum value of $4,000. For lower-priced properties, the rebate can cover the entire…
Read the full answer →Whether an Ontario first-time buyer LTT rebate applies to a mobile home purchase depends on what exactly is being purchased and registered. Ontario…
Read the full answer →For a new construction home or condo, Ontario land transfer tax — and any first-time buyer rebate — is applied at the time the deed is registered in…
Read the full answer →Yes, if your real estate lawyer did not apply the Ontario first-time buyer land transfer tax rebate at the time of closing, you can apply to the…
Read the full answer →Yes, permanent residents of Canada are eligible to claim the Ontario first-time home buyer land transfer tax rebate, provided they meet all other…
Read the full answer →Yes, owning a cottage or other recreational property can disqualify you from the Ontario first-time home buyer land transfer tax rebate, depending on…
Read the full answer →If you purchased your first home in a previous year and did not claim the Ontario first-time buyer LTT rebate at closing, you may be able to apply for…
Read the full answer →Your eligibility for the Ontario first-time home buyer land transfer tax rebate is assessed individually — it is based on whether you personally have…
Read the full answer →Citizenship or permanent resident status and prior home ownership are what drive Ontario first-time buyer LTT rebate eligibility — not where you…
Read the full answer →The Ontario first-time home buyer land transfer tax rebate eligibility turns on whether you have previously owned a home, which can include beneficial…
Read the full answer →No, the Ontario first-time home buyer land transfer tax rebate does not have an income limit or means test. Eligibility is based solely on whether you…
Read the full answer →To apply for a land transfer tax refund from the Ontario Ministry of Finance — whether for a missed first-time buyer rebate, a transaction that was…
Read the full answer →Ontario has had a Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) aimed at foreign nationals and foreign corporations purchasing residential property in certain…
Read the full answer →Ontario land transfer tax is calculated on the "value of the consideration" for the transfer of land. This is broader than just the cash purchase…
Read the full answer →It depends on how the harvesting is done, not on whether harvesting happens at all. The Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program is built around ongoing,…
Read the full answer →The Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program lets eligible forested land in Ontario be assessed and taxed in a reduced property tax class, similar in…
Read the full answer →Within many Ontario non-profit co-ops, members can fall into two different categories that affect what they pay, even though they hold the same kind of…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Family Law Act generally lets a spouse deduct the value of property they owned before the marriage from what counts toward equalization, so…
Read the full answer →This is a genuinely complicated area, and the answer isn't a simple yes or no. The Family Law Act's specific matrimonial home protections generally…
Read the full answer →Selling the matrimonial home while a divorce is still in progress doesn't require waiting until the divorce is finalized, and it also doesn't…
Read the full answer →This depends on the facts after the severance, rather than having one automatic answer. Legally severing a property into two separate units or parcels,…
Read the full answer →Ontario's environment ministry can issue orders under the Environmental Protection Act requiring an owner to investigate, remediate, or otherwise…
Read the full answer →The underlying legal principle is the same for both: Ontario disclosure duties turn on whether a seller knows of a hidden condition that makes the home…
Read the full answer →Ontario property law generally recognizes a few accepted ways to sever a joint tenancy, converting it from a right of survivorship arrangement into a…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, the Crown (the provincial government) retains ownership of most subsurface mineral rights even when land is sold to a private buyer. This…
Read the full answer →Minimum distance separation, usually called MDS, is a formula-based planning tool Ontario municipalities use when deciding how close new development…
Read the full answer →Yes, in many cases neighbours can agree privately to adjust a small, non-contentious boundary discrepancy without going through a full court process,…
Read the full answer →A minor variance application is generally the less expensive and faster process of the two, both in terms of the municipal application fee itself and…
Read the full answer →A minor variance is a request to a municipality's committee of adjustment for permission to deviate from a specific requirement in the local zoning…
Read the full answer →Yes, generally. If your garden suite is otherwise a permitted use under your municipality's current bylaw but the specific proposed location doesn't…
Read the full answer →Ontario's planning framework requires a committee of adjustment to consider four established criteria before granting a minor variance: whether the…
Read the full answer →Yes, this is a common use of the minor variance process, sometimes referred to informally as a retroactive or after-the-fact application, where an…
Read the full answer →Under the Family Law Act, a spouse cannot dispose of or encumber a matrimonial home without the other spouse's consent or a court order, regardless of…
Read the full answer →A mixed-use building layers residential due diligence on top of commercial due diligence, rather than replacing one with the other. You still need…
Read the full answer →Potentially, yes. Federal HST rules include a New Residential Rental Property rebate available for newly built or newly converted residential rental…
Read the full answer →A mixed-use building combining ground-floor retail with residential units above typically needs separate utility metering for each unit or component so…
Read the full answer →Lenders generally assess a mixed-use building differently from a purely residential property, since the commercial component introduces considerations,…
Read the full answer →There are two agreements because two legally different things are changing hands. The purchase agreement covers the home itself — a physical structure…
Read the full answer →Neighbours can agree in writing to modify the terms of an existing easement, changing its permitted use, location, width, or other conditions, as long…
Read the full answer →Mould that is visible and detectable on a walkthrough is generally treated as a patent defect, meaning the general rule of buyer beware largely applies…
Read the full answer →It matters somewhat, though less than many buyers expect. A fixed-term lease locks in specific terms, such as rent and end date, until the term…
Read the full answer →If you fall behind on mortgage payments, acting early gives you the most options. Lenders — particularly institutional ones — generally prefer to work…
Read the full answer →If both of you are on the mortgage, the lender can hold either of you fully responsible for the entire debt, regardless of your private arrangement…
Read the full answer →When you sell your home in Ontario and you still have a mortgage on it, that mortgage must be paid off (discharged) at closing. The payoff reduces what…
Read the full answer →Usually not on the same terms as buying a house on its own lot. In a land-lease community, you own the home itself but only rent the site it sits on…
Read the full answer →This should not normally happen, since standard practice is to confirm that mortgage funds have actually cleared into trust before registering the…
Read the full answer →When you sell your Ontario home and have an existing mortgage, the mortgage payout does not typically appear on the statement of adjustments as an…
Read the full answer →Yes, registering a mortgage on title in Ontario involves a government land registration fee. When a lender provides financing, the mortgage is…
Read the full answer →Renewal and refinancing are both ways to update your mortgage, but they are different processes with different implications. Renewal happens at the end…
Read the full answer →Each Agreement of Purchase and Sale in your three-property chain is its own separate, binding contract, so a default by one buyer does not…
Read the full answer →Ontario municipalities can assess certain multi-unit residential properties under a different property tax class than an ordinary single-family home,…
Read the full answer →Multi-unit residential buildings face fire code and life-safety requirements that scale with the number of units and occupants, generally including…
Read the full answer →Beyond the standard resale steps of a title search, survey review, and home inspection, an investor buying a triplex or fourplex should review the…
Read the full answer →Vendor take-back financing, where the seller effectively lends the buyer part of the purchase price by holding a mortgage themselves rather than the…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes. Where a will names more than one estate trustee, or more than one person is appointed as trustee where there's no will, the default…
Read the full answer →Potentially, yes. Ontario's Family Law Act doesn't limit matrimonial home status to a single property, so where a couple genuinely and ordinarily…
Read the full answer →When a property receives more than one offer, the seller enters a multiple-offer situation. In Ontario, sellers and their agents must follow specific…
Read the full answer →A bully offer — also called a pre-emptive offer — is an offer submitted before a seller's scheduled offer presentation date, typically at a premium…
Read the full answer →It genuinely depends on what the dispute is actually about, since the two operate alongside each other rather than one simply replacing the other. The…
Read the full answer →A municipal tax sale happens when a property owner falls significantly behind on property taxes and the municipality uses its statutory powers under…
Read the full answer →Most Ontario municipalities sell tax sale properties through a public tender process rather than a live auction. The municipality publishes a tender…
Read the full answer →This is a real possibility worth checking for specifically, since an unpaid municipal vacant home tax can behave similarly to unpaid property tax in…
Read the full answer →Links go to the official consolidated text. Legislation changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
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