Land registry (Ontario land titles system)토지 등기 제도 (랜드 레지스트리)

What is it?

The land registry is the province’s official record of every piece of land and home in Ontario: who owns it and what rights are registered against it. It works much like a property title register in other countries.

The Ontario government says the registry holds the official records of ownership and other legal interests such as mortgages, transfers and leases, and covers more than 7,400,000 parcels of land. ServiceOntario runs it, and its services are online only.

Two systems: Land Titles and Registry

Ontario law has two land registration systems: the Land Titles system under the Land Titles Act, and the older Registry system under the Registry Act.

Section 32 of the Land Titles Act lets a land registrar move land that is under the Registry Act into the Land Titles system. Which system your home is in, and what that means for your deal, is something your lawyer checks in the title search.

What does the register show?

In Land Titles, each property has a PIN (Property Information Number), and every document about that property is entered under its PIN in the “parcel register”. The PIN is 9 digits: a 5-digit block number and a 4-digit property number.

• The owner: who transferred the property to whom (Transfer).
• Mortgages: registered as a “Charge (Mortgage)” document. A Charge may point by number to filed Standard Charge Terms (the loan’s standard terms).
• Other interests such as leases, liens (a claim by someone who was not paid) and easements (a right for someone else to use part of your land).
• Court enforcement orders (executions or writs, used to enforce a judgment) can also affect land, so lawyers usually check them too.
• The property description (Lot and Plan, or for a condo the Unit, Level and Condominium Plan number). This description is also on your deed or property tax bill.

Some rights do not show on the register

Section 44 (1) of the Land Titles Act lists rights that can affect registered land even if they are not written on the register. So you cannot assume a property is “clean” just from the register.

• Provincial and municipal taxes, charges and water rates (for example, unpaid property tax).
• Rights of way, watercourses and other easements.
• A lease of 3 years or less (with no more than 3 years left) where someone actually lives there.
• Rights of the registered owner’s spouse under Part II of the Family Law Act (the matrimonial home).
• A construction lien whose registration deadline has not passed yet.

Who registers, and when?

• Registration is done in an electronic system. Only authorized Teraview account holders can apply to register documents. When a home is bought or sold, the buyer’s lawyer usually does the registration.
• ServiceOntario reviews and certifies registrations, then updates the ownership information on the register.
• On closing day, the lawyer registers the Transfer and the lender’s mortgage (Charge). Land transfer tax is paid when, or before, the Transfer is tendered for registration (Land Transfer Tax Act, s. 2 (1)).
• Documents about the same property rank by the order they are registered, not the order they were signed (Land Titles Act, s. 78 (5)). That is why lawyers check the register again just before closing.

Can anyone look it up?

Yes. On OnLand (onland.ca) you can search, view and download current and historical property records. A self-search costs a fee. Check the amount on OnLand.

ServiceOntario will not search for you, give legal advice or explain a property’s records. Because the records can be complex, the government suggests getting help from a professional such as a lawyer, title searcher or surveyor.

The OnLand glossary calls the original paper records from before electronic registration “Historical Books”, and says they used to be available only at a Land Registry Office. If you need old records, look on OnLand.

Fraud and the assurance fund

“Title fraud” is when someone uses forged papers or a fake power of attorney to transfer your home or put a mortgage on it. The Land Titles Act says a fraudulent document is generally still void even if it was registered (s. 155). But the Act also has some exceptions.

A person who loses land or an interest because of a fraudulent registration or a registry error may apply to the Land Titles Assurance Fund if they cannot get fair compensation another way. For fraud, they must show the required due diligence, and there is a deadline to apply (s. 57 (4)).

That is one reason many buyers get title insurance on closing. Ask your lawyer what the register, insurance and the fund each protect.

An example

What to watch out for

• The register’s description of the land is not final proof of its boundaries or size (Land Titles Act, s. 140 (2)). Check fences, garages and boundary issues with a survey.
• Rights that are not on the register (the s. 44 list above) may exist, so your lawyer checks unpaid taxes, leases and construction liens separately.
• Your name goes on registry documents in English letters. Check that the spelling on your ID, purchase agreement and mortgage papers matches, and if not, tell your lawyer before closing.
• You do not need to visit an office for a copy of the register. You can view it online (OnLand), or during a purchase your lawyer usually gives you copies of the registered documents with the reporting letter.