Module 1 Lesson 4 Flashcards
Edmund Gunter
Edmund Gunter designed and introduced a system of measurement using chains and links known as Gunter’s Chain. This system was essentially a primitive measuring tape that enabled plots of land to be
accurately surveyed. When Ontario was initially surveyed, plots of land known as concessions, further divided into lots, were established using the chain and link method. Chains were 66 feet long, 100 links made a chain, and 80 chains equaled one mile. Each concession was 100 chains across or 1¼ miles.
Single front township
The single front township—the oldest of the township
systems—was laid out in southern Ontario between
1783 and 1818 and was found generally on the banks of navigable lakes and rivers.
Double front township
The term double front township refers to a township
where the original survey laid out the township in lots to be 30 chains (1,980 feet) by 66.67 chains (4,400 feet). They were usually patented, or given their legal identity, in half-lots containing 100 acres.
Sectional system township
The sectional township system of land division involved 1,000-acre sections and was introduced in 1835. In this arrangement, lots were designed to be 20 chains by 50 chains, and to contain 100 acres.
Land Surveys
A survey is an Ontario land surveyor’s determination of the boundaries of a piece of land, and depicts accurate mathematical measurements of land and improvements. A survey also depicts land description and can be used to identify land, the locations of structures and their distances to lot lines, as well as any restrictions on the land such as encroachments, easements, or rights of way.
Types of Surveys
- Surveyor’s Real Property Report
- Reference Plan
- Plan of Survey
- Plan of Subdivision.
Four components of surveying
- Research
- Measurement
- Monumentation
- Plan and/or Report
The acts
- Surveys Act
- Surveyors Act
Building Location Surveys Parts
Part 1- Plan of Survey
Part 2- The Written Report
The Surveyors Real property report
The municipal address and information regarding the land titles or registry office designations
• The dimensions and bearings of all property boundaries as determined by a field survey, according to the standards for surveys of the Ontario Association of Land Surveyors
• The designation of adjacent properties, roads, lands, etc.
• The location and description of all notable improvements on the property, along with the setbacks, or minimum distance requirements, to the property boundaries. The projection of overhangs and eaves are also noted, as well as fences, driveways, walkways, swimming pools, trees, etc.
• The location of any easements or rights-of-way that may affect the property
• The location and dimensions of any visible encroachments onto or off the property (hydro lines, telephone, etc.)
• The location of survey monuments found and placed
• A note indicating for whom the plan is prepared
• Certification by an Ontario land surveyor
• Written report
R-plans are normally required for
- Severance of an existing parcel of land – the reference plan is for descriptive purposes only as a formal consent for land severance is required
• First application (first registration) under the Land Titles Act
• When the land registrar determines that the title is too vague or complex, an R plan would be requested for clarity
Reference plan
often referred to as an R-plan, is a survey that normally describes more than one interest in land (each interest identified as a part), which is deposited (officially submitted) in a land registry office. Buildings may or may not be shown on reference plans. A reference plan has multiple purposes and with few exceptions. All changes to land require a reference plan to be deposited in the land registration office.
Plan of Survey
A plan of survey is a visual depiction of the property, but does not contain a written report and lacks certain
certificates required by the Registry Act or Land Titles Act that would appear on a Surveyor’s Real Property Report.
As a result, it could not be registered at the land registration office. This type of survey would be useful to a homeowner to establish property boundaries and perhaps use it for such things as securing a building permit.
Plan of Subdivision
A plan of subdivision is also prepared by an Ontario land surveyor and is a detailed survey indicating lots and blocks of lands and roads. A plan of subdivision is created for the development of future neighborhoods, and illustrates individual parcels that will be created once the plan has been approved by the appropriate municipal authorities and registered in the land registry office.
Legal Land Description Needs
- Locational Reference
- Encumbrances
- Municipality/registry office
LT
Lot
S/T
Subject to
PL
Plan
PT
Part
T/W
Together with
PCL
Parcel
Metes and bounds
Metes and bounds is on older system of written land description whereby a property is described using compass directions and distances ultimately enclosing the property being described.
Land Registration System
Land registration systems provide for the orderly registration of ownership of land in Ontario.
Two Land Registry systems
Registry Acts and Land Titles Act
Land titles is based on these three principles:
- Mirror principle
- Curtain principle
- Insurance principle
E-Registration
E-registration speaks to exciting opportunities in how properties are listed and marketed. For example, with a few mouse clicks, a salesperson can confirm who is the registered owner, determine what financing exists, and identify various issues that might affect the selling of the property. Such information—when combined with tax assessment information and Geographic Information System (GIS) data—has revolutionized the entire process.
The Registry Act
records property interests on a geographic basis. All land within counties is registered at registry offices. The basic recording books are the “abstract books.” The next largest division is the township. Accordingly, abstract books in the registry office are divided on a township basis. Townships are divided into concessions and lots. Each book covers particular farm lots within each concession and within each township.
The Land Titles Act
operates on the premise that the Land Titles Register (a book roughly comparable to the Abstract
Book in Registry) is the sole information source for purchasers. Land titles is based on three principles:
- mirror principle
- curtain principle
- insurance principle
The Primary features of the land titles system
• It is a method of government registration of title to land in which the government—subject to certain
limitations—guarantees the title and operates the registration process.
• All transactions must be registered against the title in the provincially operated land titles office and are not
valid in the form of mere instruments executed by parties as against other competing registered interests.
• The certificate of title is intended to be a complete and accurate reflection of the result of all preceding
transactions affecting the property. Persons dealing with a registered property do not need to look elsewhere except to search a few statutory exceptions.
• An assurance fund is provided that is intended to provide compensation to those persons who suffer loss due to errors or omissions of the registrar in the operation of the system.
• No title to land registered under the Land Titles Act, that is averse to the title of the registered owner, can be acquired by any length of possession or prescription (squatter’s rights).
• Each parcel of land is recorded in the register at the land titles office as a unit of property. The land is
surveyed, and accurate boundaries in parceled descriptions are available that facilitate the recording of land dispositions.
• A land titles office is officially referred to as the Land Registry Office for the Land Titles Division of the Regional Municipality [or county] of [name]. Each land titles division is overseen by a land registrar.
Mirror Principle
The register of title is a mirror that accurately and
completely reflects, beyond all argument, the current
facts that are material to a person’s title.
Curtain Principle
The register is the sole source of information for
proposed buyers, who need not and indeed must not,
concern themselves with trusts and equities that lie
behind this curtain of information.
Insurance Principle
The mirror principle is deemed to give the absolute
correct reflection of title but, if through human error, a
flaw appears, anyone who suffers loss must be put in
the same position, so far as money can do, that they
would have been in had the reflection been a true one.
Land Titles Assurance Fund
The Land Titles Assurance Fund, established under Part V of the Land Titles Act, states that persons deprived of ownership through selected errors or fraud are entitled to compensation, provided such compensation cannot be obtained from other sources.
Land Titles Conversion Project
The Land Titles Conversion Project provides
streamlined procedures to accelerate the process and the access to land registration records by way of Teraview (responsible for implementation, operation, and enhancement of POLARIS).
Land titles absolute
Almost 35 per cent of the land in the registry system was converted into the land titles system using the Land Titles Absolute (LTA) system. LTA is issued for parcels that are brought into land titles by way of first application. As such, these titles are subject to title qualifiers set out in the Land Titles Act.
Land Titles Converted qualified
The remaining 65 per cent of the land was
brought into the land titles system through the Land Titles Conversion Qualified (LTCQ) system. The LTCQ system involves parcels that are brought into land titles during the administrative conversion from registry records to a land titles parcel.
Title Problems
Problems with boundaries, encroachments, and conflicting descriptions are more common than title-related problems and typically involve conflicting descriptions in deeds of adjoining properties. The search conducted for land titles conversion will often uncover such conflicts. Since the situation is so common, all printouts of the parcel register contain a note to advise the reader that they should search for inconsistencies in adjoining descriptions.
POLARIS
POLARIS is an acronym for Province of Ontario Land Registration and Information System. This automated land registration system operates based on title index (description of property ownership) and property mapping (surveys and plans) databases.
Implementation of POLARIS
The implementation of POLARIS has proven costly and time consuming, given the searching and reorganizing of documents and property data under individual parcels. This data forms the basis for the computerized title index. Secondly, the recording of mapping information forms the foundation for the property mapping database.
POLARIS, as a result, permits the user to find property by “individual parcel” (referenced by a property identification number or PIN), by individual name, or by street address within the title index. Further, property mapping allows the geographic pinpointing of described properties.
Block Index Map
Large tracts of land within individual communities are organized in terms of blocks. The user first references the block index maps to find the general location of the property.
Property Index Map
The user then views the property index map for the appropriate property. Each map is merely a detailed expansion of individual blocks identified in the block index maps.
Property Identification Number (PIN)
A PIN is assigned when properties are converted to land titles and automated under the POLARIS system. Properties can then be sourced by PIN. A combination of block number and property index number form the PIN
Searching POLARIS
- Unique nine-digit PIN
- Municipal address
- Name
- Registered instrument number
- Map
- Condominium plan
- Plan of subdivision
Accessing database with Teraview
- Title index database
- Property index database
- Image database
Title Index Database
This database replaces the abstract indexes and parcel registers found in the traditional paper-based land registry office. The database is automatically updated as new documents are registered.
Property Index Database
This database provides visual indexing maps to locate properties. Updates occur following document registration when mapping amendments are made relating to property boundaries.
Image Database
This database includes plans as well as images of all active instruments in the title index database. E-registration documents are updated shortly after registration. Paper-based documents are collected on microfilm and then transferred to the image database.
Teraview
“Teraview” is an electronic gateway software operated by Teranet, which provides clients with online remote access to land information products and services including the POLARIS land registration system. The gateway is designed to permit users (primarily those in the legal profession, as well as municipal officials) to perform selected search activities through online connections to land registry offices.
GeoWarehouse
As a salesperson, you will more likely use GeoWarehouse, a web-based property information source that also pulls data from POLARIS. Salespersons can use GeoWarehouse to access sales and demographic information about properties and neighbourhoods, “exterior, aerial and bird’s eye view images” of properties, and any other information about a property including anything registered against it (such as a mortgage or other encumbrances).
OnLand
Teranet—in partnership with ServiceOntario—has built “OnLand”, a web portal to deliver key statutory services
relating to land and property ownership in Ontario to land registry professionals and the public.
This service allows users to search historical and current property records anywhere in the province from the convenience of their home or office, instead of visiting a land registry office.
Forms used for Land Registration
Form 1: Transfer/Deed of Land Form 2: Charge/Mortgage of Land Form 3: Discharge of Charge/Mortgage of Land Form 4: Document General Form 5: Schedule
Transfer/Deed of land
This form is used to convey title or an interest in property and includes the full names of both sellers (transferors) and buyers (transferees) along with birth dates.
Any other person who has an interest in the estate being conveyed would also join in the document (for example, third parties such as a life tenant, a spouse releasing matrimonial home possessory rights, and heirs or beneficiaries of an estate).
The Transfer/Deed of Land is normally registered along with the Land Transfer Tax Affidavit. A Land Transfer Tax Affidavit must accompany every document being registered in Ontario land registry offices that transfer an interest in land.
Charge/Mortgage of land
- Principal Amount sets out the principal amount of the mortgage that was originally placed on the property.
- Description provides the legal description of the mortgaged property.
- Interest/Estate Charged outlines the type of estate, such as fee simple, leasehold, or life estate.
- Standard Charge Terms identifies the standard charge terms that apply between mortgagee and mortgagor. Standard charge terms provide detailed terms of the mortgage and are assigned a number in the land registry office when filed.
- Payment Provisions outlines the payment provisions, including last payment. A balance due date is provided, as Canadian mortgages typically have long amortization periods combined with short terms (often referred to as Canadian roll-over mortgages), resulting in a balance due amount and an appropriate balloon payment required.
- Additional Provisions provides for any special provisions agreed between mortgagee and mortgagor, such as prepayment privileges. If insufficient space, a schedule is used.
- Chargor(s), Spouse(s) of Chargor(s) and Chargor(s) Address for Service set out details concerning the charger (mortgagor), with Boxes 14–15 relating to the chargee.
- The balance of the form involves property details including assessment roll number (who prepared the form) and fees associated with the mortgage registration.
Discharge of charge/ mortgage of land
The “Discharge of Charge/Mortgage” (Form 3) is a standard form used when discharging a mortgage under either registry or land titles systems. The Discharge of Charge/Mortgage is executed by the mortgagee and given to the mortgagor verifying that a mortgage loan has been repaid in full before, at, or after the maturity date. This document is registered at the land registration office as a permanent record of the discharge.
Document General
The Document General is used in a variety of
circumstances associated with property titles, such as
notices of liens on a property or a registration of a
power of attorney.
Schedule
The “Schedule” (Form 5) is used as an attachment with
other paper-based or electronic forms. The schedule
can accompany a Transfer/Deed of Land, Charge/Mortgage of Land, Discharge of
Charge/Mortgage of Land, or Document General.
E-registration document flow
- Create/update
- Messaging
- Complete
- Release
