Category: Land Titles

The Peachland Wildfire highlighted the importance of good urban planning and the use of Wildfire Covenants to reduce the danger posed by wildfires in the Okanagan The Ponderosa Golf Course development by TreeGroup acted as an important firebreak to prevent the fires from spreading into the densely populated Princeton ...

I heard a wonderful story from a client this week who had decided to propose to his girlfriend after he carried her "over the threshold" in to the new home they had just bought together in Kelowna The client asked me "When we get married, do we have to file that change with the Land Title Office"Steps to Name Cha...

I commonly get calls from home buyers and Realtors on what the legal notation "This Title May be Affected by a Permit under Part 26 of the Local Government Act" (previously Part 29 of the Municipal Act) meansUnder s927 of the Local Government Act, a local government (municipality or regional district) is required t...

Most transactions involve the discharge of at least one financial charge, being a Seller's mortgage which is found on most titles Where a seller has run into financial or legal trouble, often a Judgement, Builder's Lien or Certificate of Pending Litigation are registered against title to the LandsJudgement - A judg...

Equitable Charges and Rent Charges are charges which indicate that there are payments due from the landowner to the chargeholder In the Okanagan region often these charges are placed on lands by private utilities at resorts (for example: Big White, Silver Star or Apex Ski Resorts) to secure the payment of utility fees ...

A Priority Agreement is a notation on a Land Title where one chargeholder has chosen to grant priority over its prior registered charge to a subsequent chargeholderIn most cases, a Priority Agreement is registered by a lender (bank) holding a mortgage which requires priority over a previously registered mortgage On...

In British Columbia, there are generally two types of Covenants which are noted as charges on a Land Title:Covenants or Restrictive Covenants - must be "negative" obligations restricting what an owner can do on the lands and, similar to easements, there must be a dominant (benefited) lands and servient (burdened) ...

Statutory Building Schemes (under s220 of the Land Title Act) are charges on title that contain terms which limit what a home owner can do with his property and are placed upon the property by a developer at the time of subdivisionDevelopers use a Statutory Building Scheme to ensure that the neighborhood has a cert...

An easement is a property right where a land owner has the right to use a neighbor's property for the purposes defined in the easement Easements can be used for a variety of purposes including:Access (including Shared Driveways) Discharge of Materials (Septic Fields) Private Utilities (Public Utilities often u...

Prior to purchasing (or selling) any particular piece of fee simple property in British Columbia, most Realtors will obtain a copy of a Land Title Search Some of the information includes:Name of the Registered Owner - is this the person that you (or your Realtor) is negotiating with Legal Notations - contains im...

When buying a house, you must decide whose name will go on title Will you be the sole owner Should you be on title at all Will you and your spouse go on title together If so, will you be joint tenants or tenants in common What about your childrenWhat is the difference between Joint Tenancy and Tenancy in Common...