[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN CANADA - QUÉBEC]
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KEY FACTS OF REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS UNDER CANADIAN (QUÉBEC) LAW
Unlike the other Canadian provinces and territories, which are all common law jurisdictions, Québec is a civil law jurisdiction. It is governed by the Civil Code of Québec , originally inspired by the French Napoleonic Code, and therefore quite distinct from other Canadian legal systems. In Québec, real estate is categorized as being immovable (real) property, as opposed to movable (personal) property. Both lawyers and notaries handle Québec real estate transactions, but only notaries may receive deeds creating encumbrances (hypothecs, known as liens or mortgages in other jurisdictions). Québec notaries are not analogous to notaries public in other jurisdictions; they receive the same legal training as lawyers but are members of the Chamber of Notaries and graduate from its distinct post-university program, specializing in real estate matters. I. STANDARD FORMS OF AGREEMENTS Residential Transactions – Pre-Sale Documents All Québec licensed real estate brokers governed by the Real Estate Brokerage Act (Québec) and its Regulations are required to use the following forms provided by the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ) when preparing brokerage contracts as well as the following agreements for the purchase, sale, and lease of immovables: • Exclusive brokerage contracts for the sale or purchase of: (i) Chiefly residential immovables containing less than 5 dwellings excluding co-ownership
(iii)
Undivided co-ownership – Share of a chiefly residential immovable held in undivided co- ownership
(iv)
Residential lease
(v)
Sale of a mobile home situated on leased land
Lease documents: (i)
•
Promise to lease
(ii)
Counterproposal
(iii)
Lease amendments
Sale / Purchase documents (i) Promise to purchase (ii)
•
Counterproposal to a promise to purchase
(iii)
Amendments
(iv)
Waiver of conditions ( e.g. , financing, inspection)
(v)
Annex F – Financing
(vi)
Annex R – Residential Immovable
(vii)
Annex RC – Remuneration and Costs Declarations by the seller of the immovable (land and buildings, appurtenances, dependencies) Declarations by the seller of the immovable - Divided co- ownership
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
Enhancements
prior
to
acceptance Commercial Transactions – Pre-Sale Documents In commercial purchases, either party may prepare the offer to purchase or sell (as the case may be). These are often highly negotiated
(ii)
Divided co-ownership – Fraction of a chiefly residential immovable held in divided co- ownership
ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series
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