Can a Paralegal Handle My Ontario Home Closing?

If you have searched for a notary or a lawyer for real estate in Ontario, you may have noticed that some services look cheaper or simpler than a law firm. Buyers and sellers often ask whether a paralegal, a notary or a title company could handle the closing instead.

For registering a transfer or mortgage in Ontario, the answer comes down to who is allowed to sign on the electronic land registry system. This article explains the rules in plain language so you know what to expect and what to ask.

Who can register a transfer or mortgage

The Law Society says only a lawyer can sign for completeness an electronic registration document requiring compliance-with-law statements. Non-lawyers may sign such documents for release only. This is why a paralegal, notary or title company cannot register a transfer or mortgage on their own.

Ontario's land registry services are online only. Teraview users need a unique access key and must meet identity, financial resources and good character and accountability criteria. Users without authorization have search-only access.

Why most transfers involve two lawyers

On the Land Registry's electronic system, most transfer of title documents require two different lawyers to sign for completeness. One lawyer may sign alone in limited cases, such as estate-trustee-to-beneficiary transfers or certain related-party transfers. Transfers to or from the Crown, or by a municipality, do not need a lawyer.

Related to this, Rule 3.4-16.7 of the Law Society Rules of Professional Conduct provides that a lawyer shall not act for both transferor and transferee in a transfer of title. A firm of two or more lawyers may act for both if different lawyers in the firm represent each party. So if you and the other side want to save money by sharing one lawyer, the rule generally does not allow it, though a firm with separate lawyers for each party may.

What a lawyer's office staff can and cannot do

Many people deal mostly with a law clerk or assistant, and that is normal. Lawyers may delegate routine work to non-lawyers, but they may not delegate reviewing the title search report or documents before signing, signing a requisition letter or title opinion, or signing the reporting letter to the client. Non-lawyers may not give title insurance advice without supervision.

Where your closing money goes

Another reason lawyers handle closings is trust accounting. Law Society By-Law 9 governs lawyers' trust funds in real estate deals, including mortgage proceeds and closing funds. Client money received in trust generally goes into a trust account, with a minimum of deposit by the end of the next banking day.

For electronic trust transfers on closing, By-Law 9 requires a Form 9A before the transfer and a Form 9C signed by a person with signing authority. Funds for a transaction held in a Teranet e-reg trust account may stay no more than five days. Lawyers must also keep trust records for ten years plus the current year, and must keep enough in trust at all times to cover their obligations for client money.

By-Law 9 is under amendment, so the details may change. Your lawyer will work to the current version.

What to do next

What a paralegal or notary can help with beyond the closing depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer. For the transfer and mortgage registration itself, you need a lawyer.

• Hire a lawyer early, ideally before you sign or waive conditions in an agreement of purchase and sale.
• Ask whether the firm has a separate lawyer for the other side if the same firm is involved.
• Ask who at the firm will review the title search and sign your reporting letter.
• Ask how your closing funds will be held and when they will be paid out.
• If a service promises to close your deal without a lawyer, ask who will actually sign the registration for completeness.

Frequently asked questions