Buying

Buying a Home Near a Hydro Corridor in Ontario: Permits, EMF, and the Effect on Price

Buying a home near a hydro corridor or transmission line? Provincial corridor lands are owned by Infrastructure Ontario, with Hydro One holding the easement and priority for transmission. Permanent/temporary structures are prohibited in the corridor; pools and sheds need PSLUP approval, and a 6m access path plus 15m clearance around towers must be kept clear. On EMF, according to Health Canada there's no conclusive evidence of harm at typical residential levels. The price effect fades quickly with distance. Here's the rules, the health position, and due diligence.

What Is a NOSI on Your Property Title? Ontario Banned Them in 2024 — Check Before You Buy or Sell

See a NOSI (Notice of Security Interest) on a property title? According to the Government of Ontario (2024), the Homeowner Protection Act, 2024 came into force June 6, 2024, banning NOSIs on consumer goods like water heaters, A/C and furnaces and deeming all existing consumer NOSIs expired. Here's what a NOSI is, how the law protects you, and what to check on title before closing.

“Buying the Home but Not the Land”: Land-Lease and Life-Lease Homes — What’s Behind the Lower Price

Ontario land-lease and life-lease homes cost less than ordinary homes, but you're not buying full title. Land lease: you own the home and rent the land beneath it, paying a monthly land-lease fee. Life lease: you buy a right to occupy, not ownership, and resale is usually restricted. Both are harder to finance and resell in special ways. Here's what they are, the cost of the low price, and what to ask before buying.

The Fence Is in the Wrong Place, the Neighbour Took My Land — Boundary Disputes and Adverse Possession in Ontario

How do Ontario boundary/fence disputes and adverse possession work? Per the Real Property Limitations Act, adverse possession requires 10 continuous years of possession; but per the Land Titles Act, once land was converted to land titles (mostly around 2010), no new possessory rights arise — only claims that matured before conversion are protected. The 2025 Supreme Court decision Kosicki v. Toronto tightened this further. Here's how to check, prevent, and handle it.

Buying a Home in a Regulated Floodplain in Ontario: Permits, Insurance, and Due Diligence

Buying a home near a river in Ontario may put you in a regulated floodplain. According to TRCA / the Conservation Authorities Act, filling or building in a floodplain requires a conservation-authority permit; Ontario's 36 conservation authorities regulate this under O.Reg 41/24 and related rules. Insurers also keep their own flood maps and may decline high-risk lots. Here's how to check, permit, and insure.

Buying Rural or Wooded Land in Ontario: Private Well and Septic Due Diligence

Buying a rural or wooded property in Ontario? Private wells and septic systems are the heart of due diligence. According to Public Health Ontario, bacterial well-water testing is free (the safe E. coli standard is 0/100 mL). Here's how well testing, septic rules (OBC Part 8), offer conditions, and rural-specific traps like conservation land and easements work.

Blind Bidding in Ontario and the New Rules: Why You Make an Offer, and TRESA Disclosure

Is buying in Ontario 'blind bidding'? According to RECO, in multiple offers the seller's agent must disclose the number of competing offers. Since December 1, 2023 under TRESA (O. Reg. 567/05 s.22.7), a seller may choose to share offer content (an open process), excluding buyers' personal information. Here's how blind bidding, TRESA disclosure and avoiding reckless condition-waiving work.

Should You Use an Escalation Clause in a Bidding War? How It Works & 4 Risks

In an Ontario bidding war, an escalation clause makes your offer automatically beat the highest competing bid by a fixed increment, up to a cap. How it works, RECO's position (not illegal but not endorsed), and four risks: revealing your ceiling, the appraisal gap, the proof problem, and phantom offers.