Real Estate
Update: Upcoming Changes to the Construction Act
In the year since its enactment, Ontario’s new Construction Act has already made a noted impact on the practice of construction law in the province. The amendments to the previous Construction Lien Act (“CLA”) were to be implemented in two phases: Phase 1, the modernization provisions, effective July 1, 2018; and Phase 2, prompt payment… Read More »
Categories: Real Estate, Civil LitigationSale by non-resident seller pitfalls – New practicePRO flowchart and resources
LAWPRO is seeing claims against purchasers’ lawyers pertaining to transactions where the seller was a non-resident and there was no s.116 clearance certificate provided on closing. It appears that the Canada Revenue Agency is being more diligent in enforcing the collection of the withholding amount on closing. A recent case (Kau v. The Queen, 2018… Read More »
Categories: Real EstateAttention all real estate lawyers – Immediate action required
Teraview Account Holders are reminded that authorizations to register documents in the electronic land registration system are good for five (5) years only. Lawyers must file an Authorization Renewal Form. Instructions can be found on the Service Ontario website, which can be accessed through a link on Teraview. Most authorizations were last renewed in 2014… Read More »
Categories: Real EstateAttention Real Estate Lawyers: Standard Closing Documents
The Working Group on Lawyers and Real Estate has released updated Ontario-wide Standard Closing Documents (OSCD). Of particular note, is the addition of a new document – a Section 116 Income Tax Act Undertaking (Undertaking (Non-Residency)). Closing a transaction with a non-resident vendor can be challenging if the vendor has not secured a Section 116… Read More »
Categories: Real EstateWhat can you do when there is a delay in a mortgage discharge?
The Canadian Bankers Association has a list of bank officials to contact regarding the discharge of mortgages. Real estate lawyers discharge mortgages when acting for their vendor clients in a transaction. They typically give an undertaking to the purchaser’s lawyer to obtain and register the discharge and report to the lender within 60 days of… Read More »
Categories: Real EstateLand Registrar’s Bulletin re: NEW process for pre-approvals, PIN corrections & overrides
Bulletin 2018-04 states that effective December 10, 2018, pre-approvals, PIN corrections and overrides are no longer to be requested via [email protected], but rather in the OnLand portal at OnLand.ca. Users must go to the OnLand portal at https://www.onland.ca where they will find “request forms” under the “support” and then “contact us” drop down menu. They… Read More »
Categories: Real Estate, Areas of LawThe new Fraud Fact Sheet for Real Estate
Fraudsters are continuing to successfully dupe lawyers and law clerks using ID impersonations, property flips, value fraud, phishing scams, and more. Real estate frauds can be simple scenarios or sophisticated ones. The matters look legitimate and the fraudsters are convincing. There may even be two or more people collaborating on both sides of a transaction… Read More »
Categories: Real Estate, Fraud PreventionReal estate lawyers: Planning to retire or leave practice? Three words: Legal. Service. Coverage.
You’re looking forward to retirement – next year, or maybe 20 years down the road. Or perhaps you’re leaving private practice to work as in-house counsel. Whatever your plans, you want to be assured that malpractice claims won’t come back to haunt you or your family. Real estate claims continue to be a major source… Read More »
Categories: Real Estate, The TitlePLUS Program & Title Insurance, Areas of Law