What is a title search and what could it turn up on my property?

A title search is an electronic check of the land registry records for a property, done through Teraview, Ontario's land registration system. Your lawyer confirms the seller actually owns the property and pulls a list of everything registered against it. This is separate from a home inspection, which checks the house's physical condition, not who owns it or what's owed against it.

A few show up more often than people expect:

• Old mortgages or lines of credit paid off years ago but never formally discharged from title.
• Executions, unpaid court judgments registered against a name that matches, or is close to, the owner's.
• Construction liens, filed by an unpaid contractor or supplier. Under the Construction Act, a lien generally has to be preserved within 60 days after the work is completed, abandoned or terminated, or after a certificate of substantial performance is published, or the lien rights expire.
• Municipal tax arrears, confirmed through a tax certificate from the city.
• Work orders, unresolved property standards violations that can turn into a charge against the property.

Most get resolved before closing, often out of the seller's proceeds. Your lawyer contacts the party owed, gets a payout figure, and registers a discharge once it's paid. An execution against a similar name usually needs an affidavit confirming it isn't the same person. If something can't be cleared in time, closing can be delayed, or money can be held back in trust until it's resolved.

Title insurance is not mandatory in Ontario, but most buyers get it, and your lawyer has to tell you it's available. It's a one-time premium, not an ongoing cost. An owner's policy covers certain losses tied to title, like fraud, forgery, survey errors, and some errors in the public record, up to the policy limit. A lender's policy protects your mortgage lender instead, and most lenders require one even if you skip the owner's policy. Coverage depends on the exact policy wording, so ask your lawyer what applies to your purchase.

Title fraud happens when someone uses stolen identity documents or forged paperwork to transfer your property's title, or register a mortgage against it, without your knowledge. It's rare, and tends to target homes with no mortgage, since there's no lender watching the title. Title insurance can cover related losses. Ontario also runs a Land Titles Assurance Fund that may compensate people for certain losses from fraud or errors in the land registration system, though a claim has to meet specific requirements.