Certificate of location dating back more than ten years: What you should know?

Under various brokerage contract and promise to purchase forms edited by the OACIQ, the seller undertakes to provide the broker or the buyer, as the case may be, with a certificate of location “describing the current state of the immovable.” This expression refers to:

• The physical state of premises (e.g. the addition of a new construction: building, swimming pool, shed, fence or other on the land that is part of the immovable described in the certificate of location and on adjacent lands;
• The changes to municipal by-laws (shoreline protection strip, flood-prone area, restriction zone [gas, railway, etc.]); and
• The changes to municipal zoning (layout standards) that may affect the findings reported in the certificate of location. 

The certificate must reflect any cadastral renovation.

If the certificate of location that the seller had at the time of signing of the brokerage contract describes the current state of the immovable and reflects all cadastral renovations, the acting notary will not require a new certificate of location for his due diligence prior to the signing of the deed of sale. However, if the certificate dates back more than ten years, the notary will require a new one because of the ten-year prescription laid down in section 2917 of the Civil Code of Québec that allows acquiring a right of ownership.

Certificate of location dating back more than ten years

Accordingly, in all cases where the certificate of location dates back more than ten years and although it describes the current state of the immovable, the broker should inform his selling client when taking up the brokerage contract of the need to mandate a land surveyor to prepare a new certificate of location since the notary will require a new one when carrying out his due diligence. The seller will have to respond to the notary’s request. Although he can reach a prior agreement with the buyer regarding the fees incurred, it is sometimes better that the seller pays them first rather than having a dispute with a serious buyer!

For answers to other questions about the certificate of location, please read the following articles on synbad.com:

The certificate of location describing the current state of the immovable: Important elements to remember

Obtainment of the certificate of location: What clause should be used in the promise to purchase?

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