1000 plain-language Q&As about real estate. Browse below, or search the whole library.
A sheriff's sale arises when a judgment creditor - someone owed money under a court judgment - registers a writ of execution against a debtor's land,…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, how close you can build to a shoreline depends on three overlapping layers of regulation: municipal zoning by-laws, official plan policies,…
Read the full answer →Generally no. Where a municipality requires a licence to operate a short-term rental, that licence is typically tied to the specific operator or, in…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes. A site plan agreement, entered into with the municipality under the Planning Act as a condition of developing or altering a commercial…
Read the full answer →A site plan agreement is the registered agreement between a developer and a municipality that formalizes the conditions attached to an approved site…
Read the full answer →There's no single, uniform provincial rule exempting all small residential buildings from site plan control across Ontario; whether a duplex or…
Read the full answer →Municipalities commonly require a developer to post a letter of credit or other financial security as part of a site plan agreement to make sure the…
Read the full answer →Site plan control is a municipal approval process under the Planning Act that lets a municipality review and impose conditions on the physical design…
Read the full answer →The right choice depends on factors specific to your situation, including whether you will occupy part of the property, the building's condition and…
Read the full answer →Leased solar panels present a unique issue in Ontario real estate transactions. Unlike owned solar panels, which transfer with the property as a…
Read the full answer →A solicitor's undertaking is a formal promise, given by one lawyer to another, to do something specific, such as registering a document, obtaining and…
Read the full answer →A special assessment is a charge levied on all unit owners in a condominium corporation to cover expenses that cannot be funded from the corporation's…
Read the full answer →A spousal consent or acknowledgment form is a document real estate lawyers routinely use to confirm whether a property being sold, mortgaged, or…
Read the full answer →Yes, if the property is your matrimonial home. Under Ontario's Family Law Act, a spouse cannot sell, mortgage, or otherwise deal with an interest in a…
Read the full answer →Because the couple is still legally married at the time of death, the surviving spouse's rights under Ontario's Family Law Act generally remain in…
Read the full answer →Under Ontario's Family Law Act, both spouses have an equal right to possession of the matrimonial home regardless of whose name is on title, so a…
Read the full answer →Yes, this is a recognized tool where a spouse has started, or is starting, a court proceeding that claims an interest in the specific property. A…
Read the full answer →Generally, an Agreement of Purchase and Sale for a matrimonial home signed by only the titled spouse, without the other spouse's required consent,…
Read the full answer →A statement of adjustments is the document your lawyer prepares before closing that shows exactly how much money you need to bring to the table on…
Read the full answer →Yes. Under Ontario's Condominium Act, 1998, a status certificate must be accompanied by or include a statement of any by-laws and rules of the…
Read the full answer →A status certificate will disclose any unpaid common expenses (arrears) for the specific unit being sold. If the seller owes arrears to the…
Read the full answer →A status certificate is a document issued by a condominium corporation that discloses the financial and legal health of the condo building. It includes…
Read the full answer →The status certificate itself discloses the current monthly common expense contribution for the specific unit. It also must disclose any increases to…
Read the full answer →When a condominium corporation is newly registered and has only recently turned over to owner control, the first status certificates issued reflect the…
Read the full answer →The Condominium Act, 1998 requires that a status certificate disclose any actions or proceedings that are currently pending against the corporation or…
Read the full answer →The Condominium Act, 1998 does not specify a formal expiry date for a status certificate, but practitioners treat them as meaningful only for a…
Read the full answer →If a condominium corporation provides a status certificate that contains inaccurate or misleading information, the Condominium Act, 1998 provides…
Read the full answer →A status certificate includes a statement that the corporation maintains the insurance required under the Condominium Act, 1998, or it discloses any…
Read the full answer →Yes, the Condominium Act, 1998 requires that a status certificate disclose any material contracts the corporation has entered, including management…
Read the full answer →A status certificate cannot exist before the condominium is registered. A pre-construction condo purchase occurs before the building is complete and…
Read the full answer →A status certificate is a document that every Ontario condominium corporation must prepare and provide upon request under the Condominium Act, 1998. It…
Read the full answer →Several warning signs in a status certificate should prompt serious questions or cause you to reconsider the purchase. An underfunded reserve fund is…
Read the full answer →To request a status certificate from an Ontario condominium corporation, you submit a written request — typically addressed to the property management…
Read the full answer →The status certificate will disclose the current reserve fund balance and reference the most recent reserve fund study. A reserve fund study —…
Read the full answer →Once you receive a status certificate in connection with an agreement of purchase and sale, your agreement's status certificate condition typically…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Condominium Act, 1998 specifies the information a status certificate must contain. The document typically includes: the current monthly…
Read the full answer →The mortgage stress test is a federal requirement that applies to mortgages issued by federally regulated financial institutions (banks, credit unions…
Read the full answer →If a neighbour builds a structure obstructing your registered easement of access, you generally have legal remedies available rather than being left to…
Read the full answer →When a commercial deal involves more than just bare land, such as a building, and sometimes an operating business's goodwill, the purchase agreement…
Read the full answer →Where each room in a unit has its own separate lease rather than one lease covering the whole unit, a buyer taking over as landlord is really taking on…
Read the full answer →You can request a condition allowing your lawyer to review the Agreement of Purchase and Sale and provide satisfactory advice before the deal becomes…
Read the full answer →If your closing failed because your lawyer made a genuine error, such as missing a deadline, mishandling funds, or failing to catch a problem a…
Read the full answer →A surplus farm dwelling severance happens when a farmhouse becomes unnecessary to the farm operation, typically because neighbouring farm parcels have…
Read the full answer →A survey shows the exact boundaries of a property, the location of structures on it relative to those boundaries, and any encroachments by or onto…
Read the full answer →A survey (formally an Ontario land survey or plan of survey) shows the exact boundaries of a property and the location of structures on it. It confirms…
Read the full answer →The Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) licenses builders and vendors — the entities that sell new homes to consumers — while Tarion…
Read the full answer →If your registered builder refuses to complete the transaction and deliver your home, Tarion's statutory warranty program provides protection through…
Read the full answer →Filing a Tarion claim follows a defined process. First, notify your builder in writing of the defect and give them a reasonable opportunity to fix it.…
Read the full answer →In a new condominium building, Tarion's warranty applies not only to individual units but also to the common elements — the lobby, elevators, parking…
Read the full answer →If you disagree with how Tarion has assessed your warranty claim — for example, if they denied the claim or you believe the proposed repair is…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, the obligation to enrol a new home with Tarion rests on the builder. However, builders routinely pass the Tarion enrolment fee to the buyer…
Read the full answer →While Tarion's warranty covers a broad range of new-home defects, there are important exclusions you should know before filing a claim. Normal wear and…
Read the full answer →The seven-year major structural defect warranty is Tarion's most comprehensive long-term coverage. A major structural defect (MSD) is defined under the…
Read the full answer →Before entering into a purchase agreement for a new home in Ontario, you should confirm that the builder is licensed by the Home Construction…
Read the full answer →Renovating your new home does not automatically void your entire Tarion warranty, but it can affect coverage for defects that are causally connected to…
Read the full answer →Yes, Tarion warranty claims must be filed within the applicable warranty period for the type of defect. Missing the deadline can result in losing your…
Read the full answer →Tarion administers the mandatory new-home warranty in Ontario under the New Home Warranties Plan Act. The coverage is divided into several periods,…
Read the full answer →Yes, the Tarion new-home warranty runs with the home, not with the original buyer. If you purchase a home that was built recently enough to still be…
Read the full answer →Not entirely, and the differences run in both directions. On one hand, a completed tax sale is generally intended to give the purchaser title that is…
Read the full answer →The cancellation price is generally made up of the unpaid property taxes, together with the penalties and interest that have accumulated on those…
Read the full answer →If your tender is accepted but you cannot complete the purchase within the time set out in the tender package, you generally forfeit the deposit you…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes - easements and restrictive covenants are treated differently from mortgages and financial liens in a municipal tax sale and typically…
Read the full answer →Potentially, yes, and this is one of the risks that makes tax sale purchases meaningfully different from an ordinary resale. Ontario's environmental…
Read the full answer →Lenders tend to be more cautious about tax sale purchases for several reasons that compound each other. There is generally no standard home inspection…
Read the full answer →The cancellation price is the amount the municipality has determined it would need to receive to cancel the tax arrears certificate registered against…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes - a completed municipal tax sale is intended to convey title to the successful purchaser largely free of prior mortgages, liens, and…
Read the full answer →Usually not in any meaningful way, and this is one of the sharpest differences from an ordinary purchase. A municipality selling under the tax sale…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Municipal Act sets out a staged process a municipality must follow before it can sell a property for unpaid taxes, and it is designed to give…
Read the full answer →A municipal tax sale does not come with any guarantee of vacant possession, and dealing with a remaining occupant afterward generally requires its own…
Read the full answer →If your financing is not ready by the completion deadline set out in the tender package, the consequences can be significant, since a tax sale tender…
Read the full answer →Generally, no - a buyer's role in this part of the process is limited, and disputes over any surplus are typically a separate matter between the…
Read the full answer →Yes - buying a property through a tax sale does not exempt you from the standard rules that apply to any Ontario landlord seeking to end a tenancy. If…
Read the full answer →Yes - a genuine, lawful tenancy is not simply wiped out because the property changed hands through a tax sale rather than an ordinary purchase.…
Read the full answer →Property taxes are the reason a tax sale is happening, but they are rarely the only amount owed against a distressed property, so it is worth looking…
Read the full answer →The right to collect rent arrears that accrued before closing generally remains with the person who was the landlord during that period, meaning the…
Read the full answer →It depends entirely on what the lease actually says, and whether that clawback right was properly carried over when the building sold. Tenant…
Read the full answer →Yes. The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 requires a landlord holding a last month's rent deposit to pay the tenant annual interest on it, calculated…
Read the full answer →Buying a tenant-occupied property in Ontario carries significant legal complexity because tenants have strong rights under the Residential Tenancies…
Read the full answer →A tenant cannot simply refuse a showing that was properly noticed under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, but a seller also cannot force entry or…
Read the full answer →A home inspection requires the same proper entry notice under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 as a showing does, and a seller or their agent cannot…
Read the full answer →A right of first refusal (ROFR) to purchase gives a tenant the ability to step into a sale on the same terms someone else has already agreed to, before…
Read the full answer →Under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, a tenant generally needs the landlord's consent before subletting their unit, so discovering an unauthorized…
Read the full answer →An unauthorized short-term rental sublet discovered before closing raises two separate concerns: it likely breaches the terms of the existing tenancy,…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes, unless your Agreement of Purchase and Sale specifically made vacant possession a true condition of your obligation to close. Your…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes. Co-owners who hold property as tenants in common, including former spouses who no longer share the same interests in keeping the…
Read the full answer →The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 requires a landlord to give the tenant proper written notice before entering the unit to show it to prospective…
Read the full answer →When you break a variable-rate mortgage before its term expires, Canadian lenders typically calculate the prepayment penalty as three months' interest…
Read the full answer →A newly discovered title defect on closing morning has to be assessed for how serious it actually is before deciding what to do next, since not every…
Read the full answer →Discovering a competing ownership claim after you close on a property is a serious matter, but Ontario's land registration system and title insurance…
Read the full answer →Title fraud is a category of real estate fraud in which someone uses false identity documents or forged paperwork to either steal a registered…
Read the full answer →Yes — virtually all institutional lenders in Ontario require a lender's title insurance policy as a condition of advancing mortgage funds. This…
Read the full answer →An assignment of a purchase agreement is when the original buyer (the assignor) transfers their rights under the agreement to a new buyer (the…
Read the full answer →Whether title insurance helps with a boundary dispute depends on the nature of the dispute and when it arose relative to your purchase. Title insurance…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes - title insurance is worth serious consideration in a receivership purchase, precisely because these sales come with fewer of the…
Read the full answer →If you discover a title-related problem after you have purchased your home, your first call should be to your real estate lawyer. They can review your…
Read the full answer →Title insurance for a condominium purchase in Ontario covers your ownership interest in your specific unit and your proportionate interest in the…
Read the full answer →Title insurance in Ontario is purchased for a one-time premium at closing — there is no ongoing annual fee. The premium is based primarily on the…
Read the full answer →Understanding title insurance exclusions is just as important as knowing what is covered. Ontario title insurance policies generally do NOT cover the…
Read the full answer →Buying a property from an estate in Ontario can involve some additional title considerations that make title insurance particularly valuable. When a…
Read the full answer →Yes — in Ontario, it is possible to purchase title insurance after you have already owned a property for some time. This is sometimes called a "home…
Read the full answer →Links go to the official consolidated text. Legislation changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
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