Practice area

Adding or removing someone from title in British Columbia

Changing the names on title is a short document and a long list of consequences. A mortgage lender has to agree, property transfer tax is calculated on value rather than on what was paid, and a transfer made for one reason can create tax and estate problems that surface years later. This page sets out what has to be dealt with before the transfer is registered, not after.

Typically · you
Subject removal
The date your conditions come off and the deal becomes firm. Financing, inspection and strata document review all have to be done by now. Your contract sets this date, not us.
If it slips
The contract can collapse. If you are not ready, the extension has to be agreed in writing before the deadline passes rather than after.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Set by law
Rescission period ends
The home buyer rescission period set by the Property Law Act, which runs from acceptance and lets a buyer back out of a residential purchase on payment of a fee. It applies whether or not anyone mentions it.
If it slips
This one does not slip. It runs from acceptance on a fixed basis and cannot be extended by agreement.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Your file opens with us
We receive your contract, verify your identity, and check the completion, possession and adjustment dates against each other. The earlier this happens the more room there is to fix anything.
If it slips
Everything downstream compresses. A file that opens late is the most common reason a completion runs tight.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · us
Title search and strata documents ordered
We search title for what is registered against the property, and on a strata we order the Form B and the associated records. This is where anything unexpected surfaces.
If it slips
A charge nobody knew about, found late, is a much bigger problem than the same charge found early.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · your lender
Lender instructions received
Your lender sends us their mortgage instructions and we prepare the documents. They arrive on the lender's schedule rather than ours, so we chase them instead of waiting.
If it slips
This is the single most common cause of a late completion. We will tell you as soon as a date looks at risk rather than on the morning it fails.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Document signing
You sign the transfer, the mortgage and the statement of adjustments, at our office, at yours, or remotely anywhere in the province. Bring identification.
If it slips
Signing has to happen with enough room to get documents where they need to be. Tell us early if you will be away.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · you
Funds to our trust account
Your balance of funds arrives by bank draft or wire. Never by email instruction, and never in response to a message that changes our banking details.
If it slips
Without cleared funds we cannot complete. This is a hard stop rather than a soft one.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · us
Completion
We register the transfer and the mortgage at the Land Title Office, the money is released to the seller's lawyer, and the property becomes yours.
If it slips
Registration and the release of funds happen in a set order. A late advance can push completion to the next business day, and your contract governs what that means for you.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file
Typically · your realtor
Possession
The day you can physically move in and collect the keys. Frequently the day after completion rather than the same day.
If it slips
Possession is set by your contract. Confirm the key handover arrangement with your agent rather than assuming it.
Your contract sets these dates. Everything between them is our work: the searches, the lender's instructions, the signing, the registration.
Start your file

Set by lawStandard practice, typically

Select a milestone for what happens there, and what it costs if it slips.

General information based on standard practice in British Columbia. Your contract governs your actual dates. This is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client relationship.

The covered front entrance of a cedar shingled home, a dark painted door catching late afternoon sun, with ferns in a pot beside the step.

Who this is for

Transferring title

You want to add your spouse or partner to title, remove a former partner after a separation, transfer a share to or from a family member, gift an interest, or update your registered name after a marriage or a legal change of name. It applies whether or not money is changing hands, and whether or not there is a mortgage on the property.

The work

What we do

01Start with what you are actually trying to achieve. Some goals people bring to a transfer are better served by a will, a trust, or a written agreement, and a transfer is difficult to undo.
02Search title to establish who is currently registered, in what shares, and what is registered against it: mortgages, lines of credit, liens, and anything that restricts a transfer.
03Deal with the mortgage. A lender's charge does not move aside for a transfer, so the options are the lender's written consent, an assumption by the incoming owner, or a discharge and a new mortgage. This is settled before we prepare anything.
04Prepare the Form A transfer and the property transfer tax return, and work out whether an exemption applies to your situation and what conditions come attached to it.
05Prepare the Land Owner Transparency Registry declaration that has to accompany the application.
06Explain joint tenancy and tenancy in common properly before you choose, and record the choice. One passes the share automatically to the surviving owner, the other passes it under the will.
07Tell you where you need accounting advice before we register, because a transfer can be a disposition for income tax purposes even where nobody paid anything.
08Sign, register at the Land Title Office, and send you the updated state of title certificate so you can see the result rather than take our word for it.

Your part

What we need from you

Gathering these early is the single biggest thing you can do to keep a file on schedule.

Government-issued identification for everyone going on or coming off titleOne piece has to carry a photograph. Names have to match title exactly, and where they do not, that mismatch is itself something we have to correct.
Your current mortgage details, and the lender's positionMost mortgages prohibit a transfer without the lender's consent. Registering one anyway can put the loan in default. We need to know who the lender is before we can tell you what is possible.
The reason for the transfer, with its paperworkA separation agreement, a court order, a marriage certificate, or a legal change of name certificate. Several property transfer tax exemptions depend on the transfer being made under one of these, so the document has to exist before the transfer, not after it.
Evidence of the property's fair market valueThe property transfer tax return is completed on fair market value, not on what was paid. Where nothing was paid, a current assessment or an appraisal is what supports the figure we file.
How the owners will hold title afterwardsJoint tenancy and tenancy in common produce completely different results on death. If you are adding someone, this is a decision, not a formality.
Whether anyone involved is not a Canadian citizen or permanent residentAn additional property transfer tax applies to foreign nationals and foreign corporations acquiring residential property in specified regions of the province. We need to know before we file, because the return is a declaration and it is audited.

Risk

Watch for

The things that actually derail this kind of file, rather than the ones that sound alarming.

Coming off title does not take you off the mortgage

These are two separate contracts. A transfer changes the register; only the lender can release a borrower from the loan, and it usually will only do so if the remaining owner qualifies alone. People discover this after a separation, when a mortgage they thought they had escaped shows up on their credit and blocks their next purchase.

Property transfer tax on a transfer where nothing is paid

The tax is calculated on the fair market value of the interest transferred, so a gift is not automatically tax free. There are exemptions for certain transfers between related individuals and between spouses, each with its own conditions, and some of them require the conditions to keep being met after registration or the tax becomes payable. Settle which exemption applies before you decide to transfer.

Adding an adult child to title for estate planning

It can keep the property out of the estate, and it can also expose the property to that child's creditors and to a family property claim if their relationship ends. It can trigger a disposition for income tax and affect the principal residence position. And after a death, families argue about whether the share was a genuine gift or held in trust for the estate. Get accounting advice, and put the intention in writing at the time.

A separation transfer done in the wrong order

Where a transfer is being made because a relationship ended, the exemption from property transfer tax depends on it being made under a written separation agreement or a court order. If the transfer is registered first and the agreement is signed later, the exemption may not be available at all. Get the agreement or the order in place first.

Questions

Common questions

Can I just add my spouse to title?

Only with the mortgage lender's agreement, if there is a mortgage. Beyond that it is a transfer like any other: a Form A, a property transfer tax return, and a transparency declaration. There is an exemption for transfers of a principal residence between spouses, with conditions. We check that it applies to your situation before we file rather than assuming it.

Does removing my ex from title remove them from the mortgage?

No. Title and the mortgage are separate. Only the lender can release someone from the loan, which normally means the person staying has to qualify for the mortgage on their own income. In practice that usually means a refinance at the same time as the transfer, and we set the two up to happen together.

Do I pay property transfer tax on a gift?

The tax is worked out on the fair market value of the share being transferred, regardless of what was paid, so a gift is not automatically exempt. There are exemptions for certain transfers between related individuals and between spouses. Whether one applies depends on the relationship, what the property is used for, and in some cases on what happens after registration.

I changed my name. Do I need to update title?

Yes, and it is a different and simpler application than a transfer. You apply to amend the register with evidence of the change, usually a marriage certificate or a legal change of name certificate. It is worth doing rather than leaving, because a name on title that does not match your identification will hold up your next sale or refinance at the point when you are least able to absorb a delay.

Can I add my adult child to title to avoid probate?

It is sometimes used for that, and it carries consequences people do not always weigh. The share can be exposed to your child's creditors and to a family property claim if their relationship ends, the transfer can be a disposition for income tax, and after your death there can be a genuine dispute about whether the share was a gift or held for the estate. Talk to an accountant and think about whether a will does what you actually want.

Talk to us about your file

We quote your file in writing before we start work, so the number on your statement of adjustments is the number you agreed to.

Start your file Send us your file: Refinance or title change