Fixing Solicitor Errors and Other Title Defects in Ontario

Ontario's Land Titles system is reliable, but it only records what is registered. When a document is registered incorrectly, or not at all, the error stays on title until someone fixes it. These errors often go unnoticed for years and surface at the worst moment: on a sale, a refinance or an estate.

Common title errors we see

• A discharge that a lawyer undertook to obtain on a past closing but never registered

• A document registered against the wrong property (PIN) or with the wrong legal description

• Misspelled or incorrect owner names, or an owner's name missing from a transfer

• A transfer that was signed but never registered

• Errors in estate conveyancing, such as property still registered to a deceased owner with no clear route to transfer it

• Inadvertent merger of adjoining parcels

• Parcels that were never fully converted to Land Titles, or that need direction from the Land Registry Office before they can be dealt with

Route 1: Fix it by consent

Many errors can be corrected by registering a corrective document signed by the parties involved. If everyone who needs to sign is available and willing, this is the fastest and least expensive route.

Route 2: Ask the Land Registry Office

The Land Titles Act allows the land registrar to correct errors and supply omissions on sufficient evidence, after notifying the people affected (section 158). The registrar can also amend the register to reflect court orders and changes that have occurred in fact (section 75). These routes suit clear clerical errors. In some cases the Director of Titles will hold a hearing before making the correction.

Route 3: Rectification by the court

Where the error affects someone's rights, or the people who would need to sign cannot be found, the Superior Court of Justice can order the register rectified. The Land Titles Act allows anyone aggrieved by an entry, an omission or a delay in making an entry to apply for rectification (section 160), and allows the court to direct rectification after deciding who is entitled to an interest in the land (section 159). The court will want clear evidence of what was intended and why the register is wrong.

When a lawyer made the error

If the error was made by a lawyer on a previous transaction, that lawyer and their professional liability insurer may be responsible for the cost of fixing it. If you have title insurance, the error may also be covered. In either case, notify promptly. Claims are subject to limitation periods, including Ontario's general two-year limitation period, which runs from when the problem was or ought to have been discovered.

How we can help

We act for owners, estates, title insurers and other lawyers to correct title defects, whether by consent, through the Land Registry Office or by court order. If a title problem is holding up a transaction, contact us and tell us your deadline.

General information only, not legal advice. Every matter turns on its own facts.