This page covers the title to a home in Canada: what a title search shows, liens registered against a property, and title fraud.
Title fraud
Title fraud is rare, but it can be financially devastating. A criminal gets your property’s title transferred, mortgages it, takes the money and vanishes, leaving you to prove you own your own house. Here is how it works and the protections available.
How title fraud works
The typical scheme
Step
What the Criminal Does
1
Identifies a target property — often mortgage-free, vacant, or owned by an elderly/absent owner
2
Steals the owner’s identity — through data breaches, stolen mail, social engineering, or dark web purchases
3
Creates forged documents — fake ID, forged transfer documents, or fraudulent power of attorney
4
Impersonates the owner — contacts a lawyer or notary, poses as the owner to initiate a title transfer
5
Transfers title to themselves (or an accomplice) — registered at the provincial land titles office
6
Takes out a mortgage against the property using their new (fraudulent) ownership
7
Collects the mortgage funds and disappears
8
Legitimate owner discovers the fraud — often months later when mortgage payments are missed and the lender contacts them
Alternative schemes
Scheme
How It Works
Fraudulent mortgage (no transfer)
Criminal forges documents to take out a second mortgage on your property without transferring title
Power of attorney fraud
Criminal obtains or forges a power of attorney to act on behalf of the homeowner
Refinancing fraud
Criminal impersonates the owner to refinance the existing mortgage and extract equity
Sale fraud
Criminal sells the property to an innocent buyer, collects the proceeds, and disappears
Who is most at risk
Risk Factor
Why
Risk Level
Mortgage-free property
More equity to extract; no lender statements that would reveal a new mortgage
Unexpected mail about a mortgage or loan on your property
A mortgage may have been fraudulently obtained
Utility service changes you did not request
New “owner” may be setting up their own accounts
Credit report shows inquiries you did not authorize
Someone may be using your identity
Strangers claiming to own your property
Title may have been transferred without your knowledge
New construction or renovation notices for your property
Someone may be using the property as if they own it
Notification from land titles office about a transfer
The fraud is already registered — act immediately
Financial impact of title fraud
Cost
Without Title Insurance
With an owner’s title insurance policy
Legal fees to restore title
You pay (a contested case can cost tens of thousands of dollars)
Covered, within the policy’s terms
Court costs
You pay
Covered, within the policy’s terms
Fraudulent mortgage on title
You deal with the lender and the court
Insurer handles the claim
Compensation
A claim against the provincial assurance fund, where one exists
Insurer compensates covered losses
Time and stress
You run the legal process
Insurer runs the legal process
How to protect yourself
Protection layer 1: Title insurance
Action
Details
An owner title insurance policy
Often a few hundred dollars, one time, at closing; covers fraud, forgery and title defects within the policy’s terms
Ensure you have an owner policy, not just lender
Lender policy protects the bank — owner policy protects you
Keep your policy document
You need it to file a claim if fraud occurs
Protection layer 2: Property title alerts
Some land registries offer online services for owners to follow changes to their title, and every province lets you search your title (usually for a fee):
Province
Service
How It Works
BC
BC Property Connect (LTSA)
Lets owners securely track updates to their property
Ontario
ONLAND / Teranet (land registry)
Title searches online, for a fee; ask about any alert service offered
Alberta
Alberta Land Titles
Title searches for a fee
Manitoba
Teranet Manitoba (Property Registry)
Title searches for a fee
Saskatchewan
ISC (Information Services Corporation)
Title searches for a fee
A notification service or an occasional title search catches a fraudulent registration earlier than waiting for mail to stop arriving.
Protection layer 3: Identity protection
Action
Why
Monitor your credit report
Fraudulent credit inquiries are often the first sign
Secure your personal documents
SIN card, passport, birth certificate locked away — not in your car or wallet
Shred sensitive mail
Utility bills, bank statements, and tax documents are identity gold
Use strong, unique passwords
For online banking and property accounts
Care with power of attorney
Granting it only to people you trust, and revoking it when no longer needed
A fraud alert on your credit file
Asks lenders to take extra steps to confirm your identity before granting credit
Check your credit report for unauthorized inquiries
Within 24 hours
8
Document everything in writing
Ongoing
Provincial title registration systems
Different provinces offer different levels of protection against title fraud:
Province
Registration System
Fraud Protection
Ontario (Land Titles)
Torrens system — government guarantee of title
Province may compensate (Land Titles Assurance Fund)
BC
Torrens system — indefeasible title
Assurance Fund compensates innocent victims of title fraud
Alberta
Torrens system
Government assurance fund available
Quebec
Registry Division system
Less strong — registration does not guarantee title
Saskatchewan
Torrens system
Government assurance fund
Manitoba
Torrens system
Government assurance fund
Atlantic provinces
Varies — mix of Registry and Land Titles
Varies by province
The Torrens system advantage
In Torrens system provinces (ON, BC, AB, SK, MB), the registered owner shown on title is generally considered the legal owner. If fraud is registered, the province may compensate the legitimate owner through an assurance fund. That process can be slow; a title insurer runs the claim for its policyholder.
Title fraud vs other property fraud
Fraud Type
What Happens
Primary Protection
Title fraud
Ownership transferred fraudulently
Title insurance + property alerts
Mortgage fraud
Fraudulent mortgage taken against your property
Title insurance + credit monitoring
Rental fraud
Someone rents out a property they don’t own
Tenant verification
Real estate agent fraud
Agent misrepresents or commits fraud in transaction
Regulatory body complaints
Identity-based fraud
Your identity stolen and used for any property transaction
Identity monitoring + credit freeze
Cost-benefit analysis of protection
Protection
One-Time Cost
Annual Cost
What It Prevents
Title insurance (owner policy)
Often a few hundred dollars
$0
Legal costs and losses from title fraud, within policy terms