Everything between deciding to sell an Ontario home and the money reaching your account: preparing, pricing, offers, the buyer's conditions, closing and tax, plus the situations that change the rules: tenants, estates and separation. Six stages carry you through it — decide & prepare, price & list, offers, buyer's conditions, closing & payout and after — each explaining what happens, who is responsible, and what Ontario law requires. Calculators, a glossary and guides to download sit alongside the stages, and every one ends with our flat, published fee and a way to start a file online.
Your journey, step by step
Every stage is its own page: what happens, who is involved, what it costs, and where a lawyer comes in.
Check title, consent, the mortgage payout and timing
Sign the listing agreement, set a price, open for showings
Deposit, conditions, irrevocable period, acceptance
Financing, inspection, status certificate, title requisitions
Sign, adjust, pay out the mortgage, release the keys
Report the sale, claim the exemption, keep your records
More situations in this centre
Beyond the core journey above: scenarios that change the steps.
Tools
Calculators, checklists that build themselves, and timelines you can drop a date into.
Six questions on title, the mortgage, tenants, permits, timing and paperwork. The result tells you what to sort before the listing goes live. It is a starting point, not a substitute for a lawyer reviewing your situation.
CalculatorPrepayment penalty estimatorUse this when you are thinking about breaking or paying off a mortgage early, to estimate three months' interest versus the interest rate differential.
CalculatorNet proceeds calculatorUse this before a sale closes, to estimate what lands in your account after the payout, commission and closing costs.
LiveClosing cost calculatorLegal fees, disbursements, adjustments and land transfer tax.
Checklist builderWhat do I have to disclose to a buyer?Answer six questions about the home and get a disclosure list sorted into what the law requires, what protects the deal, and what you may keep to yourself. It is a starting point, not legal advice on what to disclose.
TimelineWhen does each step of my sale happen?Enter the closing date of your sale to see when the offer, the conditions, the signing and the money fall, and how a same-day or staggered purchase fits around it. Treat the dates as typical, not fixed.
LiveLand transfer tax calculatorOntario and Toronto, with the first-time buyer refund.
LivePrincipal residence exemptionHow much of a gain the exemption shelters.
LiveEstate administration taxThe tax paid when applying for probate.
LiveExecutor compensationThe customary tariff, explained.
CalculatorEstate timeline estimatorUse this after a death, to see typical dates from the date of death through to distribution of an Ontario estate.
LiveEqualization calculatorNet family property, step by step.
CalculatorMortgage payment calculatorUse this to see a monthly, bi-weekly or accelerated payment for a given rate and amortization, with Canadian semi-annual compounding.
Who you'll deal with
And what each one is actually responsible for.
Markets the home, advises on price, presents every offer and holds the deposit in trust. Owes you honesty and disclosure of material facts under TRESA.
Regulated by Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO)Reviews the agreement, answers title requisitions, obtains the mortgage payout, prepares the closing documents, registers the transfer and pays out your proceeds.
Regulated by Law Society of OntarioSearches title, sends requisitions, receives the buyer's funds and mortgage advance and pays the purchase price to your lawyer on closing day.
Regulated by Law Society of OntarioIssues the payout statement, collects the balance owing with any prepayment charge, and registers the discharge of the mortgage once it has been paid.
Regulated by FCAC and OSFI for banks; FSRA for credit unions and mortgage brokersHired by the buyer to examine what can be seen and reached. Ontario does not licence home inspectors; the report is the buyer's, not yours.
Regulated by Not licensed in OntarioValues the home for the buyer's lender, or for you before listing. A low appraisal can shrink the buyer's financing and put the deal at risk.
Regulated by Professional designation (AACI or CRA)Confirms whether the principal residence exemption covers the whole gain, reports the sale on your return and handles flipping-rule or non-resident filings.
Regulated by CPA OntarioOntario's electronic land registration system, where your lawyer registers the transfer to the buyer and your lender registers the discharge of its mortgage.
Regulated by ServiceOntario, operated with TeranetDecides applications to evict after an N12 notice and claims that a notice was given in bad faith. A tenant's departure is not final until the Board orders it.
Regulated by Tribunals OntarioGuides to download
Free, by email, in seconds.
Free to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFNet Proceeds Worksheet: What You Actually Take Home From an Ontario SaleFree to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFSelling a Tenanted Property in Ontario: The Tenant's Rights, the N12 and Vacant PossessionFree to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFSelling an Estate Property in Ontario: A Roadmap for Estate TrusteesFree to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFSelling the Matrimonial Home After a Separation in OntarioFree to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFSelling Your Home in Ontario: The Legal TimelineFree to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFClosing Day Document Checklist (Ontario Real Estate)Free to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFThe Principal Residence Exemption: A Decision Guide for Ontario HomeownersFree to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFThe Matrimonial Home: A Primer for Ontario SpousesFree to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Guide · PDFOntario Probate Application: Document ChecklistFree to download. Arrives by email in seconds.
Read more
From the articles and answers already on the site.
Related centres
Other Learning Centres for the same transaction.
What happens between deciding to buy and settling into an Ontario home: budget and pre-approval, the search, the offer and its conditions, financing and inspection, closing day and the first year, with the legal layer explained at every step.
Related centreThe Mortgage CentreWhether you are qualifying for a mortgage, closing, renewing, refinancing, breaking it early or falling behind: how it works in Ontario, what the law requires at each step, and what a lawyer does along the way.
Words worth knowing
A few from the full glossary.
The written contract between you and the buyer. Ontario's Statute of Frauds requires a sale of land to be in writing and signed to be enforceable.
The time an offer stays open for acceptance. Once it passes, the offer is dead and cannot be accepted, only re-made.
An offer with no conditions, or one whose conditions have all been waived. Once accepted, neither side can walk away without being in breach.
An offer the buyer can withdraw from if a stated condition, such as financing or inspection, is not satisfied or waived by its deadline.
Money the buyer pays after acceptance as a show of good faith, held in the listing brokerage's trust account and credited to the price on closing.
Buyer beware: the starting rule in Ontario that a buyer takes the property as found, subject to the seller's duty not to hide dangerous latent defects or misrepresent.
Start a file online in about seven minutes, or ask a lawyer first. Flat, published fees.