My Mortgage Was Paid Off Years Ago. Why Is It Still on Title?
Many owners only learn that an old mortgage is still registered when a refinance stalls or a buyer's lawyer raises it on a sale. The loan was paid. Why is it still there, and how do you get it off?
Common reasons a paid mortgage stays on title
The lender never registered a discharge. Institutional lenders usually do so after payout. Private lenders often do not know they need to.
The discharge was the subject of a lawyer's undertaking on an earlier closing or refinance, and it was never completed.
The mortgage secures a line of credit (a collateral charge). The lender will not discharge it while the account remains open, even if the balance is zero.
The lender merged with or was acquired by another institution, and the file was lost in the transition.
The lender, whether a person or a company, no longer exists.
Step 1: Confirm what is registered
Obtain the parcel register for the property and a copy of the registered charge. This tells you the registration number, the date, the lender's name and whether any partial discharges or transfers of the charge were registered later. Many "mystery" mortgages are simply collateral charges from an old line of credit.
Step 2: Ask the lender, or its successor, to discharge
Contact the lender's discharge department with the registration number and whatever proof of payout you have. If the account is a line of credit, ask that it be closed and the charge discharged. Where the lender has merged, the successor institution is usually the right place to ask.
If you are refinancing, the new lender's lawyer may handle this as part of the transaction. If the discharge was promised by a lawyer on an earlier closing, that lawyer, or their insurer, may be responsible for completing it.
Step 3: If the lender cannot or will not sign
Where the lender no longer exists, cannot find its records, or simply does not respond, the remaining option is usually a court order discharging the mortgage under the Mortgages Act, or rectifying the register under the Land Titles Act. The court will want to see the registered mortgage, evidence that it was paid, and what was done to obtain a discharge voluntarily.
A word on title insurance
If you bought with title insurance, an undischarged mortgage that predates your purchase may be a covered risk. Notify the insurer promptly. Title insurers often retain counsel to clear the defect, and we act on these files regularly.
How we can help
We trace lenders and successors, deal with discharge departments, and bring court applications when the voluntary route fails. If a refinance or sale depends on it, tell us your deadline.
General information only, not legal advice. Every matter turns on its own facts.
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