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When Do We Get Keys?
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Taimoor Qureshi
September 3, 2020
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One question that is asked by pretty much every Purchaser in relation to their purchase transaction is what time they will get keys to the Property on the day their transaction is scheduled to close.
There is no fixed time as to when keys may be released to a Purchaser. Keys or the code to the lockbox on the Property which may contain same cannot be released to the Purchaser unless the Purchaser is the legal owner of the Property, exception being if the Parties agree to close in escrow (more on that below).
In order for the Purchaser to become the legal owner of the Property, registration for the ownership of the Property must be conveyed from the Vendor (also known as the Transferor) to the Purchaser (also known as the Transferee). This registration only takes place once the closing funds have been transferred from the trust account of the Purchasers’ solicitor into the trust account for the Vendors’ solicitor. Upon receipt of the adequate funds into their trust account, along with the Purchasers’ closing documents, the Vendors’ solicitor releases the Transfer (also known as the Deed) to be registered by the Purchasers’ solicitor.
As most mortgage lenders do not advance proceeds of a mortgage to the Purchasers’ solicitor until the day of closing, funds cannot be paid to the Vendors’ solicitor in advance.
The registration deadline in Ontario for the Land Registry online system is 5:00 PM EST. As such, if there is a delay in receipt of funds, the registration may not take place on the day of closing. However, the standard OREA Agreement of Purchase and Sale used for most residential and some commercial real-estate transactions allows for the Parties to complete the transaction until 6:00 PM EST.
As such, if the Purchasers’ solicitor is able to provide the adequate funds to the Vendors’ solicitor in trust prior to the 6:00 PM EST deadline, the Parties can agree to close in escrow, whereby funds from the sale proceeds may be released to the Vendor and keys may be released to the Purchaser on the scheduled closing day, with the registration of the Transfer to take place on the next business day.
Please feel free to contact one of our lawyers should you have questions about this topic. Also, be on the lookout for a future blog post which shall discuss what happens if the Vendor is still present at the Property despite the Purchaser becoming the registered legal owner on title!
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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