You can remove an interest from title if you are the registered interest holder. The formal name for this process in the Land Registry is an Interest Discharge.
Why Remove an Interest?
A Title does not give the named owner clear title to a land parcel as long as legal interests like mortgages and liens, stay registered on it.
For example, if a buyer needs a mortgage to purchase a parcel of land, the mortgage lender will register a legally enforceable interest on the Title.
The land and any buildings on the Parcel are what the lender takes as collateral for the loan. This protects the lender in the event the buyer defaults on the mortgage.
Once the debt is repaid in full, the lender's claim is no longer valid and should be removed from the title.
A Title helps protect the buyer’s interests too. Buying a parcel that still has a mortgage on it makes the buyer responsible for that debt.
Because the title shows what the outstanding legal interests are on a parcel, a buyer can decide whether or not they want to buy a parcel and all of the debt that might go along with it.
Most buyers will usually require the seller to have the title cleared of any outstanding legal interests as a condition of the sale.
Interest holders usually remove their interests voluntarily. In most cases, the interest holder must consent to the removal of their interest from a title. However, an authorization to remove an interest can also come in the form of a court order if that court determines an interest is not valid.
Some interests are automatically removed from titles once they expire. One kind of interest that will typically expire is a provincial writ of execution. Other kinds of interests can be lapsed by the title owner.
Check out our Land Titles Form Bundles area for step-by-step instructions on how to remove/discharge an interest on title.
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