Title Searching in Ontario, Canada 101

Title Searches in Ontario, Canada are available only through the online registry system known as Teranet. One must be a licensed user of Teranet to be able to access any property information province wide.

Hello, my name is Chris J. Whelehan. I am a licensed user of Teranet and have been searching real estate titles on a freelance basis in Ontario, Canada for over 24 years. In this post, I’ll briefly and simply outline the world of title searching in Ontario, Canada.

Automation (the transformation of paper records to electronic data) of the land registry systems started some 10 years ago in London, Ontario, Canada. Automation is continuing today and is almost fully completed in Ontario. Before that time, titles had to be searched the ‘old fashioned’ way by searching through old abstract books dating back to the Crown Patent for each concession lot throughout Ontario. There is a land registry office in every county in Ontario, Canada. The old standard (by law) was to go back 40 years to ensure a clear chain of title with no existing encumbrances or ‘clouds’ on title. This was called the Registry System. These days, to be able to form a legal opinion of a property, one only has to search back to when the last registered owner took title. This is call the Land Titles System. All searches are done online by licensed users such as myself through Teranet.

Through a proper title search you will learn the owners name, when they bought, how much they paid, property boundaries, legal descriptions, outstanding mortgages, easement, rights of way, any other parties may have an interest in the land (spousal interest etc) . Usual entries on any title abstract include agreements, easements, transfer (deed), charges (mortgages), orders, leases, by-laws & restrictions. Agreements can be many different parties, but are generally between developers and municipalities. Easements are usually between the owners of the property and utility or communication companies reserving access to your land for the purposes of maintaining their hardware. Restrictions can be imposed on a property by the municipality or the developer for various reasons.

If you are purchasing a property in Ontario or just to find out who owns what land in Ontario and what affects the property, a title search or name search must be performed. This can be done rather inexpensively through independent title searchers such as myself, or through a lawyer at a much higher cost. All searches are guaranteed to be accurate by the Government of Ontario.

Chris J. Whelehan is a licensed & insured Title Searcher in Ontario, Canada. He also provides numerous other legal services including title document registration (inter-spousal transfers, transfers to other family members or individuals) litigation searches, incorporations, PPSA inquiries (personal property ie. vehicles, small loans), mortgage preparation and registrations, lien & caution registrations etc.

Chris J. Whelehan

Phone: 416-347-1141

Fax: 416-255-3132

Email: terasearch@rogers.com

Website: www.cjwlegal.com