Assurance Claims

What is an Assurance Claim?

The assurance and compensation provisions of The Land Titles Act, 2000, were created to compensate people for certain financial losses due to errors or omissions of the land registration system and real estate fraud. If you believe that you have suffered a loss due to a Land Registry error or to fraud, you may submit a claim to be reimbursed for your loss. This claim is called an assurance claim and is governed by Part XII of The Land Titles Act, 2000.

What Claims Qualify for Compensation?

Claims arising out of the following circumstances may qualify for compensation from the assurance fund:
  1. Where the Registrar made an error or omission in registration contrary to The Land Titles Act, 2000.
  2. Where a former registered owner has been deprived of title through the registration of an invalid transfer and is prohibited from bringing a court action to recover the land.
  3. Where you as a registered owner have lost title to land because there are two or more competing titles to the same land and the other title was registered first.
  4. Where you have brought an action in court to get the land back either because of fraud or because another title was wrongly issued for the same land, and the court decides to give you the land back but an interest against that land (for example a mortgage) registered while the land was not in your name and must remain on title.

Certain losses due to an error or omission on the part of the Registrar are not compensable. For example, a loss based on rights related to an uncertified mineral title on or after June 1, 1951, is not compensable under Section 86 of The Land Titles Act, 2000.

Other claims are excluded pursuant to Section 85 of The Land Titles Act, 2000, namely losses due to:

  • Knowingly participating or colluding in a fraud.
  • Breach of trust, including an implied or constructive trust.
  • Improper use of a corporate seal.
  • A corporation lacking the capacity or authority to deal with the title or interest.
  • A registration that was authorized on behalf of a corporation by a person who did not have the authority to bind the corporation.
  • The failure of the Registrar to register a judgment against a title or interest in the name of someone whose name is different in any way from the name in the judgment.
  • The registration of a judgment against a title held by a person other than the one named in the judgment.
  • The failure of the Registrar to enforce any requirements in an act other than The Land Titles Act, 2000.
  • A transfer or interest was registered pursuant to a power of attorney that was not properly granted.
  • A correction by the Registrar under sections 97, 99 and 101 of The Land Titles Act, 2000.
  • A claim that the boundaries are for a parcel of land or condominium unit are different from what you thought that they were and that was included in two or more Crown grants.
  • A packet withdrawal or the failure of the Registrar to withdraw a packet after a request for packet withdrawal.

How Long Do I Have to Make a Claim?

The length of time that you have to bring a claim is governed by The Limitations Act. Under that Act, you have two years from the date that you discover your loss to make your claim.

I Believe that I am Entitled to Compensation. What Now?

In order to submit an assurance claim, you must prepare a detailed summary of the facts of the situation as well as providing evidence of the loss you suffered. The claim must be submitted in writing to the attention of the Registrar of Titles.  It can be sent by mail, fax or courier, or by personal delivery to:

The Registrar of Titles
Office of Public Registry Administration
Ministry of Justice
920-1801 Hamilton Street
Regina, SK
S4P 4B4
Fax: 306-787-4732

What Kind of Compensation May be Available?

The assurance and compensation provisions allow compensation for the following losses:
  1. The loss suffered due to the Land Registry error or to fraud.
  2. Reasonable legal costs and expenses related to bringing the claim.
  3. Interest on the amount of compensation from the date the Registrar receives the claim at the rate established pursuant to The Pre-Judgment Interest Act.

The amount of the loss suffered is limited to the loss that was suffered due to a Land Registry error or due to fraud. For example, if a Land Registry error delayed your packet from processing, you would be able to claim if you had to pay late closing interest as the buyer or interest on a mortgage that could not be paid out on the date that was originally planned. You would not be able to claim for the rest of your transaction costs that were not due to a Land Registry error.

The amount of loss will also be limited by section 87 of The Act. For example in the case of a loss of a title, compensation cannot exceed the lesser of the actual amount of the loss suffered and the value of the title. In the case of the loss of an interest compensation cannot exceed the lesser of the actual amount of the loss suffered and the value of the title or interest against which the interest was registered.

Not all losses can be compensated. For example, you cannot be paid for pain and suffering, mental anguish, or costs that you would have incurred anyway had the error, omission, or fraud not occurred. 

What is Required to Support My Claim and Prove My Loss?

An assurance claim is similar to a court case in that the burden of proof is on the claimant to prove that a loss occurred and to prove the amount of the loss. Here are some examples of losses that can be claimed, and what the Registrar requires to assess those losses:
  • If you are claiming for the loss of a title, you may be limited to the value that you have placed on the title in your affidavit of value. It is therefore important that you put the correct amount in the affidavit. If your affidavit of value contained an intentionally low value for the purpose of paying less in transfer fees, you may be limited to that amount when it comes time to make an assurance claim. You will not be limited to the value that is placed in the affidavit of value if there has been a significant improvement to the land since the issuance of the title or if the buildings that were on the land are not there anymore due to fire, flood, demolishment etc.
  • If your claim is for late closing interest, do not forget to also provide a calculation of the interest you would have paid, if any, on the mortgage had the registration not been delayed. If you did not have a mortgage or mortgage interest was not paid, you should state this in your claim.
  • If you are making a claim for legal fees incurred due to an ISC error, it is important that you submit a statement of account from your lawyer. The statement of account should provide sufficient detail to allow us to verify that the fees were incurred as a result of the ISC error. The statement of account must also indicate the amount of time billed for each task, and the hourly rate charged. If you are claiming for legal fees, you will be limited to the amount of fees that relate to an error, omission, or fraud. For example, if you were in the process of transferring your title when you discovered the error and the transaction was delayed while the error was discovered, you are entitled to claim for the legal fees associated with discovering and correcting the error, but not the regular expenses for transferring the title which you would have paid in any event had there been no error.

What Happens Once My Claim is Submitted?

Once the Registrar of Titles has received your claim, you will receive a letter to inform you that your claim has been received and that the Registrar of Titles or one of the Business Services Counsel have been assigned to you file. Depending on the nature of your file, you may be asked for additional information or documentation to help clarify your claim. If you have provided the information that is listed above, your claim may be assessed more quickly.

Once the Registrar of Titles has received all the required information and your claim has been assessed, you will receive notification in writing that the Registrar has either:
  1. Accepted your claim in its entirety.
  2. Accepted your claim in part, in which case you will receive a detailed description of what portions of your claim have been accepted and the reasons the rest of the claim have been denied. You will also be asked whether or not you agree to settle for this amount.
  3. Denied your claim.

If the Registrar agrees to pay your claim, or you agree to the settlement amount that the Registrar proposes, then you will be sent a cheque and asked to sign a release of your claim. A release means that you agree that you accept the money that you have received as a full and final settlement and that you will not bring another action against the Registrar, ISC, or anyone associated with ISC as a result of the same transaction. If you do not agree to sign a release of your claim, we will be unable to provide you with a cheque, and we will ask that you mail the cheque back.

If the incident that gives rise to the claim for compensation occurred prior to implementation of the electronic Land Registry in the former Land Registration District where the land is located (see section 1 of The Land Titles Act, 2000), then the claim must be paid through the Department of Justice, which may take more time.

What if I am Unhappy with the Registrar’s Decision?

If the Registrar has denied your claim or has made an offer of compensation that you refuse to accept, you may bring a court action against the Registrar as a defendant. You are not entitled to bring a court action against the Registrar unless the Registrar has denied your claim or made you a settlement offer that you do not wish to accept.