1000 plain-language Q&As about real estate. Browse below, or search the whole library.
Yes, this is a genuine and recognized concern. Ontario regulates significant water takings, including municipal and industrial withdrawals of…
Read the full answer →Yes, generally. Municipalities can require owners of heritage-designated properties to maintain the protected heritage attributes, both through general…
Read the full answer →Yes, a landlord and tenant can agree in writing to end a tenancy voluntarily using this kind of mutual agreement, and doing so avoids the stricter…
Read the full answer →A purchaser's or landlord's own-use notice under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 carries a mandatory minimum notice period before the stated…
Read the full answer →When a Phase 1 or Phase 2 assessment turns up contamination during a due diligence period, the buyer's leverage generally comes from a properly worded…
Read the full answer →When a neighbour's fence, deck, addition, or other structure crosses onto your property, this is called an encroachment. In Ontario, you have the right…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, a landowner has the right to reasonable use and enjoyment of their property. When a neighbour's activities — loud noise, vibrations,…
Read the full answer →When a minor variance application is filed, the municipality is generally required to give notice of the hearing to owners of property within a defined…
Read the full answer →Your neighbour's refusal to cooperate doesn't stop the process. Either owner can request that the local municipality appoint fence-viewers under the…
Read the full answer →When two or more people purchase property together in Ontario, they must decide how to hold title: as joint tenants or tenants in common. The choice…
Read the full answer →When you close on a new-construction home in Ontario, the final amount you pay is rarely exactly the purchase price. The builder's lawyer prepares a…
Read the full answer →Builder insolvency is a serious risk in new construction. If your builder becomes insolvent before you take possession, Tarion's deposit protection…
Read the full answer →Yes, Ontario builders have the right to extend closing dates, but only under strict rules set out in your purchase agreement and governed by the New…
Read the full answer →Builders set colour and finish selection deadlines for practical reasons: materials must be ordered and production schedules planned well in advance of…
Read the full answer →New condo closing costs in Ontario extend well beyond the purchase price. Planning for them in advance avoids a funding crisis on closing day. Land…
Read the full answer →Under the Condominium Act, builders must provide a disclosure statement to purchasers before the transaction is binding. This document is lengthy and…
Read the full answer →In new-construction real estate, a "spec unit" (short for speculative unit) is one that the builder constructs using standard or pre-selected finishes…
Read the full answer →A status certificate is a document issued by a condominium corporation that discloses key financial and legal information about the condo — including…
Read the full answer →Yes, but the cooling-off period depends on the type of property. For new condominium purchases in Ontario, the Condominium Act gives buyers a 10-day…
Read the full answer →If your builder misses the firm occupancy date without providing proper advance notice under the Tarion addendum, you may be entitled to compensation…
Read the full answer →When you buy a new home or condo from a registered builder in Ontario, your deposit is protected under the New Home Warranties Plan Act through Tarion.…
Read the full answer →New homes in Ontario must comply with the Ontario Building Code and the Canadian Electrical Code. At a minimum, the electrical system must be inspected…
Read the full answer →Ontario new-construction purchase agreements typically use two types of closing dates, and the distinction matters for your legal rights. A tentative…
Read the full answer →Yes, buyers of newly built homes in Ontario may be eligible for two rebates: a federal HST new-housing rebate and an Ontario new-housing rebate.…
Read the full answer →In some circumstances, buyers and builders negotiate a mutual release — a formal agreement under which both parties agree to cancel the purchase…
Read the full answer →The occupancy fee you pay during the interim occupancy period of a new condo is calculated based on three components as set out in the Condominium Act.…
Read the full answer →New condominiums in Ontario have two closings: an occupancy (interim) closing and a final (title transfer) closing. Understanding both is essential for…
Read the full answer →A Pre-Delivery Inspection, commonly called a PDI, is a walkthrough of your new home with the builder before you take possession. It is a required step…
Read the full answer →Whether a builder can increase your purchase price after you have signed depends on the terms of your specific agreement. Most Ontario new-construction…
Read the full answer →Property taxes on a new home in Ontario are based on an assessment by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). MPAC assesses your home's…
Read the full answer →Yes, builders routinely include substitution clauses in new-construction purchase agreements that allow them to substitute comparable materials,…
Read the full answer →Verbal agreements with a builder's sales representative are very difficult to enforce in a new-construction transaction. Ontario courts generally…
Read the full answer →Yes. One of the mandatory conditions for the Ontario first-time home buyer land transfer tax rebate is that you must occupy the home as your principal…
Read the full answer →Most newly built homes in Ontario are enrolled in a statutory warranty program administered by Tarion Warranty Corporation, commonly known simply as…
Read the full answer →Yes. A last month's rent deposit held under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 belongs to the tenancy, not to the individual who happened to be…
Read the full answer →Not in the way many buyers expect from residential real estate. With homes, age is the key dividing line — a new or substantially renovated home…
Read the full answer →It depends on your specific situation, and this is not a question to answer from a general rule of thumb. The federal Prohibition on the Purchase of…
Read the full answer →Yes. When a commercial property is sold along with the business operating from it, it's common for the buyer to require the seller to agree not to open…
Read the full answer →A non-disturbance agreement is a promise, usually given by a landlord's lender and sometimes a buyer, that a tenant's lease will survive even if the…
Read the full answer →Not necessarily just to complete the purchase itself - closing mechanics do not automatically require a non-resident buyer to already hold a Canadian…
Read the full answer →Non-resident buyers generally face a narrower field of willing lenders, since not every Canadian lender offers mortgages to buyers who do not live and…
Read the full answer →It is possible, but it is generally more difficult and requires a different approach than a typical Canadian resident's mortgage application, since…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes - completing an Ontario closing remotely through a properly executed power of attorney is a well-established and workable option for a…
Read the full answer →This comes from a federal rule under the Income Tax Act aimed at making sure non-residents pay Canadian tax on the sale of Canadian real property,…
Read the full answer →Yes - obtaining a clearance certificate addresses the withholding mechanism at closing, but it does not replace the separate obligation to actually…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes - the Underused Housing Tax rules look through simple legal ownership to consider trustees and, depending on the structure, the…
Read the full answer →A notice of intention to designate starts a defined process, not an immediate, final designation, so receiving one gives you a real opportunity to…
Read the full answer →A notice of non-compliance is a formal written notice one lawyer sends to the other confirming that the closing time set out in the Agreement of…
Read the full answer →Yes, potentially both, and this is an important point of confusion to clear up, since people sometimes assume the two rules are really the same thing…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Non-Resident Speculation Tax applies province-wide, not just in the Greater Toronto Area or any other specific region. It was originally…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Non-Resident Speculation Tax applies to purchases by foreign nationals, foreign corporations, and taxable trustees, and each of these is a…
Read the full answer →Yes - being nominated under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program is one of the specific, recognized exemption categories for the Non-Resident…
Read the full answer →Not simply because you are working here - employment status on its own is not one of the recognized exemption categories for Ontario's Non-Resident…
Read the full answer →Yes - protected persons are among the recognized exemption categories under Ontario's Non-Resident Speculation Tax, meaning a buyer who has been…
Read the full answer →The Non-Resident Speculation Tax, like the general land transfer tax it sits on top of, is generally triggered by the actual registration of a…
Read the full answer →Yes - Ontario provides a rebate pathway for buyers who pay the Non-Resident Speculation Tax at the time of purchase but subsequently become a permanent…
Read the full answer →If you've received notice of a neighbour's minor variance application, or otherwise learn about one affecting a nearby property, you generally have the…
Read the full answer →Occupancy fees are a unique cost associated with purchasing a new condominium in Ontario. After a new condo unit is substantially completed and the…
Read the full answer →When a new condominium finally closes and title registers in your name, the formal statement of adjustments prepared by the builder's lawyer will…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, an offer is generally considered accepted when the seller signs the offer (with no changes) and that acceptance is communicated back to the…
Read the full answer →Yes, the offer process for new construction in Ontario is significantly different from resale. When you buy from a builder, you sign the builder's own…
Read the full answer →Offer presentation night is when a seller and their listing agent sit down to review all submitted offers. In Ontario, the listing agent must tell each…
Read the full answer →Yes, you can include a condition in your offer that makes it conditional on the sale of your existing home. This is sometimes called a "sale of buyer's…
Read the full answer →Yes, if a property has or may have had an above-ground or underground fuel oil storage tank — commonly used in older homes for heating before the…
Read the full answer →Aggregate extraction — gravel pits and quarries — is regulated in Ontario by the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) administered by the Ministry of Natural…
Read the full answer →When you own a freehold property in Ontario, you own the land and the building on it outright, subject only to the limits imposed by law (zoning,…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, Conservation Authorities regulate development in areas that affect or are affected by natural hazards — primarily floodplains, wetlands,…
Read the full answer →Ontario offers a land transfer tax rebate for first-time home buyers designed to reduce the upfront cost of purchasing your first home. The rebate can…
Read the full answer →The Greenbelt Plan protects a large area of land around the Greater Golden Horseshoe from urban sprawl and large-scale development. Land within the…
Read the full answer →Part IV and Part V are two different sections of the Ontario Heritage Act, and they correspond to the two main types of designation covered elsewhere…
Read the full answer →The Land Titles Assurance Fund (LTAF) is a provincially maintained fund that compensates property owners and other parties who suffer a financial loss…
Read the full answer →Ontario has two systems for registering property ownership, and almost all property in the province has been converted to or originally registered…
Read the full answer →Ontario land transfer tax uses a graduated, bracket-based rate structure — similar to income tax brackets — so only the portion of the price within…
Read the full answer →When several properties share access over a private road, the responsibility for maintenance is typically set out in the registered easement or…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, when a parent purchases a property and places title in an adult child's name — whether by paying the purchase price directly or by having…
Read the full answer →Property assessments in Ontario are set by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), which assigns each property a value for property tax…
Read the full answer →Yes. In Ontario, a buyer who fails to close a real estate transaction without a legitimate legal excuse — such as a properly exercised condition — can…
Read the full answer →An open mortgage lets you make lump-sum payments or pay off the entire balance at any time without paying a penalty. This flexibility comes at a cost:…
Read the full answer →Ottawa and Hamilton have each introduced their own municipal vacant home tax programs, broadly similar in concept to Toronto's - an annual declaration…
Read the full answer →International wires routinely face additional anti-money-laundering scrutiny at the sending bank, an intermediary bank, the receiving bank, or more…
Read the full answer →An owner's title insurance policy in Ontario is a one-time-premium policy that lasts for as long as you own the property. Unlike home insurance, which…
Read the full answer →There are two main taxes to think about: Ontario land transfer tax and federal income tax. Land transfer tax in Ontario applies to most property…
Read the full answer →Without a formal party wall agreement, your rights and obligations toward a shared wall come from general common-law principles rather than a specific…
Read the full answer →Yes, insurance requirements are a genuinely important thing for a party wall agreement to address, precisely because both properties depend on the same…
Read the full answer →Yes, practically speaking. A party wall agreement that isn't registered on title is much harder to enforce against a future buyer of either property,…
Read the full answer →A party wall agreement is a document between the owners of two adjoining properties, most often semi-detached homes or rowhouses, that sets out each…
Read the full answer →Per diem interest during a gap closing generally compensates the seller for the additional days between the practical closing, when funds and…
Read the full answer →A percentage rent clause requires a retail tenant to pay a base rent plus an additional amount calculated as a percentage of their gross sales once…
Read the full answer →PFAS, often called "forever chemicals" because they break down extremely slowly in the environment, are an emerging area of concern for groundwater…
Read the full answer →A Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment is a non-invasive review of a property's history and current condition, done to flag potential contamination…
Read the full answer →A Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment becomes the next step when a Phase 1 identifies a "potentially contaminating activity" or a data gap…
Read the full answer →Phased condominiums are developments built in stages, with new units or phases added over time under the Condominium Act, 1998's phased development…
Read the full answer →An attorney for property acting under a valid power of attorney, governed by Ontario's Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, generally steps into the…
Read the full answer →The straightforward reason is that the party selling is the mortgage lender exercising its security, not someone who has actually lived in or managed…
Read the full answer →Unfortunately, this is a real risk in power of sale purchases, and your practical options can be more limited than they would be after an ordinary sale…
Read the full answer →It can be, and it is worth asking about specifically rather than assuming it will match a typical resale closing. Because the lender selling the…
Read the full answer →In a power of sale transaction, the deposit is generally directed to the mortgage lender that is conducting the sale, or held for its benefit, rather…
Read the full answer →Lenders financing your purchase of a power of sale property face some of the same uncertainty you do as the buyer. Without vendor representations about…
Read the full answer →If the required notice was not properly given to the defaulting owner, or to other parties entitled to it, the power of sale process itself can…
Read the full answer →This is one of the more serious risks associated with a power of sale purchase, though it is far from the most common outcome, especially where the…
Read the full answer →Links go to the official consolidated text. Legislation changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
Send it to a Treadstone lawyer — free, answered in plain language.