Tax, Legal & TRESA

Independent Legal Advice (ILA): What It Actually Protects Against — and What Happens If You Skip It

Why does a guarantor — or a spouse consenting to a mortgage on the family home — need advice from a separate lawyer before signing? According to the Canadian Bar Association, Independent Legal Advice (ILA) protects the person taking on risk without the reward, and produces a certificate that keeps the loan from being unwound later. Here is what ILA guards against (undue influence, unconscionability), when it is mandatory, what happens in the meeting, the cost of skipping it, and why one lawyer cannot act for both sides.

A Certificate of Pending Litigation on Your Title: What It Means Mid-Transaction, for Sellers and Buyers Alike

A Certificate of Pending Litigation (CPL) has landed on your title mid-sale. Under section 103 of the Courts of Justice Act, a CPL is a court-issued notice registered against title that freezes any dealing — lenders walk, buyers walk. This explains what a CPL is, the "interest in land" gate that decides whether it is even valid, why your closing stalls, how to get it discharged under s.103(6) and Rule 42.02, and the strict-liability trap for anyone who registers one without a real claim.

Four Programs, Four Different “First-Time Buyer” Tests: FHSA, HBP, the LTT Rebate, and the GST New Housing Rebate

FHSA, HBP, Ontario’s land transfer tax refund, and the GST New Housing Rebate each define a first-time home buyer differently: FHSA and HBP use a four-year window, Ontario’s refund is lifetime and worldwide, and the GST rebate ignores first-time status entirely — it looks at whether the home is your new primary residence. The same buyer can qualify for some and not others.

Terminating a Buyer Representation Agreement in Ontario: What TRESA Actually Lets You Walk Away From

Signed a buyer representation agreement and want out? According to RECO, under TRESA the agreement is with the brokerage, the expiry date must appear on page one, and it does not auto-renew. Here is how termination really works: letting it lapse, a mutual cancellation (Form 301), why the holdover clause still bites after you leave, and escalating from the broker of record to a RECO complaint.

Development Charge Exemptions for Ontario ADUs Under Bill 23: What “Free” Actually Means for a Second or Third Unit

Bill 23 amended Ontario’s Development Charges Act so a second or third residential unit in a detached, semi or rowhouse can be development-charge-free (with conditions), with parkland and CBC waived too. But water/sewer connection charges and building permit fees still apply, the fourth unit depends on your municipal by-law, and pre-exemption payments generally are not refunded.

The Property Tax and Rent Part of the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OEPTC): Who Qualifies and How Much

The OEPTC — the property tax and rent part of the Ontario Trillium Benefit — is claimable by both renters and homeowners. For the 2026 benefit year the maximum is about $1,307 (about $1,488 if you are 65+). Here is who qualifies, how 20% of your rent counts, how to claim it on the ON-BEN form, and the mistakes that cost people money.

Adding a Legal Basement Rental Unit: Will MPAC Reassess Your Home Into a Higher Property Tax Class?

Adding a legal basement or ADU rental unit can trigger a supplementary or omitted assessment on the new improvement, but a house with one added unit is two units — far short of the seven-unit multi-residential class threshold, so your tax class doesn't change. Value is still set on the Jan 1, 2016 base year, and back-taxes reach at most the current year plus two. What to do when the Change Notice arrives.

Multiple Wills in Ontario: They Shrink Probate Tax on Your Business — Not on the House You Own Outright

Ontario multiple wills (primary/secondary) save Estate Administration Tax on assets that don't need probate — private-company shares, shareholder loans — not on a home registered in your sole name. Land in the Land Titles system still needs a certificate to transfer. EAT: nil under $50,000, then $15 per $1,000. Not legal advice.