TitlePLUS Times
Vol. 6, no. 4
December 2003

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Articles

Real Property Limitations Act in force January 1, 2004¹
On January 1, 2004, the Limitations Act, 2002² (the "new Act") will come into force, setting new limitations for a wide range of civil actions in lieu of those set out in Parts II and III of the present Limitations Act³ (the "old Act"). Part I of the old Act will be preserved as a separate statute called the Real Property Limitations Act⁴ ("RPLA"). Subsection 2(1)(a) of the new Act provides that the new Act applies to claims pursued in court proceedings other than those to which the RLPA applies.

Therefore, it appears (subject to what the courts may tell us at a later date) that the provisions of the old Act relating specifically to real property will continue when the new Act comes into effect. These include:

• Section 3 - adverse possession of Crown land;
• Section 4 - adverse possession of privately owned land;
• Section 16 - exception to the application of Sections 1 to 15 with respect to waste or vacant land of the Crown, road allowances and public highways; and
• Section 31 - prescriptive easements.

Status Certificates for Interests in Common Elements Condominium Corporations
TitlePLUS requires a status certificate where the property being insured is a Parcel of Tied Land ("POTL") plus an interest in a common elements condominium corporation, for the following:

1. High-ratio mortgages being insured through LawyerMortgage.com, unless you obtain a copy of a Status Certificate issued within the past two years, and verbal confirmation that there are no arrears of common expenses or special assessments pending; and
2. Purchase policies on titleplus.lawyerdonedeal.com, unless the property is enrolled in the TitlePLUS New Home Program.

It has come to our attention that some common elements condominium corporations are reluctant to provide Status Certificates. If you encounter this, please make the condominium corporation aware of the following, which are our reasons for requiring Status Certificates:

1. Section 78 and Subsection 138(4)(a) of the Condominium Act, 1998⁵ (the "Act") create an obligation on common elements condominium corporations to provide Status Certificates to those who request them and pay the prescribed fee.
2. Status Certificates for common elements condominium corporations disclose the same matters as those for other condominiums, including common expense arrears, anticipated special assessments and repairs, and litigation involving the condominium corporation. Common elements condominium corporations usually own roads, common areas, marinas, golf courses, and/or other amenities which are essential to the POTL. Therefore, issues and expenses regarding the repair and upkeep of these items will detrimentally affect the client's enjoyment of the POTL and its marketability.
3. Under Subsection 139(5) of the Act, default in payment of common expenses of a common elements condominium corporation creates a lien against the owner's POTL as well as on the owner's interest in the common elements condominium corporation.
4. Letters to condominium corporations requesting Status Certificates usually include information about the purchaser and/or new mortgagee's name and address. If the condominium corporation does not receive this information, the new purchaser and/or mortgagee will not be shown on the records of the condominium corporation, with the result that they may not (i) receive notices of meetings of the members of the condominium corporation, thus losing their right to vote at these meetings; and (ii) be entitled to benefit under the blanket insurance policy maintained by the common elements condominium corporation, because they are not shown on the condominium corporation's records.

TitlePLUS News from LAWPRO

OBA Institute 2004
TitlePLUS is sponsoring the Real Property Program at the OBA Institute 2004 on January 29 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. We will also be an Exhibitor on January 29 & 30. Please drop by our booth to say hello!

TitlePLUS Continues to Grow
We are pleased to welcome the following new employees to the TitlePLUS Team:
Janny Cho, Customer Service Representative
Kesha Christie, Customer Service Representative
Craig Patterson, Analyst
Dylan Rakowsky, Customer Service Representative

Tips from TitlePLUS

TitlePLUS Times updates real estate professionals about TitlePLUS developments and related changes in conveyancing in Ontario. Comments and suggestions are welcome and should be forwarded to:

TitlePLUS
One Dundas Street West
Suite 2200, P.O. Box 75
Toronto, ON M5G 1Z3
Tel: 1-800-410-1013 or (416) 598-5899
Fax: 1-800-286-7639 or (416) 599-8341
E-mail: TitlePLUS@LAWPRO.ca
www.TitlePLUS.ca
www.LawyerMortgage.com
titleplus.lawyerdonedeal.com

¹ For complete information on limitation periods applicable to real property and other matters, please see the full text of the statutes at www.e-laws.gov.on.ca.
² S.O. 2002, chapter 24, Schedule B.
³ R.S.O. 1990, chapter L. 15.
⁴ S.O. 2002, chapter 24, Schedule B, Subsection 26(2).
⁵ S.O. 1998, chapter 19.
⁶ In Alberta, contact Phoenix Group Edmonton Inc. at 780-482-6936 for information.

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