A Surrey real estate lawyer gets your ownership onto the register and explains what it means

What does a real estate lawyer do in BC?

A real estate lawyer in BC prepares and files the documents that change the title register, and explains what the change means for the owner. On most files those documents are a transfer of the land, a mortgage for the lender, and a property transfer tax return, filed electronically with the Land Title and Survey Authority.

The tax return is made under the Property Transfer Tax Act, and the buying page covers its exemptions. Each transfer also carries a transparency declaration under the Land Owner Transparency Act; a corporate, trust or partnership buyer reports the people behind it to the Land Owner Transparency Registry, which LTSA runs.

The advice matters as much as the filing: the register records whatever ownership it receives, and changing it later means another transfer, often another tax return, and usually the lender's consent.

What does it mean to own property in British Columbia?

Most owners in British Columbia hold land in fee simple, the fullest form of private ownership, either as a house on its own lot or as a strata lot in a building or complex. Some hold a leasehold interest instead, which lasts only for the lease term. Each form carries obligations, from property tax to strata bylaws.

A strata lot is also fee simple, but its common property belongs to all owners as tenants in common, run by the strata corporation under the Strata Property Act. Leasehold land returns to the landowner when the term ends. Owners also take on yearly duties:

• Property tax: billed yearly by the City of Surrey; unpaid tax stays with the land.
• Home Owner Grant: claimed yearly under the Home Owner Grant Act by an owner living in the home.
• Speculation and vacancy tax: a yearly declaration by each owner of residential property in Surrey and other taxable regions.
• Strata duties: bylaws, rules, monthly fees and special levies.
• Insurance: a house owner insures the building; a strata owner insures contents, improvements and deductibles charged back.

How does the Land Title Act protect property owners?

The Land Title Act makes a registered owner's title indefeasible: the register is conclusive evidence that the person named owns the land, subject to the charges shown and a short list of exceptions in the Act. Someone who loses land or an interest in it through fraud or a registry error may claim compensation from the Assurance Fund.

Charges usually rank in the order registered. The protection has edges. Section 23 lists interests that bind an owner without appearing on title, such as a short lease where the tenant is in actual occupation, unpaid municipal taxes and public highways. A person who took title by their own fraud is not protected, and the Assurance Fund pays only on the Act's conditions and within its limits.

What can be registered against my title, and what never shows up on it?

A title search lists the registered owner and every charge, lien and notation filed against the land: mortgages, builders liens, easements, restrictive covenants, statutory rights of way and pending court claims. It does not show zoning, a short unregistered tenancy, a relative's claim to a share held in trust, or a family law claim not yet filed.

Zoning sits in the City's bylaws, so a search cannot confirm a suite is permitted. A spouse's family property claim shows on the register only if they file a certificate of pending litigation or an entry under the Land (Spouse Protection) Act.

Can someone sell or mortgage my home without me knowing?

Title fraud happens in BC, usually by someone posing as the owner to sell or borrow against the property. Under the Land Title Act, a person who registers a forged or void document generally acquires nothing by it, and the true owner can ask for the register to be corrected. Identity checks by lawyers and notaries are the first barrier.

Section 25.1 of the Act deals with void instruments. The harder case is a later buyer who dealt honestly with the registered owner: that buyer may keep the land, leaving the original owner to claim against the Assurance Fund. Whether LTSA currently offers owners an alert when a new document is filed against their title is worth checking on its site.

How does the way I hold title affect my will and my family?

Joint tenancy passes the whole property to the surviving owner outside the will and outside the estate, so the will cannot redirect it. A tenancy in common share is part of the owner's estate and passes under their will. On a separation, the Family Law Act divides family property between spouses whoever's name is on title.

Because survivorship sits outside the estate the Wills, Estates and Succession Act governs, spouses in a second marriage who each want their own children to inherit can find joint tenancy does the opposite. A parent who adds an adult child to title to save probate fees under the Probate Fee Act exposes the home to the child's creditors and separation, and a court may presume the parent kept the benefit. The title transfers page sets out those choices.

Sections 84 and 85 of the Family Law Act decide what counts as family property and what is excluded; our guide to separating when you own a home explains how.

Which kind of real estate help do I need?

Start with what is changing about your ownership. You may be acquiring a property, giving one up, changing who owns it, borrowing against it, buying a home that is not built yet, dealing privately with someone you know, signing so someone else can borrow, or leasing or buying premises for a business. Each has its own page.

• Buying a home: acquiring a property and deciding whose names go on title, and with whose money.
• Selling a home: giving up ownership when a death, an attorney, a separation, a tenant or a move abroad affects who signs.
• Presale condos and assignments: buying a home not yet built, from the developer or another buyer.
• Refinancing and discharges: borrowing to pay out a former spouse or siblings, or clearing an old mortgage.
• Title transfers: changing owners without a sale, including after a death.
• Private sales: dealing with someone you already know, often on family terms.
• Independent legal advice: being asked to guarantee, co-sign or go on title for someone else.
• Commercial leases and purchases: leasing or buying premises for a business.