The Requisition Period: The Invisible Step That Actually Protects You When Buying in Ontario
What your lawyer searches between acceptance and the Requisition Date — and why title insurance now stands in for a survey
What is the requisition (title search) period when buying a home in Ontario?
The requisition period is the window set by Clause 8 of the OREA Agreement of Purchase and Sale (Form 100): from the moment the seller accepts your offer until the Requisition Date written into the contract, your lawyer investigates the property’s title at your expense — confirming the seller truly owns clear title and flagging any unpaid mortgages, liens, easements, or work orders — then formally demands, in a requisition letter, that the seller clear those defects before closing.
Source: Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) Form 100, Clause 8 (2026)
The single most protective step in an Ontario home purchase is one you never actually see. Between the day your offer is accepted and the day you close, your lawyer is quietly investigating the title. Done right, you take possession of clean title. Done poorly, someone else’s old debts and disputes can land on you.
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Start with the contract: what the Requisition Date actually is
Clause 8 (TITLE SEARCH) of the OREA Form 100 gives the buyer until 6:00 p.m. on a specific date — the Requisition Date — to examine title to the property at the buyer’s own expense. That date is the hard deadline by which your lawyer must complete the title search and deliver a written letter of objections to the seller’s lawyer. It isn’t a vague stretch of days; it’s a concrete date negotiated into the agreement, and most buyers scroll right past it while fixating on price, deposit and the closing date.
According to OREA (2026), best practice is to set the Requisition Date at least two weeks before closing — enough runway for your lawyer to search and for the seller to fix anything that surfaces. Ordering the search, reviewing it, and relaying any issue to the seller’s lawyer all take days, not hours, so this unremarkable-looking date quietly governs how much protection you actually get.
ℹ️Tip: The Requisition Date is a negotiable field when your offer is drafted. OREA (2026) recommends setting it at least two weeks before closing — the earlier you set it, the more room both sides have to fix anything the searches uncover.
Search one: the title search
• Ownership — that the seller is the registered owner and the name matches;
• Mortgages and liens — every charge on the property, plus any construction liens or other unpaid debts;
• Restrictions, easements and covenants — registered restrictions, easements and rights-of-way, restrictive covenants;
• Agreements — registered municipal agreements and agreements with regulated utilities.
The point is to make sure title is, in the words of Clause 10, “good and free from all registered restrictions, charges, liens, and encumbrances” beyond the minor exceptions the form allows.
Search two: the off-title (non-title) searches
• Property taxes and utilities — no arrears;
• Zoning compliance — whether the property’s present use “may be lawfully continued” (that exact phrase in Clause 8);
• Work orders and deficiency notices — no outstanding orders (e.g., unpermitted work, open building permits);
• Fire insurability — the principal building can be insured against risk of fire.
For rural properties, the lawyer and buyer should also look into the well and septic system, which fall outside a typical urban checklist.
Search three: the requisition letter
💡 Key point: Clause 8 hides a double deadline that’s easy to misread. The off-title searches must be completed by the earlier of (i) 30 days from the later of the Requisition Date or the date all conditions are waived/fulfilled, or (ii) five days before completion. In plain terms: set the Requisition Date too close to closing and, if a real problem surfaces, you may be left with only a handful of days to solve it. Moving the Requisition Date earlier buys you time.
⚠️Don’t treat title insurance as a catch-all shield: known defects and boundary problems that only a fresh survey would reveal are usually excluded. Title insurance covers future surprises — it does not verify today’s physical lot lines.
Title insurance: why most Ontario buyers now use it instead of a new survey
Buyers once routinely paid for an up-to-date survey (Surveyor’s Real Property Report) to confirm boundaries and check for encroachments. Today the vast majority of Ontario buyers instead purchase title insurance — a one-time premium (a few hundred to just over a thousand dollars, scaling with price), arranged by your lawyer at closing, covering you for as long as you own the home with no annual renewal. If you’re buying with a mortgage, your lender will almost certainly require a lender title insurance policy before it funds the deal, so in practice most financed purchases carry it either way.
According to FSRAO (2025), title insurance can protect against title defects, errors in public records, forgery and title fraud (someone fraudulently transferring or mortgaging your property — a real and rising risk), undisclosed liens, certain survey and boundary issues such as encroachments, and some zoning or work-order problems. Because it can absorb those survey-type boundary risks, most lenders accept title insurance as an acceptable alternative to ordering a fresh survey.
💡 But keep the distinction clear: title insurance is not a survey. FSRAO (2025) notes it is “not boundary insurance.” A survey tells you the physical facts — whether the fence actually crosses the line. Title insurance gives you financial compensation if a covered problem later surfaces. Known defects, and problems only a fresh survey or inspection would reveal, are typically excluded. It insures against risk; it does not go out and measure your lot lines for you.
🚨Title investigation is a lawyer’s job, not a DIY online lookup. Always retain an Ontario real estate lawyer to run the requisition period — missing a single undischarged lien can put someone else’s debt on you. This article is educational; consult your own lawyer for your transaction.
What happens if a title defect can’t be resolved
This is where the requisition period earns its keep. Under Clause 10 (TITLE) of the OREA Form 100, if — within the times set in Clause 8 — you make a valid written objection to title, to an outstanding work order or deficiency notice, to the present use not being lawfully continuable, or to the building not being insurable against fire, and the seller is unable or unwilling to remove, remedy, satisfy it (or obtain title insurance at the seller’s expense, except against risk of fire), and you will not waive it — then the Agreement is at an end, and all monies paid, including your deposit, are returned without interest or deduction. The seller and the brokerages bear no liability.
The flip side: if you make no valid objection in time, you are deemed to have accepted the seller’s title. So this window is not a formality — it’s your lawful exit.
Closing day: one final title search
Even after the earlier searches, the buyer’s lawyer performs a final title search on closing day to confirm nothing has changed since. The reason is practical: a new registration — say, a fresh lien or a newly registered writ — could appear on title mere hours before the deal closes. That last check is the final gate on taking clean title.
Put the whole sequence together and the requisition period stops looking like paperwork and starts looking like what it is: the structured, deadline-driven process that stands between you and inheriting a stranger’s problems. It runs almost entirely out of view, handled by your lawyer — which is exactly why choosing a competent Ontario real estate lawyer, and giving them enough time by setting a sensible Requisition Date, is one of the highest-leverage decisions you make as a buyer.
Closing Costs in Ontario →Ontario Home Buying Guide →The Ontario Selling Blueprint →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Requisition Date the same as the closing date?
No. The closing (completion) date is when title transfers and you get the keys. The Requisition Date is an earlier deadline — the last day for your lawyer to finish the title search and raise written objections. Per OREA (2026), it’s typically set at least two weeks before closing to leave time to investigate and clear issues.
If I buy title insurance, do I still need a title search?
Yes. Title insurance doesn’t replace your lawyer’s search — the two do different jobs. Your lawyer actively searches title and demands the seller clear any defects; title insurance gives you financial compensation if a covered problem (fraud, an undisclosed lien) surfaces later. In a proper deal your lawyer searches first, then arranges title insurance at closing. They stack.
Can title insurance replace a survey, or vice versa?
No — they’re distinct products. Per FSRAO (2025), title insurance is not boundary insurance. A survey reports physical facts like boundaries and encroachments; title insurance pays out on defects listed in the policy. Known defects and issues only a new survey would reveal are typically excluded. That said, most lenders accept title insurance in place of ordering a fresh survey.
If the seller can’t clear a title problem, do I get my deposit back?
Generally yes. Under Clause 10 of the OREA Form 100, if you make a valid written objection within the Clause 8 timelines, the seller is unable or unwilling to resolve it, and you don’t waive it, the Agreement ends and all monies paid — including your deposit — are returned without interest or deduction. That is the requisition period functioning as your exit.
How is a title search different for rural properties?
Beyond the standard title and off-title searches, rural or non-municipally-serviced properties add scrutiny of the well and septic system — condition and compliance — which isn’t part of a typical urban checklist. Build the relevant investigation into your offer conditions and have your lawyer confirm the details.
Arthur Zhao
Real Estate Broker · FRI · ABR · SRS · PSA · MCNE · E-PRO · CLHMS & GUILD Elite · REAIS
VP & Branch Manager, Bay Street Group Inc.
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