Encyclopedia
Title search
A search of the land title register to see ownership and registered charges.
For example: A buyer's lawyer orders a title search. (Illustration only, not a real deal.)
Official source: Land Title and Survey Authority of BC
Example only, not a real client. Say you are buying a corner retail building in East Vancouver. The title search shows a right of way for a neighbour’s driveway and an old covenant about building height. You get copies of both documents, confirm with your lawyer that neither blocks your plan to add a patio, and remove subjects with confidence.
What I’d tell a friend
Read the title search and the documents behind each charge, not just the summary list. A short line on title can carry a long story.
Why it matters to you
It shows who owns the property and what's registered against it, like mortgages, liens and covenants. Do it before you remove subjects, because what's on title becomes your problem.
How to use it in your deal
Buyers should search title before writing an offer, then again before removing subjects and just before closing, since new charges can appear. Have your lawyer pull the documents behind each charge and explain them; the summary lines don't tell you what a covenant actually requires. Check that the seller's name matches the owner, especially with companies and estates.
Tenants signing a long lease should search title to confirm the landlord owns the property and to see mortgages that could affect you, then consider registering your lease. Lenders search to protect priority. Owners can search their own title occasionally to catch surprise filings. For strata properties, also get strata documents, since title won't show bylaws or levies.
Mistakes I see
Reading only the summary. Not searching again before closing. Ignoring charges you don't understand. Forgetting strata documents.
In BC and Vancouver
The Land Title Act governs the register; the LTSA offers searches online.
Official sources: Land Title Act (BC Laws) · Land Title and Survey Authority of BC · LTSA: information for property owners
What a title search shows
A title search shows who owns the property and the charges registered against it, such as mortgages, easements, rights of way, covenants, liens and leases. In BC you get it through the Land Title and Survey Authority.
Each charge refers to a separate document with the details. The summary tells you something exists; the document tells you what it actually means.
What to do with it
Order the title search early, and get copies of any charge you do not understand. Some, like a statutory right of way for utilities, are common and harmless. Others, like a restrictive covenant, can limit how you use or develop the property.
Ask your lawyer which charges will be removed at closing, such as the seller’s mortgage, and which will stay with the property after you buy it.
Questions to ask before you sign
- Who's the registered owner?
- What charges are on title?
- What do they require?
- Has anything changed since my last search?
- Should I register my lease?
Keep reading
Related terms: Land Title Office / LTSA, Easement
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General information for British Columbia only. It isn’t legal, tax, accounting or financial advice, laws and rates change, and reading it doesn’t make you my client. Any numbers or scenarios are hypothetical. Check the linked official source and talk to a lawyer, accountant or other qualified professional before you act or sign anything. See the terms and disclaimer.