OREA Property Rights and Ownership 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In Ontario, what is 'escheat' in property law?
- A type of property fraud
- The reversion of property to the Crown when a person dies without a will and without heirs (Correct answer)
- A method of transferring property between family members
- A penalty for unpaid property taxes
Correct answer: The reversion of property to the Crown when a person dies without a will and without heirs
Escheat is the legal principle whereby property reverts to the Crown (provincial government) when the owner dies intestate (without a will) and without any legal heirs. This ensures that property always has a recognized owner.
Question 2: What is a 'profit à prendre' in Ontario property law?
- A type of commercial lease
- A right to enter another person's land and take something of value from it, such as minerals, timber, or crops (Correct answer)
- A method of calculating property taxes
- A form of mortgage financing
Correct answer: A right to enter another person's land and take something of value from it, such as minerals, timber, or crops
A profit à prendre is a right to enter another person's land and remove something of value, such as minerals, timber, gravel, or crops. Unlike an easement, which is a right to use land, a profit à prendre involves taking something from the land.
Question 3: In Ontario, what is a 'right-of-way' and how does it affect property ownership?
- The right to build a road on any property
- A type of easement that grants the right to pass over another person's property, often for access purposes (Correct answer)
- A government right to demolish private buildings
- The right to divert traffic through private property
Correct answer: A type of easement that grants the right to pass over another person's property, often for access purposes
A right-of-way is a specific type of easement that grants the right to travel across another person's property. It is commonly created for landlocked properties that need access to a public road, or for utility access.
Question 4: What is 'dower' and does it still apply in Ontario?
- Dower is a spouse's right to one-third of the property and it still applies in Ontario
- Dower was a wife's common law right to a life estate in her husband's lands, but it has been abolished in Ontario and replaced by Family Law Act provisions (Correct answer)
- Dower is the right of children to inherit property
- Dower is a type of property tax exemption for seniors
Correct answer: Dower was a wife's common law right to a life estate in her husband's lands, but it has been abolished in Ontario and replaced by Family Law Act provisions
Dower was a common law right giving a wife a life estate in one-third of her husband's lands. It has been abolished in Ontario and replaced by the spousal rights provisions under the Family Law Act, including matrimonial home protections.
Question 5: In Ontario, what is 'air rights' in property law?
- The right to clean air on your property
- The right to use and develop the space above a parcel of land, which can be separately owned, leased, or transferred (Correct answer)
- Flight paths over private property
- The right to install satellite dishes
Correct answer: The right to use and develop the space above a parcel of land, which can be separately owned, leased, or transferred
Air rights refer to the right to use and develop the airspace above a property. In urban areas, air rights can be valuable and may be separately owned, leased, or transferred, allowing development above existing structures.
Question 6: What is a 'remainder interest' in Ontario property law?
- The interest remaining on a mortgage
- A future interest in property that takes effect after the termination of a prior estate, such as a life estate (Correct answer)
- The leftover proceeds after a property sale
- The interest earned on a deposit in trust
Correct answer: A future interest in property that takes effect after the termination of a prior estate, such as a life estate
A remainder interest is a future estate in property that becomes possessory upon the natural termination of a prior estate. For example, when a life tenant dies, the property passes to the remainderman who holds the remainder interest.
OREA Property Rights and Ownership 3
In Ontario, what is 'escheat' in property law?