Module 1 Lesson 3

Question 1

Fee Simple Estate

Answer 1

is the highest estate or absolute right in real property. The holder of such an estate has the most rights and fewest limitations, and can use, sell, lease, enter, or give away the property, or refrain from any of these rights. This bundle of rights, known as ownership, is subject to restrictions imposed by the government.

Question 2

Leasehold Estate

Answer 2

is an interest in land for a finite period of time (i.e. a week, a month, a year, 99 years, or any other specific period of time). In a leasehold estate, the person who is granted the leasehold is called the lessee or tenant, and the grantor of the leasehold estate is called the lessor or landlord. In a leasehold estate, the tenant has only the right of possession and use but not ownership.

Question 3

Air rights

Answer 3

relate to the rights to use space above the
physical surface of the land.

Air rights are normally acquired to permit the
construction of bridge approaches, piers, elevated
streets and sidewalks, and in some cases, entire
building structures. For example, construction of a
skyscraper or multi-level building above an existing
use, such as a railroad, constitute air rights.

Question 4

Surface Rights

Answer 4

refer to any right of land that is not mining rights. A surface rights holder is an individual who owns rights to land which do not include the mineral rights. The surface rights owner(s) of a piece of land can be identified by performing a title search at a land registry office.

Question 5

Riparian Rights

Answer 5

are the rights allocated to owners of waterfront property and are associated with the property owner’s access to and use of water. As a salesperson, you will typically encounter riparian rights in the listing and selling of recreational properties.

Question 6

Mineral Rights

Answer 6

involve the right to enter or use land for the purpose of removing minerals (such as gas, oil, gold, silver, and precious metals) on or beneath it. As a salesperson, you will encounter properties in which mineral rights are sold or reserved by the Crown. In this case, as a salesperson, you will have to refer the client to third-party service providers to obtain further legal advice.

Question 7

Joint Tenancy

Answer 7

Joint tenancy involves ownership of land by two or more persons whereby, upon the death of one, the surviving tenant or tenants acquire the whole interest in the property. Joint tenancy contains four unities: title, time, possession, and interest. This right of survivorship means that if one joint tenant dies, their interest does not pass to their estate but directly to the surviving joint tenant. In joint tenancy, all the owners have an equal and undivided interest in the property.

Question 8

Concurrent Ownership

Answer 8

joint tenancy and tenants in common.

Question 9

Tenants in Common

Answer 9

involves ownership of land by two or more persons. However, unlike joint tenancy, there is no
right of survivorship and the interest of a deceased person does not pass to the survivor but is treated as an asset of the deceased’s estate.

Question 10

CEC

Answer 10

Common Elements Condominiums

Question 11

Common Elements Condominiums

Answer 11

consists only of common elements such as roads, parking lots, common green space, or a community garden. There are no units, rather owners enjoy the common elements and pay a maintenance fee for the repair, maintenance, and replacement of any common element.

Question 12

Co-operative ownership

Answer 12

A co-operative is a joint ownership alternative in which a property is owned by a corporation, and members have an agreement to occupy a specific unit. Members may or may not hold shares in the co-operative, depending on whether the property is an equity or non-profit co-operative. As a salesperson, you will have to explain co-operatives to buyers who may be interested in pursuing this type of ownership.

Question 13

Equity co-operative

Answer 13

An equity co-operative is a corporation that owns the land and buildings with members as shareholders in the corporation. Ownership is by way of a share
certificate in combination with an occupancy agreement relating to a specific unit, usually accompanied by parking and locker.

Question 14

Non- profit co-operative

Answer 14

Each A non-profit co-operative is without shares and its primary purpose is to provide housing for its members. The members have no ownership interest
in the co-operative and simply pay rent to the corporation owner. There are a number of government and charitable agencies that provide non-profit cooperatives.

Question 15

Fractional ownership

Answer 15

Only owns a fraction of a building or property. 1/9 of the property is owned by one person and the rest is owned by others.

Question 16

Co-ownership

Answer 16

applies to any situation in which two or more persons own property jointly, be it two individuals owning a home, four family members owning a recreational property, or 10 investors owning a plot of land. It is a tenant in common ownership alternative, in which the deed outlines the proportionate interest in property held by each owner. This interest does not need to be equally divided.

Question 17

Land Lease

Answer 17

A land lease is a lease involving the leasing of the land only. It gives the exclusive right to use the land for the time the lease is active. Terms vary but commonly range from 20 to 99 years. Land leases can be granted by both private sources and by the Crown. Land leases offer the opportunity for consumers to own a home without the added cost of the land.

Question 18

Life Lease

Answer 18

the person does not own a property but an “interest” in that property in exchange for a lump sum payment up-front. The person also has to pay monthly maintenance fees that include a range of expenses, such as snow removal, landscaping, garbage disposal, repairs, building insurance, and possibly meals. The life lease interest gives the person the right to occupy or live in a unit rather than owning the unit itself. Most life lease housing projects in Ontario are owned and operated by established non-profit and charitable organizations. A life lease typically lasts until the end of the lease holder’s life or until the lease holder decides to move. Details regarding resale will be listed out in the life lease agreement.

Question 19

Timeshare

Answer 19

Timeshare is the division of property rights into fractional interests based on time. It has proven most popular in the sale of recreational properties.

Timeshares generally fall under two categories:
• Fee Ownership Interest
• Right to Use Interest

Question 20

Fee ownership Interest

Answer 20

In fee ownership interest, a buyer purchases an actual deed interest in the property for a specific period of time each year. Ownership does not end after a specific time period and usage rights can be sold, gifted, or included in a will.

Question 21

Right-to-use interest

Answer 21

In a right to use interest, a buyer purchases the right to use a unit but does not have an ownership interest in the property. The buyer does not receive a title deed, the contract only gives the right to use for a specific time period. Typically, the right to use will expire after a stated number of years and then revert back to the owner of the property.

Question 22

Mobile home Parks

Answer 22

A mobile home is a dwelling that is designed to be mobile and is being used as a permanent residence. A mobile home park is the land on which one or more occupied mobile homes are located and includes the rental units and the land, structures, services, and facilities of which the landlord retains possession and that are intended for the common use and enjoyment of the tenants of the landlord.

Question 23

House Boat ownership

Answer 23

Ownership of residential houseboats is unique, as there is no “land” in question but rather the value is in the dwelling itself and any relevant docking permits and leases, therefore it is similar in nature to a land lease. A houseboat owner needs to ensure their right of dockage, access to utility hook ups and access rights to the marina or docking facility

Question 24

Easements

Answer 24

An easement is a right enjoyed by one landowner over the land of another and is granted for a special purpose rather than for general use and occupation of the land. It does not grant ownership to any part of the land, only a right to use for that special purpose. An easement is an interest that runs with the land, which means that it binds Easements subsequent owners and is not eliminated just because the property has sold. Agreements related to easements are
usually registered against title to both properties effected by the easement.

Question 25

Characteristic of Easements

Answer 25

- Specific Use - Dominant and Servient tenements - Two different parties - Sole Benefit - Transferable - Adjoining and non-adjoining

Question 26

Dominant Tenement

Answer 26

A dominant tenement is the estate or interest in land that derives benefit from an easement over a servient tenement, as in a right-of-way. An easement must confer a benefit on the dominant tenement.

Question 27

Servient Tenement

Answer 27

The servient tenement involves land over which an easement exists in favour of a dominant tenement.

Question 28

Easement Creation

Answer 28

- Express grant - Prescription - Implication - Statute

Question 29

Easement Termination

Answer 29

- Merge, Release, and ceasing of purpose

Question 30

Right-of-way

Answer 30

A right-of-way is a frequently encountered form of easement that allows another person to travel or pass through another person’s land. A right-of-way is also defined as an easement that includes the right to enter upon the lands of the servient tenement for the purpose of maintaining the easement and making repairs. Typically, such maintenance and repairs involve public utilities, such as telephone, railway, gas, and oil rights. Often such rights-of-way are referred to as statutory easements

Question 31

Party Wall

Answer 31

Another common type of easement is party wall. Party wall easements are created when registered owners of adjoining parcels of land (for example, semidetached houses in which each side has a separate title) enter into a party wall agreement. The agreement will declare the dividing wall between the dwelling units, a party wall, and set out the rights, privileges, and covenants that exist in respect of the party wall. These will usually be the same for both parties.

Question 32

Mutual Shared Driveway

Answer 32

Another type of easement, commonly found in certain market areas, is a mutual shared driveway. This strip of land is shared by adjoining neighbours, is used as a joint driveway for both parties, and is created by an easement on each property. Mutual shared driveways can be a potential source of confusion or worse, litigation.

Question 33

Restrictive Covenant

Answer 33

A restrictive covenant is a type of contractual arrangement that places restrictions on what the owner of the land can do with their property. A restrictive covenant is a legally binding obligation written into the deed of a property and is registered on title. Restrictive covenants run with the land; therefore, a new buyer who purchases a property with a restrictive covenant on title must honour these restrictions. The covenant must be negative and reasonable in nature. Many restrictive covenants originate in subdivision agreements and often become part of the municipal bylaw structure.

Question 34

Encroachment

Answer 34

An encroachment is a situation that arises when a property owner violates the property rights of their neighbour by building a structure wholly or partially on the neighbouring property. Examples of encroachments include: sheds, driveways, garages, roof overhangs, eaves, retaining walls, or fences. Often times, the encroachment is unintentional as the owner is unaware of the property lines or has wrong information pertaining to the property lines.

Question 35

Adverse Possession

Answer 35

Adverse possession, or squatters’ rights occurs when an individual who is not the owner takes possession of the property, without the consent of the owner. It is possible, under adverse possession, if certain conditions exist, for an occupier of land to extinguish the title of the owner and claim legal ownership of that land. For adverse possession to be effective, the claimant’s possession must be visible, exclusive, and continuous for a period without the consent of the owner but with the owner’s knowledge. In Ontario, the time requirement for use or occupation giving rise to an adverse possession claim is a minimum of 10 years. No title claims by adverse possession can occur under the land titles, which is a system of land registration in Ontario.

Question 36

Profit a prendre

Answer 36

Profit-à-prendre is an interest in land and gives a person the right to enter another’s property based on a written agreement and take something from it such as crops, minerals, fish, or timber. This right can, in some instances, pass with title upon the sale of the property.

Question 37

Expropriation

Answer 37

Expropriation involves the acquisition of private property by the government for the public’s best interest and use with fair compensation to the owner. This is done by the government exercising the right of eminent domain. There is a process in place to permit a landowner to object to the expropriation and/or the amount of compensation being offered.

Question 38

Right to Regulate

Answer 38

Right to regulate is the right of government to regulate property for the promotion of public safety, health, morals, and general welfare. It is also referred to as police power. Zoning bylaws, building codes, traffic, and sanitary regulations are also based on this right to regulate. Various federal and provincial statutes impact land ownership, such as land planning

Question 39

Right to levy taxes

Answer 39

Right to levy taxes is the right of the government to levy taxes on property. An example of these is real property tax, which funds the operating budget of the municipality to provide services to the people in that municipality. Another example would be the land transfer tax, which is paid on the purchase price of the property.

Question 40

Escheat

Answer 40

Escheat is the reversion of property to the government or some kind of government agency in the event that a property owner dies, leaving no will and having no legally qualified heir to whom the property may pass.