Closing Day in Ontario: What Actually Happens

You have found the home, the offer was accepted, conditions are waived, and the closing date is circled on your calendar. But what actually happens on real estate closing day in Ontario? For many buyers and sellers, it feels like a fog of wire transfers and waiting — followed by a phone call saying (hopefully) "you can pick up your keys."

This article lifts the curtain on what goes on behind the scenes, why your lawyer is busy all day, and what can cause a closing to run late.

The Two Big Tasks on Closing Day

At a high level, two things need to happen simultaneously on closing day:

1. Money moves from the buyer's side to the seller's side (net of the mortgage payout and any adjustments).
2. Title transfers from the seller to the buyer in the provincial land registry.

Neither happens before the other is confirmed. This coordination — between lawyers on both sides, the buyer's lender, and the electronic land registry — is why your lawyer may be occupied most of the day even though the process is digital.

How Ontario Does It: Electronic Registration

Ontario uses an electronic land registry system. Real estate lawyers use a platform called Teraview to search title and register documents electronically. There are no paper deeds being physically exchanged or recorded at a courthouse; the transfer of ownership is accomplished by registering a Transfer/Deed of Land document electronically.

This system is efficient, but it means closing depends on:

• Both lawyers being logged into and able to use the system
• The electronic documents being prepared, reviewed, and authorized in advance
• A "hold" being released between the lawyers to allow registration once funds are confirmed

The hold-and-release process is a professional protocol between real estate lawyers that ensures neither side completes their step (paying the money or registering the title) until the other is ready to proceed simultaneously. Your lawyer will coordinate this directly with the seller's lawyer.

What Happens on the Buyer's Side

1. Funds are assembled

In the days before closing, your lawyer will send you a statement of adjustments — a document showing exactly how much money you need to bring to closing. This figure accounts for:

• The balance of the purchase price (after your deposit)
• Land transfer tax (provincial, and municipal if buying in Toronto)
• Legal fees and disbursements
• Property tax and utility adjustments (prorating costs between buyer and seller based on the closing date)
• Title insurance premium
• Any other agreed-upon adjustments

You will need to provide these funds to your lawyer as a certified cheque or bank draft, or by wire transfer, by a deadline your lawyer specifies — often the business day before closing or early on closing day itself. Personal cheques are not accepted.

2. Mortgage funds are received

If you are getting a mortgage, your lender will send the mortgage proceeds to your lawyer's trust account on or just before closing. The lawyer holds all funds in trust until the transaction is ready to complete.

3. Lawyer reviews title and releases the hold

Your lawyer will have done a full title search before closing day, but on the day itself will do a final check — confirming no new registrations (liens, writs of execution, etc.) have been added since the last search. Once satisfied, and once all funds are in trust, the lawyer releases the hold to allow the other side to register the transfer.

4. Transfer is registered

The seller's lawyer registers the Transfer/Deed of Land, transferring title into your name (or names, as applicable). The buyer's lawyer simultaneously registers the new mortgage, if any. This all happens electronically and takes seconds once both sides release.

5. Funds flow to the seller's lawyer

Once the transfer is registered and confirmed, the buyer's lawyer releases the purchase funds to the seller's lawyer's trust account, typically by electronic funds transfer.

What Happens on the Seller's Side

1. Mortgage is discharged

If the seller has an existing mortgage, the seller's lawyer arranges to pay it out from the sale proceeds. The payout amount (the remaining balance plus any prepayment penalty and interest to closing date) will have been confirmed with the lender in advance. The lender registers a discharge of mortgage once paid.

2. Any other encumbrances are cleared

Liens, executions, or other claims against the property must be dealt with out of the sale proceeds before the seller receives anything. Your lawyer would have raised these as "requisitions" during the transaction, and the seller's lawyer is responsible for resolving them.

3. Seller receives net proceeds

After the mortgage payout, real estate commission, legal fees, adjustments, and any other charges, the seller's lawyer disburses the balance to the seller. This may happen the same day as closing or the next business day, depending on when electronic transfers clear.

4. Keys are released

Keys are typically held by the seller's real estate agent until the seller's lawyer confirms the transaction has completed and money has been received. The moment you hear "keys are available" is the moment title has transferred and funds have flowed. You can then pick up the keys from wherever the agent is holding them (often a lockbox).

What Time Will Keys Be Available?

Buyers often ask this and the honest answer is: it varies, and nobody can guarantee a specific time. Most Ontario residential closings complete sometime in the afternoon — frequently between noon and 5 p.m. — but this is not guaranteed.

Factors that influence timing:

• When your lender sends mortgage funds
• How quickly both lawyers confirm their documents and release the hold
• The volume of other transactions the lawyers are handling that day
• Technical issues with the electronic registry

For this reason, if you are hiring movers, book them for the afternoon and be prepared for a possible wait. Avoid booking an 8 a.m. move-in on closing day.

What Can Delay or Derail a Closing?

Late mortgage funds

Lenders sometimes send funds later than expected. If the funds do not arrive in time, closing may be pushed to the next business day. Your lawyer will advocate with the lender, but delays happen.

Title issues discovered at the last minute

A late search might reveal a new writ of execution or lien filed against the seller between the initial search and closing day. This must be resolved before closing can proceed. Title insurance can protect against certain undiscovered issues after the fact, but a known issue at closing must be addressed.

Documentation errors

If a name is misspelled, a mortgage instruction contains an error, or a required document is missing, the lawyers need to resolve it before proceeding. Preparation in the days before closing is the best prevention.

Requisitions not resolved

If the buyer's lawyer raised title concerns (requisitions) and the seller's lawyer has not addressed them satisfactorily, the buyer is not obligated to close. This is relatively rare but does happen.

Extension agreements

If all parties agree, a closing can be extended — typically for a day or a few days — by a written amendment. Extensions are common and not necessarily a sign of a problem. If a closing is in genuine jeopardy, contact your lawyer immediately.

Frequently asked questions