Real Estate Law Flashcards

In Ontario, what does the term 'holdback' mean in the context of construction liens?

Answer: A statutory 10% of amounts payable to contractors held back by the owner as a lien fund

Under the Construction Act (Ontario), an owner must hold back 10% of the value of work done as a lien fund available to unpaid contractors and subcontractors.

Under the Ontario Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, what notice period must a landlord give a tenant to terminate a month-to-month tenancy for a purchaser's own use?

Answer: 90 days

Form N12 requires 60 days' notice to terminate a tenancy for the landlord's or purchaser's own use, with compensation equal to one month's rent.

What is 'title insurance' in Ontario and what risk does it primarily protect against?

Answer: Insurance protecting against title defects, fraud, survey errors, and zoning issues discovered after closing

Title insurance protects purchasers and lenders from losses arising from title defects, fraud, encroachments, and certain zoning non-compliances that existed before the policy date.

In Ontario, what is an 'easement' in real property law?

Answer: A right attached to land allowing the owner of one parcel (dominant tenement) to use another's land (servient tenement) for a specific purpose

An easement is a non-possessory interest in land that runs with both the dominant and servient tenements and survives changes in ownership.

Under the Ontario Condominium Act, 1998, what is a 'status certificate' and why is it important to a purchaser?

Answer: A document disclosing the financial health, governance, and any outstanding issues of the condominium corporation

A status certificate reveals the condominium corporation's financial statements, reserve fund status, any special assessments, and existing legal proceedings affecting the purchaser's decision.

In Ontario, what is the purpose of the 'requisition period' in a real estate transaction?

Answer: The period during which the purchaser's lawyer may raise title objections and require the vendor to remedy defects

The requisition period gives the purchaser's lawyer time to search title and raise objections to any defects; after it expires, the purchaser may be deemed to have waived the defects.