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Get Out of My House!
Taimoor Qureshi
November 16, 2020
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Purchasing a home is supposed to be one of the most exciting days of your life! As such, the last thing a Purchaser wants to deal with on the day of their purchase is a Vendor who has not provided vacant possession of the property despite the ownership having been transferred to the name of the Purchaser.
So, who is right in such a scenario?
The standard OREA form of Agreement of Purchase and Sale (the “APS’) used for the majority of residential real estate transactions in Ontario states that the Agreement shall be completed by no later than 6:00 pm on the scheduled closing day and upon completion, vacant possession of the property shall be given to the Purchaser, unless agreed to as otherwise in writing.
What complicates matters further is that title transfer for almost all residential properties in Ontario these days occurs via an electronic registration. As such, a Purchaser can technically become the legal owner of the property as early as 8:31 a.m. on the scheduled closing day so long as their closing funds along with their closing documents have been provided to the Vendor’s solicitor.
Nevertheless, becoming the registered owner of the property does not accord a Purchaser the automatic right to demand that the Vendor vacate the premises immediately.
Although it does not seem pleasant to be occupying the property for which you have already been paid in full, a Vendor does have until 6:00 p.m. on the date of closing to provide vacant possession so long as that is what is stated in the terms of the APS. If faced with such a situation, unfortunately a Purchaser has to wait until at least 6:00 p.m. before the Purchaser may take any actions.
The Vendor can however be held in breach of contract if vacant possession has not been provided past 6:00 p.m. on the day of closing. In such a scenario, the Purchaser reserves the right to call the authorities, present them with a copy of the Purchaser’s registered deed and demand for the Vendor to be removed from the premises. Moreover, a Purchaser in such a scenario also reserves the right to seek damages in court for any expenses the Purchaser may have incurred from 6:00 p.m. onwards on the day of closing as a result of the Vendor failing to provide vacant possession per the requirements of the APS.
Please feel free to contact one of our lawyers should you have questions about this topic.
Taimoor’s practice areas include Commercial law; Commercial Leasing; Corporate law; Mortgages; Residential Real Estate; and Wills and Estates.Taimoor was called to the Bar of Ontario and joined Kormans LLP in January 2019.Prior to joining Kormans LLP, Taimoor articled and clerked for boutique law firms where his exposure to residential and commercial matters from beginning to end helped develop his knowledge and skills in the aforementioned areas of la.
Taimoor is a strong believer in efficient client communication and does his best to keep clients as up to date as possible along all steps of a transaction.In his spare time, Taimoor is an avid follower of all major sports and enjoying the outdoors during the summer months.
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