The Easement Statute Law Amendment Act , 1990 became law on June 21. In it are many changes, most of which deal with altering the forty-year rule in the case of Municipal Easements. The following is an outline of the background and substance of The Act.
The Registry Act provides for a system in which interests in land are protected by the registration of documents and plans. The system protects interests by providing notice of them to other persons.
Prior to 1981, registered easements could be preserved beyond the forty-year search period contain in The Registry Act by either registered a notice of claim or by referencing the easement in other instruments.
In 1981, Registry Amendment Act , 1981 eliminated the second option of referencing easement in other instruments in order to facilitate the automation of land records. Therefore, an interest in land, including a municipal or the Ministry of Government and Services easement, could not be preserved by its mention in an unrelated instrument. Easements older than forty years could still be protected by a Notice of Claim.
Since the 1981 elimination of the referencing option for maintaining interests, many municipalities were unable to register notices of claims because they were not certain of the location or extent of many of their easements. The uncertainty was due to a number of reasons, such as the amalgamation of smaller towns where records were not complete. Therefore, the Ministry proposed The Easement Statute Law Amendment Act , 1990, based on a proposal from the Association of District, Metropolitan and Regional Solicitors which and been adopted by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. Both the Ministries of Municipal Affairs and Government Services were involved in the development of the Acts.
The Act exempts municipal and the Ministry of Government and Services easements from the requirement of registering a notice of claim until December 31, 1999 and retroactively preserves/recreates these easements expiring since 1981. It is expected that the Act will protect these interests for a time sufficient for the municipalities and the Ministry of Government and Services to locate and register their easements. Compensation will be provided as most owners know the locations of these easements on their properties.
Attached are a copy of The Act and a list of its highlights. It is important to note that there are no changes to registration procedures caused by these amendments.
Carol D. Kirsh, Director of Land Registration
Katherine M. Murray, Director of Titles
View original attachment(s) in PDF.
Contact the Director of Titles for accessible versions of additional PDF attachments.