Housing: Owning, Renting & Neighbours

Individual band members do not “own” reserve land like people do off reserve.  Reserve land belongs to the Band as a collective and the Band Council manages it for the community. 

Band Council can allocate land to band members and make by-laws about the occupation and use of reserve land. That includes making by-laws about things like:

• Construction and new development
• Occupancy
• Transfer of rights
• Trespass
• Zoning

Although people sometimes use the term “tenancy” to describe their living situation on reserve, the Residential Tenancies Program does not have jurisdiction over tenancy disputes on reserve land. 

There are many different property rights. Property law textbooks talk about “bundles of rights.” Your bundle of rights might be a lot different than someone else’s. 

For example, property rights can include rights related to

• Title
• Possession
• Use
• Quiet enjoyment
• Transfer
• Granting permissions or “licenses”
• Using the property as security for a loan

This isn’t a complete list; it’s just some of the most common examples. 

A person might have some, none, or all of the various rights associated with a piece of property. 

In Canada, all rights are subject to limits. Property rights are no exception. Lots of different things can limit property rights. For example, they can be limited by:

• Contract terms
• Easements and restrictive covenants
• Rights of neighbours
• Band by-laws
• Municipal by-laws 
• Provincial and federal laws

Off-reserve, each parcel of land has registered title holders who are considered the owners of that parcel. The title holders are usually in control of the land and they usually have the ability to transfer, sell or mortgage it. 

To get title to a parcel of land, someone with the proper legal authority must transfer some or all of a previous title holder's rights to you. For example:

• An owner might sell you their land. Contracts for land transfers must be in writing and signed by the parties. The title holder prepares a deed with the help of a lawyer, which the lawyer registers in the Land Registry System. 
• An owner might give you land in their will, which would be transferred to you by the personal representative of their estate. The personal representative will need to get a Grant of Probate and transfer the land to you with the assistance of a property lawyer. 
• If you're legally married and your spouse owns property, they might transfer title to you at separation as part of your divorce settlement. The terms of the settlement will have to be written down in a signed agreement and a lawyer will have to complete the transfer.
• You may inherit land as an heir where the deceased owner did not leave a will. An eligible person will need to get a Grant of Administration from the Probate Court and transfer the land to you with the assistance of a property lawyer.  

Almost every single land transfer in Nova Scotia now requires the involvement of a property lawyer authorized to use the Land Registry System (even “private sales”). In the rare cases where a lawyer isn’t required, involving a lawyer is still a good idea because lots can go wrong without one.

Some people think they can acquire ownership of land even if it wasn’t transferred to them, but that’s very rare (see the next point). 

You do not get squatters’ rights just because you occupy a property you don’t own. It takes a long time before a person might acquire squatters' rights. It takes at least 20 years on private property and 40 years on government property. The time is just one requirement. There are lots of other conditions that apply. 

Go here for detailed information about squatters’ rights. 

A lien is a type of secured interest in a property. A lien holder doesn’t own the property. A lien holder is someone the property owner owes money to; their lien corresponds to a financial obligation on the part of the property holder. 

Not everyone with a financial claim against a property owner can register a lien. The lien must be legally authorized by the terms of a contract, statute, or by a judge in a court order. For example:

• Mortgages are contracts that give the lender the right to register a lien against the property subject to the mortgage. 
• The Builders’ Lien Act is a statute that allows contractors to register liens against property they have worked on. 
• A person who successfully sues a property owner in court can register the judgment, which creates a lien against the property.

If there’s a dispute about who owns a piece of land that the parties can’t resolve, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court has jurisdiction (unless the land is on reserve). The parties cannot use the Nova Scotia Small Claims Court. 

That means land ownership disputes can be expensive. We do not recommend attempting to resolve an ownership dispute without assistance from a property lawyer. 

A tenant is a person who pays rent to occupy the place they live. Rent means money or anything else of value that a person pays in exchange for the right to occupy their place. 

Landlords and tenants are supposed to use a standard form of written lease called a Form P. However, you can be in a tenancy even if you don’t have a written lease. 

If you live on property you don’t own and are paying money to live there; you’re probably a tenant even if you don’t have a written lease. Being a tenant means that a law called the Residential Tenancies Act applies to you and your landlord. That means some rules apply, including rules about how your tenancy can end. 

If you’re uncertain whether you’re in a tenancy, you can contact the Residential Tenancies Program to discuss your situation with a staff person there. 

The Residential Tenancies Program is usually just called Residential Tenancies. It is the branch of the provincial government that enforces the Residential Tenancies Act and deals with disputes between landlords and tenants. It is a program of Service Nova Scotia. 

You can contact Residential Tenancies by attending your nearest Access Nova Scotia location or by calling 1-800-670-4357 and following the prompts. 

Not everyone who occupies a property they don’t own is a tenant. To be a tenant, you must either be listed as a tenant under the terms of a lease or pay rent. 

Occupants do not have the same rights as tenants. What rights an occupant has depends on the circumstances related to their occupancy. 

There are lots of different occupancy scenarios; here are just a few:

• Couch surfing (living rent-free with a family member or friend)
• Living on estate property (property owned by a deceased person) 
• Living in an outbuilding on someone’s land (like a garage, bunky, laneway house, or shed)
• Parking an RV or other vehicle on someone’s land. 

If you’re unsure whether you're a tenant or an occupant, you can contact the Residential Tenancies Program to discuss your situation with a staff member. You can contact Residential Tenancies by attending your nearest Access Nova Scotia location or by calling 1-800-670-4357 and following the prompts. 

Landlords and tenants sometimes fantasize about suing each other. That rarely makes financial sense. 

If you’re a landlord or a tenant with a dispute about your tenancy that you can’t resolve, the dispute goes to Residential Tenancies, not civil court. 

The Residential Tenancies Program does many things, but one of its main roles is to act as an administrative tribunal for landlord-tenant disputes.That means it has the legal authority to hear most disputes between landlords and tenants.

Go here for more information about the Residential Tenancies dispute resolution process.

A builders’ lien is a remedy for anyone who supplies materials, provides services, or performs work that improves someone else’s land. 

Builders’ liens aim to fill a gap in the common law (law from court decisions) that negatively affects contractors and suppliers on construction projects. Suppliers and contractors often work on a property and then have trouble getting paid. Suppliers and contractors have a common law claim for breach of contract against whoever they had a direct contract with.  They could sue whoever agreed to pay them for their work.  But, often, the property owner was not the one they had a contract with and not the one who agreed to pay them. Instead, their agreement may be with another contractor supervising their work on the project (this type of contractor is called a general contractor). 

It is very common in construction projects, and particularly larger projects such as building a new home from scratch, to have what is called a ‘construction chain’ where the owner contracts with a general contractor, who in turn contracts with sub-contractors, who in turn contract with sub-sub-contractors and suppliers (see figure).

This construction chain can create a situation where a sub-contractor performs work on a project without getting paid by the general contractor. This could be for several reasons, such as the general contractor not being well organized or being bankrupt or insolvent. Whatever the reason, while the sub-contractor has a valid breach of contract claim against the general contractor because she has a direct contract with them, she does not have any common law claim against anyone else in the construction chain, such as the owner, even though her work helped improve the owner’s land. The same applies to sub-sub-contractors: they may have a direct contract with the sub-contractor but not the owner or general contractor, even though their work improved the owner’s land and helped the general contractor get the work done well and on time.

That is where liens under the Builders' Lien Act come in. A lien allows the unpaid contractor or supplier to register a lien against the owner’s property in the amount they are owed for their work and then claim the outstanding amount from the owner and anyone between them and the owner in the construction chain. The lien acts as security for payment in that, once registered against the owner’s property, it interferes with the owner’s ability to sell or mortgage the property. Property owners cannot refinance or sell their property without first removing the lien from the property by paying the contractor who registered it. Liens, therefore, provide a valuable tool for contractors and suppliers to pursue payment for work they have done on a property. 

A lien may be filed by anyone who worked on, provided services,  or supplied materials for a certain property.  This typically includes:

• a general contractor
• subcontractors, sub-sub-contractors, etc
• suppliers; and
• labourers.

Architects, engineers, and surveyors may also file liens if their work or services directly relate to the specific piece of land. 

If you do not fall into one of these categories, speak to a lawyer. There may still be a way for you to register a lien or another way to make a claim for money owed.

Time limits are critical in making a lien claim.  You must strictly follow the timelines and requirements for registering liens and proving a lien claim.  The timelines are in the Builders' Lien Act. If you miss a deadline, you may not be able to put a lien on the owner’s property, and you will not be able to prove your lien claim.   

There are several steps to bring a lien claim:

Step 1.  Register the lien against the property at the Land Registry

Step 2.  Start a legal action in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia against everyone above the contractor or supplier in the construction chain

Step 3.  Register the action with the Land Registry.

The following three sections discuss each step and the strict timelines and requirements under each step. You must complete steps 2 and 3 simultaneously.

Before registering a lien, contractors should also consider whether registering it may prompt the owner to bring an action against them regarding the work. For example, they may allege that your work was defective and that they had to pay another contractor to fix it, and they may claim against you for the costs of hiring the other contractor. It is therefore essential to consider:

• are there any possible deficiencies in your work that would cause the owner to claim against you?
• whether the risks of starting a lien claim are worth triggering a counterclaim that could exceed the amount of your lien claim.

Of course, an owner may still claim against you even if you do not register a lien. However, filing a lien often prompts an owner who was otherwise willing to move on to file a claim.

First, you must register the lien against the property at the appropriate Land Registry.  

You must register the lien within 60 calendar days after the last day the contractor worked on or delivered materials to the property.

It is vitally important to record each day you work on a project and the nature of the work you performed that day, as you will need to know the last day you worked on a project to know when the deadline for registering your lien will expire. Court decisions have said that the last day of work does not include work performed to fix or repair work already done.

Speak to a lawyer if you think the land you improved is government-owned, as liens may not attach to some government-owned property.

If you are within the timeline for registering the lien, you must file two documents with the Land Registry:

• Claim of Lien for Registration form, and
• an Affidavit (sworn document) in support of the lien. You will need to get a lawyer, notary, or commissioner of oaths to take your affidavit before you can submit it. 

The claim must include:

• a description of the work done or the services or materials provided
• amount claimed
• last day work was done and/or materials supplied
• a description of the property to be charged (exact address). If possible, get the property's Parcel Identification Number (“PID”) and include that in your description.

You should hire a lawyer to help you draft and file these documents and ensure you have included all the necessary information.

Once you finalize these two documents, contact the Land Registry.  Ask them to register the documents against the property you have described in the documents. There is a fee for doing so. Once registered, the Land Registry will give you a copy of a confirmation page showing you have registered a lien against the property.

Land Registration Offices are listed in the government pages of the telephone book under Land Registration, or visit: novascotia.ca

Once registered, you must give notice of the lien to all people/companies named in your lien.  Do this by sending each of them a copy of your Claim of Lien for Registration, Affidavit, and the Land Registry’s confirmation page showing that you have registered the lien. Give this notice as soon as possible, and keep a record for your files. 

The lien takes effect from the date of registration and has priority over subsequent purchasers, mortgagors and other encumbrances of the land.  However, prior encumbrances have priority over the lien, such as lenders that have advanced money under their mortgages before you registered the lien. 

Regardless of who files their lien first, all lien claimants of the same class (all subcontractors working for a specific general contractor or all sub-subcontractors working for a specific sub-contractor) are treated equally and recover pro rata.

You have 60 days from your last day of work, or the last day you supplied materials, to register your lien at the appropriate Land Registration Office.

After 60 days, you can no longer register a lien, but you may still be able to sue the person who owes the money in either Small Claims Court or the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for the amount they owe you.

You must file your lien with the Land Registration Office in the county where the property is located. There is a fee for this service. You may require a lawyer to register your lien at the Land Registration Office. Local Land Registration Offices are listed in the government pages of the telephone book under Land Registration, or visit: novascotia.ca/sns/access/land/land-registry.asp

Once you have registered your lien and notify the property owner, the owner may pay you the lien amount or ask their general contractor to do so. They may also want to discuss settling with you for a lesser amount. They may also tell you that they do not agree with the amount you claim and/or may argue that your work was deficient; therefore, you are not entitled to payment.

No matter how the owner responds, if you do not get paid, you must file a lien action to preserve your lien. This is called ‘perfecting’ the lien. Specifically, you must file a Statement of Claim with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court within 105 calendar days of the last day of work to perfect the lien and prevent it from expiring. There is a fee for doing so. 

The 105 calendar days start from the last day of work, not from the date you register your lien. Any negotiations you are in with the owner will not stall or change this deadline in any way, so be sure to keep close track of it.

The Statement of Claim must state all the facts you will rely on to prove your claim, the causes of action against the defending parties, and the damages you claim. You should hire a lawyer to help you draft and file the Statement of Claim, as there are several rules around what you must include in these documents and what is improper to include. It may be possible to claim breach of contract or other causes of action in addition to making a lien claim, which is a complicated decision that you will likely need a lawyer to help you with. 

You also must draft a Certificate of Lis Pendens document.  A Certificate of Lis Pendens is a document that confirms you have started a lawsuit to perfect the lien properly.  You must file the Certificate of Lis Pendens with the court at the same time as filing your Statement of Claim. The court will stamp and sign the Certificate of Lis Pendens, which you must then register with the Land Registry.

You must file several copies of the Statement of Claim- one for the court, one for you, and one for each of the other parties you claim against.  The court will stamp all the copies when you file them.  The court will keep one copy and give you the rest. 

You must then 'personally serve' these copies on each party. You must do that within 30 days of filing.  

Personal service means someone must hand the document to the person.  You cannot complete personal service by mailing documents to someone or using a courier, fax, or registered mail. If the person you need to serve has a lawyer, that lawyer may accept service for their client. You should check with the lawyer to make sure they will accept service of the documents.  To serve a company, you have to hand the document to the Recognized Agent for the company.

You can hire a process server if you do not want to serve the parties personally. Professional process servers, also known as bailiffs, charge a fee for this service. 

You must register the lien action with the Land Registry to perfect your lien. You must do this within 105 days of the last day of work.  Your lien will expire if you do not register the lien action with the Land Registry.

To register your lien action with the Land Registry, you must have filed a Certificate of Lis Pendens document when you filed your claim in court.  A Certificate of Lis Pendens is a document that confirms you have started a lawsuit to perfect the lien properly.  You must file the Certificate of Lis Pendens with the court at the same time as filing your Statement of Claim. 

The Builders' Lien Act says that unless you are a manager, officer or a foreman, a spoken or written agreement that you will not exercise your right to make a lien claim is null and void. This means you cannot relinquish your right to make a lien claim. You might voluntarily choose not to register a lien, but no one can stop you from making a lien claim by insisting that you or someone on your behalf agree beforehand not to make a claim.

The law requires owners and contractors in the construction chain to keep or ‘hold back’ 10 percent from each payment they make to contractors and sub-contractors. This percentage is known as the holdback. All the amounts held back by all of the owners and contractors in the chain form what is known as the lien fund. The lien fund is the pool of money that lien claimants can resort to if they are not paid. 

The holdback must be held for 60 days after the work has been ‘substantially performed’. Work is substantially performed under the Builders' Lien Act when 

(1) the work or improvement is ready for use or is being used for the purpose intended; and
(2) the work remaining under the contract can be completed at a cost of not more than two and one-half percent of the contract price.

Once these two requirements have been met, the owner/contractor must release the holdback to the contractor/supplier(s) below them in the construction chain.

If, after substantial performance, there is still some work to be done on the property to ensure that it is 100 percent completed, the owner/contractor is required to hold back 10 percent of the value of that remaining work. This “finishing holdback” must be retained until 60 days from the date of ‘total performance’ (i.e., when the project is 100 percent complete). 

Subcontractors may apply for the early release of part of the holdback if they finish their work on a specific aspect of the project before the entire project is complete and they want the remaining 10 percent of their money as soon as possible. To do this, subcontractors must get the project consultant to certify that they have substantially performed the contract. If there is no consultant, then the owner and the general contractor have to jointly certify that the work has been substantially performed. 60 days after certification of substantial performance (assuming noone files a lien related to that subcontractor’s work), the owner can then reduce its project holdback by the amount of the subcontractor’s holdback and release that amount to the general contractor. The general contractor can then release that same amount to the subcontractor. 

Owners must give notice that the general contractor has reached substantial performance of its contract. Specifically, owners must post a notice on the Construction Association of Nova Scotia website and at the job site in a prominent location.  However, these notice requirements do not apply to property that is:

(1) owned and occupied by the owner and/or their spouse or common-law partner;
(2) for single-family residential purposes; and
(3) where the value of the work is for $75,000.00 or less. 

An owner or contractor’s liability to sub-contractors further down the construction chain with whom they are not in a contractual relationship is capped at the holdback amount of 10 percent. Therefore, when anyone other than the general contractor makes a lien claim, the holdback limits the extent of an owner or contractor’s liability to 10 percent of the payments they have made to sub-contractors or the amount still owing to the general contractor (for example, unpaid progress payments for work performed).

If the parties settle before the matter goes to trial, the lienholder must remove the lien as a condition of the settlement. However, even if the parties do not settle, the owner can still remove the lien from the property before trial. 

To do so, the owner must post the amount of the lien claim plus 25 percent into court for the court to hold until the claim is decided. The money is typically posted as a lien bond from a surety company, a letter of credit or a certified cheque from a bank. This shifts the security from the property to the court. This is known as ‘vacating’ the lien and is often done by owners who want to get the lien off their property quickly so they can sell it or finance it. A court application might be necessary to vacate the lien. However, if the parties consent, the court will typically make an order without needing the parties to appear in court.

If you have missed a deadline for registering or enforcing your lien, or if you do not want to make a lien claim at all, you may be able to sue the person or company you have a direct contract with in either Small Claims Court or the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia for money that is owed to you. If you are suing for under $25,000, you should claim in Small Claims Court. This will be a regular breach of contract claim, not a lien claim. This means you will follow the normal processes of the Small Claims Court or the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. If, after you get your judgment, the person who owes you money doesn’t pay you, you would have to take steps to enforce the judgment.  See Enforcing a Small Claims Court Order: A Guide for Creditors at courts.ns.ca

If you missed a deadline and you can no longer make a lien claim, you may be able to claim for a “breach of trust”. You must make a breach of trust claim in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia regardless of whether the claim is for less than or more than $25,000, as the Small Claims Court cannot deal with breach of trust claims. You will likely need a lawyer to make a breach of trust claim.

The law says that money an owner gets to fund a construction project is held “in trust” for the contractors' benefit until the owner uses it to pay the contractors. This means that even though the money is in the owners’ hands, the law trusts that the owner will hold this money for the contractors. If the owner does not pay the contractors this money, they can be said to have broken this trust agreement, and the court may find that they have committed a “breach of trust”.

Similarly, the law says money a contractor or a subcontractor gets for other subcontractors, labourers and/or suppliers is held in trust for other subcontractors, labourers and/or suppliers even though the money is in the hands of the contractor or subcontractor. If the contractor or subcontractor uses the money for their own purposes and fails to pay the subcontractors, labourers or suppliers, the court may find that they have committed a breach of trust.

Courts have said that the trustee's duty to preserve the trust fund for the benefit of workers and suppliers is ongoing and does not end until all work has been completed and all workers and suppliers have been paid. However, the trustee only owes this obligation to people directly below them in the construction pyramid. That is, the only beneficiaries of the trust are those who have a direct contract with the contractor who owes them money. The courts have said that once a contractor has paid those directly below her in the construction pyramid, she has fulfilled her trust obligations. Bringing a breach of trust claim in the Supreme Court may be particularly important if you have missed deadlines and cannot bring a lien claim anymore or if the person who owes you money might be declaring bankruptcy. 

This can be a complicated area of law. Hiring a lawyer for advice about registering and enforcing a lien is a good idea.

A lawyer can help you:

• decide whether it is worth it for you to file a lien
• prepare your affidavit, which is a sworn statement by you attesting to the truth of your claim. The affidavit must accompany your claim form when you first register your lien
• accurately fill out and file the appropriate forms
• follow the time limits in the Builders' Lien Act 
• assist you with a breach of trust claim or
• negotiate payment, possibly avoiding the time and cost of going to court.

If negotiations are unsuccessful, you will likely need a lawyer to handle the proceedings through the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. A lawyer can also advise you on whether you should go ahead and sue on your own in Small Claims Court instead of claiming a lien. You can sue in Small Claims Court for less than $25,000. However, you will not be making a lien claim. You will just be suing for money. You are allowed to represent yourself in Small Claims Court.

Yes. Liens are available to contractors as a remedy precisely because contractors do not have a direct contract with the property owner that would provide them with a common law remedy for breach of contract. A lien claimant may register a lien even if you did not directly hire them to work on your property. Your contractor or a subcontractor may have hired them.

For example, you hired a general contractor to build your house and have made regular payments to them. Your general contractor subcontracted an electrician to do the electrical wiring in your home but failed to pay her for the work. The unpaid electrician can register a lien against your property. Equally, if the general contractor paid the electrician but did not pay the employee who worked on the project, the electrician’s employee can register a lien against your property.

Yes. Sometimes, there are disagreements about the quality of work done on a property. There may be deficiencies in the work, or you might dispute the amount the contractor claims in the lien. Disputes over the quality or completeness of the work done do not interfere with a contractor’s right to register their lien against your property and file a lien claim in the Supreme Court. 

After hearing from all sides, the court would decide whether the lien claim is valid and how much money is owed, if any.

As noted above, the contractor has to register their lien with the Land Registry no more than 60 days after their last day of work on the property. From there, they must file a Statement of Claim with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court and a Certificate of Lis Pendens with the Land Registry within 105 days of the last day of work.

If you think the lien is invalid, you can defend the lien claim by filing a Notice and Statement of Defence (see How to Defend an Action) with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. In that Defence, the owner should explain the significant facts and why they think the lien claim is invalid. 

Owners (or general contractors on behalf of owners) should track what contractors are on their property and when. This may enable them to challenge the lien claim because the contractor failed to meet one of the Builders' Lien Act deadlines. One of the easiest ways to defend a lien claim is to state that the lien claimant did not register their lien within 60 days of their last work day on the project. If the owner is confident about that argument, they could file a motion to discharge the lien. Courts strictly apply the deadlines under the Builders' Lien Act. 

If you settle with the contractor before they have filed a law suit (action), you may have a lien removed from your property by registering a Receipt in Discharge of Lien signed by the lien claimant with the Land Registry. However, if the contractor starts an action, you must file a Consent Dismissal Order with the court and then register a Discharge of Lien and Affidavit of Verification with the Land Registry.  

If the contractor has already started a lawsuit, the court will decide whether the contractor, subcontractor, labourer, or supplier is entitled to the money they are asking for. If you want the lien removed from your property before the court decides the case, you must apply to the Supreme Court for an order to remove the lien.

An owner can also remove the lien from the property before trial without settling with the contractor. To do so, the owner must post the amount of the lien claim plus 25 percent into the Court for the Court to hold until the claim is decided. The money is typically posted as a lien bond from a surety company, a letter of credit or a certified cheque from a bank. This shifts the security from the property to the Court. This is known as ‘vacating’ the lien and is often done by owners who want to get the lien off their property quickly so they can sell it or finance it. A court application might be necessary to vacate the lien. However, if the parties consent, the court will typically make an order without needing the parties to appear.

As an owner, you must hold back 10 percent of what you pay to the company or person directly below you in the construction chain during construction. This amount you are holding back is called the ‘lien fund.’ As owner, you are the fund's trustee. This is the pool of money that lien claimants can resort to if they are not paid. 

The holdback requirement comes directly from the Builders' Lien Act. Failure to comply with it could mean you will pay an extra 10 percent for your project. For example, if you pay your general contractor the total amount of their contract price instead of holding back 10 percent, and if the general contractor cannot pay their sub-contractors, there is a risk that those sub-contractors will seek payment from the lien fund. If you did not keep a lien fund, you are liable up to the holdback amount to pay any sub-contractors, even though you have already paid the holdback to the general contractor. Therefore,owners must holdd back the 10 percent amount to protect themselves from this risk. 

The holdback must be held for 60 days after the work has been ‘substantially performed’. Work is substantially performed under the law when

(1) the work or improvement is ready for use or is being used for the purpose intended; and
(2) when the work remaining under the contract can be completed at a cost of not more than two and one-half percent of the contract price.

Once these two requirements are met, the owner/contractor must release the holdback to the contractor/supplier(s) below them in the construction chain.

If, after substantial performance, there is still some work to be done on the property to ensure that it is 100 percent completed, the owner/contractor is required to hold back 10 percent of the value of that remaining work. This “finishing holdback” must be kept until 60 days from the date of ‘total performance’ (i.e., when the project is 100 percent complete). 

Subcontractors may apply for early release of part of the holdback if they finish their work on a specific aspect of the project before the entire project is complete and they want the remaining 10 percent of their money as soon as possible. To do this, subcontractors must get the project consultant to certify that they have substantially performed the contract. If there is no consultant, the owner and the general contractor must certify that the work has been substantially performed. 60 days after certification of substantial performance, the owner can reduce its project holdback by the amount of the subcontractor’s holdback and release that amount to the general contractor. The general contractor can then release that same amount to the subcontractor. 

Owners must give notice that the general contractor has achieved substantial performance in its contract. Specifically, owners must post notices on the Construction Association of Nova Scotia website and at the job site in a prominent location. However, these notice requirements do not apply to property that is:

(1) owned and occupied by the owner and/or their spouse or common-law partner;
(2) for single-family residential purposes; and
(3) where the value of the work is for $75,000.00 or less.

You should get legal advice about your particular situation.

This is a complicated area of law.  It is a good idea to hire a lawyer for advice about defending a lien claim, which may include counter-claiming against the contractor for deficiencies that the owner had to pay to repair, negotiating with the contractor, or removing a lien from your property.

You should look for something that fits your needs and budget to the greatest extent possible.

Prepare a needs list by deciding what you are looking for in a home in terms of size, bedrooms, location, type of neighbourhood, etc. 

Then, try to settle on a price range that you can afford. You will need a down payment of at least 5% of the house price. Do not forget to consider other costs, such as home inspection, deed transfer tax, other closing costs and your lawyer's fees. Your lawyer will explain these costs to you in advance.

Yes. You should consider:

• Water supply - When purchasing a rural home, you should test the drinking water. Consider having both the quality and quantity of water tested. Most rural homes will be on a well, so you must ensure the water is safe to drink before purchasing. Some properties rely on shared well agreements. Talk to your lawyer to ensure your shared well agreement is adequate. 
• Wastewater disposal - Most rural homes are on a septic system, and you will want to have someone inspect this to ensure it is in working order. 
• Access to services - Consider how far you have to travel to services such as hospitals, schools, work, shopping, etc.
• Rural economics and population trends—In some parts of the province, the population is aging and declining in size. You should consider how services in the area might change over the long term.  

New homes may have fewer maintenance concerns, but there will be different questions to ask if you’re buying a newly built home. For example:

• Is the home covered by a new home warranty? If so, what does the warranty cover? How does the warranty process work?
• Have all the required permits been issued? Can copies be provided for your review?
• Are the homes in the area subject to restrictive covenants? If so, what are the terms? Who enforces them?
• What is the builder’s policy regarding deficiencies? On closing, you will conduct a walkthrough of the property and come up with a list of items that are incomplete. Some builders will allow you to hold back funds until the items are complete and others will provide a letter of undertaking to complete the deficiencies.

When buying a condominium you should find out: 

• The monthly condominium fee and what it covers. 
• Whether there are plans to increase the fee. 
• Whether there have been any maintenance or repair problems.
• Whether there are any specific plans for maintenance or repairs in the future. 
• Whether there are any upcoming special assessments. 
• How much is in the reserve fund to cover future maintenance and repairs. 
• Whether most units are owner-occupied or rented.
• Whether there are rules about short-term rentals (like Airbnb) 
• Whether the units are adequately soundproofed (for example, whether you can hear the occupants in neighbouring units).

When purchasing a home, you will require the services of a lawyer, a real estate agent, and, most likely, financial assistance from a mortgage lender. You may also need the services of other professionals, such as building inspectors and land surveyors.

Your lawyer will: 

• Review your purchase offer and inform you of your legal rights and obligations when buying your home
• Explain the conditions you and the seller must meet before you are legally obligated to buy and the general terms of the legal contract you have entered into. 
• Ensure that you understand the limitations of your new home, such as restrictions on the use of the property or rights of way over the property. 
• Conduct a title search to confirm that you will receive clear title. 
• Review documents and ensure that you and the seller execute the documents correctly, 
• Ensure that you have provided them with sufficient funds to complete the closing of the sale
• Ensure the seller’s lawyer pays off any liens or mortgages on closing
• Following closing, file documents to register your mortgage and you as the new owner of the property.

A real estate agent advises on the type of property that best suits your needs, including balancing your wish list with any budgeting limitations. They will prepare the offer to purchase and negotiate on your behalf with the seller's agent. When purchasing a home, the real estate agent has obligations to the seller, so ensure you ask your agent to explain how this obligation may limit their duties to you as a buyer.

Your lender’s primary role is to provide you with a mortgage to enable you to purchase your home. 

There are many different mortgage plans with different interest rates. Your financial institution should help you decide which mortgage best suits your financial situation and needs. A financial institution may give you a pre-approved mortgage, enabling you to know what you can afford and avoid getting your heart set on a home that is outside your price range. Note that even if you are pre-approved for a certain amount, your lender will also need to approve the specific property you are purchasing.  

Some buyers use a mortgage broker to find the best mortgage for them.  A mortgage broker is a licensed professional who acts as an intermediary between homebuyers and lenders. A good mortgage broker will be very knowledgeable about the different products offered by different financial institutions and can make your search for a mortgage much more efficient. 

Whether you work with a mortgage broker or directly with a lender, don't hesitate to ask any questions you feel will help you decide what kind of mortgage best suits your needs.

Look for a professional who will competently and diligently handle the transaction. Buying a home is a major purchase and you want the people involved to know their stuff.   

Take the time to understand what the services will consist of. You can ask family, friends or people you work with who they would recommend. Lawyers may have varying rates. You do not necessarily need to choose the first lawyer or real estate agent you approach to represent you; explore your options. Ask whether their practice is for the lawyer to meet with the client for a closing appointment. You should talk with different financial institutions and have them explain the different mortgage options available based on what you can afford. They will explain such things as fixed and variable rates and help you determine the best mortgage repayment options. You can also use a mortgage broker to shop around for you.

Yes, but hiring a lawyer or real estate agent who does not represent the seller is recommended. This ensures they will solely serve your interests in the home-buying process.

Before making an offer to purchase a house, ensure that you understand and can afford all the costs of buying the home and the purchase price. 

Here is a list of the usual fees for buying a home:

• A down-payment
• Inspection fees (home inspection and sometimes inspection by an electrician, roofer or other tradesperson)
• Moving costs
• The cost of connecting utilities
• Closing costs:
  • Legal fees 
  • Land transfer tax (both Municipal and Provincial, if applicable)
  • Property tax 
  • Fuel adjustments
  • Document registration fees
  • Survey fees (if applicable)
  • Title insurance 
• Renovations or repairs that are required immediately.

You will want to find out what each is likely to cost so that you can stay within your budget as much as possible. 

Remember to budget for insurance on the building and contents from the closing date. Usually, you don’t pay your real estate agent, as they take a share of the fee paid by the seller to their agent.

In your offer to purchase, you should include:

• Any chattels (removable items) that you want to include in the purchase—Some chattels that are commonly included are large appliances such as the stove, fridge, or dishwasher. Personal furniture items like sofas, chairs, paintings, etc., are rarely included, but they can be if you and the seller agree to it.
• Any conditions, such as the seller having to vacate by a specific time on the closing date or that the offer is subject to you having it reviewed by your lawyer.
• Any repairs that the seller needs to complete by a specific date.
• Whether the offer is conditional on securing satisfactory financing by a specific date, a home inspection, or selling your current home. Your real estate agent and lawyer will help you when you draft your offer to purchase to ensure any concerns you have are appropriately addressed. If your offer is accepted, you must pay a deposit to the seller's agent, who will hold it until the sale proceeds.

If the seller disagrees with the price you offer or any of the conditions in the offer, they can make a counteroffer. You then have to decide whether to accept it. You may also be able to make a further counteroffer. If you and the seller cannot reach an agreement, negotiation is over, and you should look for another property.

The purchase agreement is a contract. It follows the general rules of contract law. The offer will have specific time frames for each of you to satisfy the conditions and there can be specific consequences for failing to satisfy them. If one party cannot satisfy a condition of the contract, the other party may withdraw from it, provided the contract allows the withdrawal for that breach. 

For example, you might have a specific time to get mortgage financing; if you can’t get a mortgage, you may withdraw from the agreement before that deadline without paying a penalty. 

You should tell your lawyer or agent if you cannot meet a condition within the time frame provided.

If you decide not to complete the purchase because you find another house you like better, you will forfeit the deposit, and the seller will have the option of suing you for damages.  

A Property Disclosure Statement is a report that the seller provides. It discloses information about the property's existing condition that is known to the seller. This statement will help you decide whether further inspections are needed. 

Review it carefully and ensure the seller answers your questions about it. For example, if the Property Condition Disclosure Statement says that the roof was last replaced 10 years ago, you may want to have it inspected to see if it needs repair.

The seller must complete the Property Disclosure Statement honestly and disclose what they know about the property's condition. However, it’s not a warranty or any kind of guarantee that the property is free from defects. It’s limited by the seller's knowledge. There may be latent defects in the property that the seller is not aware of. 

Yes. Purchasing a home is a significant investment. As much as possible, you should ensure that what you are about to purchase will not have any unexpected problems. Hiring a building inspector will help identify any past or present problems with the house that may not have been apparent to you when you viewed the property. While having a building inspector look over the house you wish to purchase may cost money, the potential cost of not having a building inspected could be far more significant.

The home inspector cannot identify every potential problem; however, if you are unsure of a particular aspect of the house, such as wiring, structure, the roof, etc., you can hire a specific tradesperson such as an electrician, roofing specialist, etc. further to investigate the part of the house in question. 

Your contract usually has a time frame for this. Ensure you are aware of the time frames you have to meet. If the home inspection finds significant or costly problems, you may be able to withdraw from the purchase or ask the seller to fix them or pay all or part of the cost. Talk to your lawyer and real estate agent if you are concerned about the inspection results.

Restrictive covenants are conditions that come with the property you are purchasing. They may include restrictions about the size of the building, prohibitions against establishing a business on the property, and many others. Restrictive covenants are usually in place to protect the value of your property and homes in your neighbourhood.

Your lawyer will inform you if your property is subject to a restrictive covenant and, if so, what the terms of the restrictive covenant are. Awareness of them is essential when buying or selling your home.

The closing date is when you complete the purchase and receive possession. Your lawyer will have prepared a closing statement showing all the money due to complete the purchase. You should ensure that you provide your lawyer with a certified cheque or bank draft payable to your lawyer in trust for the balance due from you. 

Your lawyer will:

• Arrange to receive the mortgage funds from your lender.
• Transfer the appropriate funds to the seller's lawyer on the closing date. 
• Ensure you pay the closing costs such as deed transfer tax, legal fees, and title insurance. 
• Register your deed and mortgage with the Land Registration Office
• Provide you with the original deed to the house post-closing.

This will depend on whether your lawyer has received all the funds necessary to complete the purchase from both you and the lender. 

You will complete a final inspection of the property, and if this is satisfactory, your money has been paid, and your lawyer has received the deed from the seller’s lawyer, your lawyer will arrange for you to have the keys to your new home.

You should discuss with your lawyer whether you and your spouse should jointly own the property and the options of how you take title to your new home. For example, as a sole owner, joint tenant or tenant in common. If your mortgage lender relies on both your spouse and your income to support a mortgage application, then it will require both names on the deed.

Ensure you have insurance coverage on the property from 12:01 am on the day of closing. Your lawyer will require proof of insurance in the form of a binder letter from the insurance company. 

Lenders usually require title insurance as a condition of financing. Title insurance is specialized insurance that you should discuss with your lawyer. It protects you (and your lender) from things like:

• Title fraud
• Title defects that impact your ownership of the property or your ability to sell, mortgage, or lease your property in the future
• Liens against the property’s title, such as unpaid debts secured against the property by a previous owner.
• Encroachment and boundary issues 
• Errors in surveys

If you purchase an owner title insurance policy, it is a one-time closing expense. A lender policy is specific to your current mortgage. If you were to refinance the property in future, you would have to purchase a new lender policy. 

If the property you purchase is not yet registered, the seller must ensure it is registered before the sale. The registration process is sometimes called conversion or migration to the land registration system. There is a fee for registration. It is up to the purchaser and the seller to negotiate who covers the costs. The practice has developed that the seller usually pays the cost of registration.

Your lawyer will tell you if the property you’re purchasing has been registered. Once a property is registered under the land registration system it will not need to be registered again. You can visit the Land Registration Office of Nova Scotia's website for more information on registering property and the Land Registration Act.

The Nova Scotia Land Registration system requires the seller to register all the title information in the parcel register at the government land records office. Every parcel register has a number (Parcel Identification Number or PID), which remains the same through ownership transfers. Your lawyer will review the details of your parcel register with you before the purchase.

A location certificate is a survey conducted by a Nova Scotia Land surveyor. It ensures that the building the seller is selling to you is within the boundaries of the lot. It ensures the property as you viewed it, is within the boundaries of what the owner has to sell. In some cases, your lender will require you to get a Location Certificate to ensure the money it is loaning you is secure. Often, your lender will accept title insurance in lieu of a Location Certificate.

For more information about buying a home, we suggest the following guides from:

• Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission
• Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
• National Bank of Canada
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

A realtor can give you information about the home-buying process and about the market conditions in the areas that interest you. 

A lender or mortgage broker can provide information about mortgage products and the amount of money you might be able to borrow.  

A property lawyer can give you information about the legal rights and responsibilities associated with home ownership and advise you about the risks involved in purchasing property. 

This simplified foreclosure process applies to most, but not all, situations.

Most people who buy a home borrow money from a bank or other financial institution to help cover the purchase price. Usually, the loan is secured by a mortgage on the property. 

Being in default means you have broken the mortgage terms. Mortgages have many promises the borrower must follow. Breaking any of these promises can be a default. The most common default is not making mortgage payments when they are due. 

If you default on your mortgage, your lender may take legal steps to foreclose on (take possession of and sell) your property. 

Most mortgages have an acceleration clause stating that if a payment is missed the entire amount owed must be paid immediately. Some mortgages let the lender demand repayment in full and initiate foreclosure at their discretion, without default.

Plaintiff: The lender who started the foreclosure process. Their lawyer will be at the court hearing on the lender’s behalf.

Defendants may include:

• you, and any other borrowers on the mortgage
• the guarantor, if someone acted as one
• Licensed Insolvency Trustee, if the borrower is bankrupt or was bankrupt during the mortgage
• owner of the property, including any new owner.

The lender can start the foreclosure process to take possession of and sell your property if you default on your mortgage. 

Default means you break any of the terms of your mortgage, including being late with mortgage payments. If you do not make payments as scheduled, the lender has the legal right to apply to court for a Foreclosure Order directing the sale of the property at public auction. 

When you arrange a mortgage, it is a contract between you and the lender. You agree to pay back the principal and interest according to a set schedule. The house is security for the loan. You are the legal owner of the house, but the lender will record the mortgage against the property at the Land Registry to protect their interests.

Lenders usually do not want to foreclose and will make reasonable efforts to allow you to keep your home, including refinancing or setting up a payment plan. Talk to your lender if you are having trouble making mortgage payments. Do not wait until legal proceedings have started against you, as costs can quickly add up, making it harder to resolve.

Before taking legal action, the lender or their lawyer will usually send you a Demand Letter. By the time it is sent, the lender has usually hired a lawyer. This will increase the amount of money the lender seeks to collect.

A Demand Letter tells you:

• why you are in default (for example, you have missed payments)
• the amount you owe (usually including arrears and legal costs)
• a deadline for making the payment (often 10 days)
• that if you do not pay, the lender will take legal action.

If you get a Demand Letter:

• call the lender or their lawyer right away and try to negotiate to get your mortgage back on track
• ask whether you can refinance to lower your mortgage payments and pay them over a longer period of time
• try speaking with a different lender or mortgage broker to see if you can get a new mortgage to pay off the original one
• get advice from a credit counsellor or licensed insolvency trustee
• consider selling your property.

If you do not respond to a Demand Letter before the stated deadline or cannot negotiate an agreement with the lender, they can start the foreclosure process in court.

If no defence is filed and the lender goes through the normal steps, it usually takes 2 to 3 months from the filing of the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim to the conclusion of the public auction sale. It may take longer, depending on the court schedule and other factors.

The 2 to 3 months consist of: 

1. issuance and service of the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim
2. 15 business days to file a defence after being served the Notice of Action (longer if you are served outside of Nova Scotia, as explained above)
3. if no defence is filed, the lender scheduling the motion to court for a Foreclosure Order with 4 business days’ notice.
4. the 15 business days for required newspaper advertisements and notices following the issuance of the Foreclosure Order.
5. the 15 business day time limit for the successful bidder to pay the full purchase price.

The days are business days, and do not include weekends and weekdays when the court is closed. The rest of the time involved will depend on how quickly the lender decides to proceed, and other factors such as the time required for service.

If a defence is filed, the above timeline can vary a lot. The lender may make a motion to court for Summary Judgment, and how long things will take will depend on the contents of the defence, as well as the court schedule.

The Notice of Action and Statement of Claim are the forms the lender files with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia to start the foreclosure process. The forms come from Nova Scotia’s Civil Procedure Rules. The rules are available online at courts.ns.ca.

A Notice of Action is a court document that tells you that the lender has started a legal process against you because you broke the terms of the loan or mortgage. It tells you who is involved in the Foreclosure process and how long you have to file a defence.

A Statement of Claim is a court document attached to the Notice of Action. The Statement of Claim outlines the details of what the lender is claiming against you and may include:

• the date of the mortgage
• the property involved 
• mortgage registration information at the Registry of Deeds or Land Registration Office
• details of the default (you defaulted because you did not make a payment or broke some other term of the mortgage)
• agreement(s) that might have changed your mortgage
• the total amount outstanding on the mortgage or amount unpaid, usually including the principal balance, interest, property taxes, legal fees and out-of-pocket expenses of the lender (protective disbursements)
• a Foreclosure Order, statement asking for foreclosure and sale of the property, if the total amount of the mortgage, interest and costs are not paid
• a statement asking for the court's permission (leave) to apply for a Deficiency Judgment to cover the balance of the loan, if the property is sold for less than what is owed to the mortgage lender.

The Statement of Claim may include a judgment against you for the amount of the outstanding debt, and a Foreclosure Order if that judgment debt is unpaid.

The lender is required to deliver (serve) the legal document to you in person. They may not just drop it off in your mailbox or courier it to you, unless the court permits them to serve in a different way (substituted service). However, a court generally only grants this if the lender can show they have tried all reasonable ways to serve you in person. It is not a good idea to evade personal service, as this will increase the lender’s legal costs, which will be added to your debt.

Once you are served the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim you may:

• contact the lender's lawyer to see if you can reach an agreement to avoid foreclosure. Depending on what the lender requires, this could include:
  • paying the arrears and costs
  • paying the entire principal debt, interest, costs and legal fees
• file a defence to the claim within the required time
• apply to court, to ask to have the foreclosure process discontinued
  within the required time.

You would need to pay all the arrears and legal costs. The right to have the foreclosure discontinued is only available once during the life of your mortgage.

The form and general instructions for filing a defence are on the Nova Scotia Courts website under How to Defend an Action on the Supreme Court – Court Forms page. Try to get legal advice if you want to file a defence. Contact a lawyer in private practice or, if available in your area, a Free Legal Clinic for people who are going to the Supreme Court without a lawyer.

If you disagree with what is in the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim, you can file a defence with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia within the following time:

• 15 business days: if you are served in Nova Scotia
• 30 business days: if you are served outside of Nova Scotia but within Canada
• 45 business days: if you are served outside of Canada.

Business days do not include weekends and weekdays when the court is closed. The 15-day timeline applies to most circumstances, it is important not to miss the deadline.

If you choose to file a defence, it should include why you disagree with what is in the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim, and why you feel your property should not be foreclosed on.

Some examples of defences may include that you: 

• did not sign the mortgage 
• never got money from the lender
• repaid the lender
• have not broken any mortgage terms and you are not in default.

You must file your defence with the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia and personally serve a copy to the lender or their lawyer. The court will then give you a date to appear to dispute the lender’s foreclosure claim.

If you do not either file a defence or apply to the court for other relief, such as discontinuing the foreclosure, the lender will apply to a judge for a Foreclosure Order. This court application is called a motion and is usually done without notice to you (ex parte). The idea is that you already got the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim and chose not to participate by not filing a defence.

At the hearing for the lender’s motion for a Foreclosure Order, the judge can:

• ask for more information or better proof of the mortgage debt
• order that others be present before they hear the case
• direct the sale of the property by granting a Foreclosure Order.

If no defence is filed, usually only the plaintiff’s lawyer attends the foreclosure court hearing.

Maybe. Some possibilities are to: 

• negotiate
• redeem the mortgage
• reinstate the mortgage
• file a successful defence.

Negotiate: The easiest way is to negotiate with the lender. If you have missed payments, contact the lender and talk about your situation. The lender may be willing to give you time to catch up with payments by paying arrears and costs. You may be able to refinance so that you have lower mortgage payments over a longer term. Never ignore the lender’s letters or inquiries.

Redeem: You may redeem the mortgage by paying the full amount owing, including the interest, principal and any penalties or costs, before the sale of your property at public auction. This way, you keep the equity built up in your home.

Option 1: getting a new mortgage from a different lender to pay out the first mortgage. This can be difficult. Sometimes a mortgage broker can help. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has general information about mortgages that you might find useful. 

Option 2: selling your property before the auction for more than what is owed to the lender. If you have a Purchase Agreement for the sale of the property, you should provide a copy to the lender’s lawyer right away. Depending on the sale terms and the purchase price, the lender may choose to suspend the foreclosure process to allow you time to complete the sale.

Reinstate your mortgage: You have this right under a provincial law called the Judicature Act. Apply to the Supreme Court to discontinue the foreclosure and have the mortgage reinstated. This option can only be used once during the term of a mortgage.

If the default is non-payment of the mortgage, you will have to pay all the arrears and the lender’s legal costs (legal fees and out-of-pocket expenses). If the default is a breach of a promise (covenant), you will have to perform the promise and pay the lender’s legal costs.

You can apply to court to discontinue the foreclosure even if the lender is refusing to accept payments. However, you can only apply before the court has made a Foreclosure Order (see ‘What happens if I do not file a defence?’).

Defend the action: If you have a successful defence, the foreclosure process may be stopped.

Nova Scotia’s Judicature Act gives you the right to reinstate the mortgage and discontinue the foreclosure process by paying all outstanding arrears and costs owed to the lender or performing the covenant (promise) that is being broken. You can do this even if the lender refuses to accept payments. You have up until the court issues a Foreclosure Order.

You must apply to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. You should get legal advice and help with your application. Contact a lawyer in private practice, or there are Free Legal Clinics in Nova Scotia for people who are going to the Supreme Court without a lawyer.

This right is only available once per mortgage. The court has no power to discontinue if there is a second foreclosure proceeding under the same mortgage.

If the mortgage has been reinstated once before, the only way to stop the new process is through agreement with the lender or by paying the entire amount of the mortgage, plus interest, costs and their out-of-pocket expenses.

No, the lender can still foreclose if you are in default of the mortgage terms.

However, it may help you to declare bankruptcy on other debts so that you may focus on paying the mortgage. It may also help deal with any deficiency claim after sale at public auction. Talk to a licensed insolvency trustee about your financial situation and options. Go to the Bankruptcy page for more information, or contact the federal Superintendent of Bankruptcy.

After the court grants a Foreclosure Order, a court-appointed auctioneer or sheriff will sell the property at public auction.

The courthouse or justice centre in the local judicial district where the property is located holds the auction.

The lender (plaintiff) or their lawyer must:

• advertise the sale of the property in a newspaper approved by the court.
• publish at least two advertisements:
• the first at least 15 business days before the public auction
• the second within 7 business days of the public auction
• notify the property owner(s) and the borrower(s), if they are not the same person, of the sale date, time and place at least 15 days before the public auction. They can notify the borrower by regular mail.
• The auctioneer or sheriff holds the public auction at the time and place in the notice. If you wish to bid, you must go personally or send someone.

The successful bidder must pay 10% of the sale price at the end of the auction and then has 15 business days to pay the rest. As the successful bidder, if you have not paid the rest within the 15 business days, you will lose your 10% deposit. It will be applied against the auction costs and the debt. You cannot recover this money.

The 10% down payment at the auction rule is firm. If you are the highest bidder but do not have the full 10% in guaranteed form (cash, certified cheque or solicitor’s trust cheque) with you at the auction, your bid may be unsuccessful. The property will go to the next highest bidder.

The auctioneer or sheriff can allow the highest bidder a short amount of time, as little as 15 minutes, to get the funds but is not required to and may refuse. Therefore, success requires having the 10% available at the auction.

If the lender is the successful bidder, they may still ask for a Deficiency Judgment if there is a shortfall between the mortgage debt plus costs and the property’s net sale proceeds.

Yes. The property is sold to the highest bidder at a public auction.

Although unusual, if the lender has an offer to purchase the property from a third party, the lender may apply to the court for approval to sell the property privately. However, in most cases the property will be sold at a public auction.

Yes. You may try to sell the house up until the date of the public auction.

Deficiency: Following the sale, a lender (plaintiff) may apply to the court for a Deficiency Judgment against the borrower for the difference between the amount owing on the mortgage (plus interest, costs, out-of-pocket expenses, sheriff fees, property taxes), and the amount received from the property sale.

The lender must show that the amount obtained from the sale reflects fair market price. This is determined by actual sale price or through an appraisal.

The borrower and anyone else who may have to pay the deficiency amount will get at least 10 days’ notice of the Deficiency Hearing. The plaintiff has 6 months to apply for a Deficiency Judgment, from the date of the public auction.

If the property sale at public auction brings in more money than the amount owed to the plaintiff, the auction costs and outstanding taxes, the auctioneer or sheriff pays the surplus into the Court. Any party involved with the foreclosure, including the borrower, may apply to the Court to receive the surplus – but they must file an affidavit (sworn document) to prove they are entitled to it and have priority for the claim. The Court may then order the surplus be distributed to those entitled.

You should try to get legal advice if you wish to claim the surplus.

The court has the power to overturn the public auction in exceptional cases. An example would be if the directions in the Foreclosure Order were not followed.

If no Defence is filed and the lender goes through the normal steps, it normally takes 2 to 3 months from the filing of the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim to the conclusion of the public auction sale. It may take longer, depending on the court schedule and other factors.

The 2 to 3 months consists of:

1. Issuance and service of the Notice of Action and Statement of Claim.
2. The 15 business days to file a Defence after being served the Notice of Action (longer if you are served outside of Nova Scotia, as set out above).
3. If no Defence is filed, the lender can schedule the Motion to court for a Foreclosure Order with 4 business days’ notice.
4. The 15 business days’ for required newspaper advertisements and notices following the issuance of the Foreclosure Order.
5. The 15 business day time limit for the successful bidder to pay the full purchase price.

The days are business days, so weekends and weekdays when the court is closed are not included. The rest of the time involved will depend on how quickly the lender decides to proceed, and other factors such as the time required for service.

If a Defence is filed, the above timeline can vary a lot. The lender may make a motion to court for Summary Judgment, and how long things will take will depend on the contents of the Defence, as well as the court schedule.

When the lender sends the notice of sale at public auction to the homeowner, they usually advise that the homeowner must vacate (leave vacating the premises on or before the public auction date.

If you are a homeowner, you must leave the property once the successful bidder completes the purchase, unless the new owner says you don’t have to move.

The Foreclosure Order enables the lender to ask the sheriff to deliver possession of the property to the new owner. This means the lender may require you leave as soon as the Foreclosure Order has been issued (made), although this would be unusual.

Once the property has been sold at public auction, you may ask the new owner for permission to stay in the property. However, they have no obligation to let you stay and you should be prepared to move out on the public auction date. 

If you are a tenant, how soon you move out depends on the type of tenancy you are in and on what the purchaser intends to do with the property.

If you are a residential tenant (renting) you must be given notice according to the Residential Tenancies Act (the earlier of 3 months or the expiry of the lease under any written lease agreement – such as a fixed term lease). For more information you can contact Residential Tenancies by calling 902-424-5200 or 1-800-670-4357, or by attending your nearest Access Nova Scotia location. 

If you are a commercial tenant (rent for a business) you must move out the day of the foreclosure sale, unless the new owner tells you otherwise.

The successful bidder becomes the owner of the property once the full purchase price has been paid and they get the deed. The foreclosure is complete once the Confirmatory Order is granted.

Once the property is sold the auctioneer or sheriff files a Report with the court. The Report states that the property has been sold, the name of the successful bidder, the purchase price, how the money was distributed and that a property deed was delivered to the successful bidder.

Once the Report is filed, the lender will apply for an Order Confirming Sale. This Order states the public auction has taken place and the foreclosure process is complete.

The lender must also file an affidavit (usually prepared by their lawyer) confirming that the advertisements were placed and the notices were sent out, meeting the Foreclosure Order requirements.

Make contact with the lender and a lawyer

• Your lender: read your mortgage document carefully and talk with your lender about options you may have if you are having financial problems.
• A lawyer: try to talk with a lawyer in private practice if you are not sure about what to do. Here are some ways to find a lawyer.

Nova Scotia Legal Aid does not generally deal with foreclosures, although you should contact them directly to see if they can help in your situation. Visit nslegalaid.ca or look under 'Legal Aid' or 'Nova Scotia Legal Aid' in the telephone directory.

There is also a Free Legal Clinic in Halifax, Sydney, Yarmouth and Truro for people who are going to Supreme Court without a lawyer.

• information about the foreclosure process:
  • Nova Scotia’s Civil Procedure Rules (court rules and forms that apply in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia)
  • Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Practice Memorandum - Foreclosure Procedures
  • Nova Scotia's Judicature Act.
    
    
• A trustee in bankruptcy, also called a Licensed Insolvency Trustee can provide professional advice about your debt options. Trustees are listed in the Yellow Pages under 'Bankruptcies', or search for 'trustee in bankruptcy' online. You can also get a listing of local trustees from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy at 1 877 376-9902 (toll free) or osb.ic.gc.ca.
  
  
• Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy which regulates bankruptcies, oversees and licenses trustees in bankruptcy (licensed insolvency trustees), and has helpful general information for debtors and creditors. Website  www.osb.ic.gc.ca
  Industry Canada
  Phone: 1 877 376-9902 (toll free).

• A credit counselling agency. Credit counsellors cannot administer bankruptcies or consumer proposals, but can help you with things such as a debt or general money management plan, budgeting, wise credit use.
  
  
• The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has information about how to find a reputable Credit Counselling service: www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca or call 1 866 461-3222. Lots of consumer information on many financial topics.

• University of King's Investigative Workshop, "Foreclosed",July 2019, news article about the Foreclosure process in Nova Scotia.

Land registration is a process that gives landowners a way to be sure they have clear title to their land. Once you register your land in the system, you have priority over all other persons who may claim an ownership interest in the same land.

Land registration is important because it provides certainty. It ensures that the registered landowner has all the rights of ownership that come with that particular parcel of land. It makes it easier for landowners to avoid conflicts regarding the title to their land.

If you want to register your land, you will need the help of a certified property lawyer. Certain transactions, including the sale or mortgage of previously unregistered land, automatically require the land to be registered, but a landowner may also voluntarily register their land. This process is also known as “migration”. 

Clear title to land means there is legal certainty about who owns the land. In many cases, it is easy to identify the legal owner of a piece of land; however, sometimes, several people claim to own the same piece of property. For example, two siblings may claim to own the same parcel of land. If you have clear title, there are no claims on the land from others.

Clear title is important because it provides landowners with legal certainty that they can enjoy the rights and obligations of land ownership. Clear title enables landowners to develop, sell, lease, mortgage and transfer their land within the bounds of the laws where that land is located.

Without clear title, your rights may be limited or restricted by other people’s claims to the same land. This could stop you from developing or selling your land. Also, it could result in family conflicts about the current and future uses of the land. For example:

• A person who wants to build a home may be stopped by another person claiming to have an interest in the same piece of land. Until they resolve the dispute, the land might not be used or developed fully.
• A person who wants to sell their land may be unable to do so if they do not have clear title.
• If it is unclear who owns the land, occupants may not know they should pay the property taxes or may decide not to, and the municipality could sell the land for unpaid taxes.

You can get clear title to a parcel of land in several ways – the four mentioned below are the most common.

By agreement—In some cases, if there are competing claims to the same parcel of land, it’s possible for one or more of the parties to get clear title by reaching an agreement with the other people involved. In those cases, a lawyer would need to assess the situation to determine the steps the parties need to take to get a clear title. Often, quit claim deeds are involved. 

Marketable Titles Act – A person can ask a lawyer to search for evidence to establish proof of title, such as a valid property deed, agreement of purchase or sale, or a will. The paper trail has to go back at least 40 years. The lawyer has to confirm that there are no other documents that extinguish the person's interest in the land. If a lawyer is satisfied that there is a proper chain of title, the lawyer can provide a certificate of title. 

Quieting Titles Act – A person who cannot find paper evidence of 40 years of ownership of the land (for example, a deed may be missing) can ask the court to establish their title to the land. The property owner must give evidence to the court to prove their use and occupation of the land, and if the information is good enough, the court can grant a certificate of title. When more than one person is claiming the same parcel of land, the court can consider each claim and decide who has the best claim of ownership or if the land should be divided between the claimants.

Land Titles Clarification Act – In 13 areas of Nova Scotia, including Cherry Brook, North Preston, and East Preston, a person can apply to the provincial Department of Natural Resources for a certificate of title to their land. The applicant will need the help of a lawyer to complete this process. The applicant must provide a description of the property, evidence and the names of other persons who may have an interest in the property. For more information on this process, go to the Department of Natural Resources website: https://novascotia.ca/land-titles/

There are many different property rights. Property law textbooks talk about “bundles of rights.” The bundle of rights that comes with one parcel of land might be very different from the bundle that comes with another parcel. 

For example, property rights can include rights related to

• Possession
• Use
• Quiet enjoyment
• Granting permissions or “licenses”
• Building on the land
• Developing the land
• Selling the land
• Leasing or mortgaging the land and
• Giving the land to someone by transferring ownership.

This isn’t a complete list; it’s just some of the most common examples. 

A title holder might have some or all of the various rights associated with a piece of property. 

These rights are subject to restrictions imposed by laws such as municipal land-use bylaws.

Courts will enforce those rights and make sure that others, including governments, respect them.

Where a person does not have title to land, the title holder may deny them property rights. Any dispute about property rights that the people cannot resolve amongst themselves must go to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. 

Having title to land means that the landowner must comply with the legal obligations of land ownership. These obligations will vary depending on where that land is located. In Nova Scotia, the main legal responsibilities of landowners include paying municipal property taxes and following land use bylaws. If you don’t pay taxes and follow applicable laws, the consequences can be severe – you may need to pay a fine, or you could lose title to your land.

Land title registration does not provide absolute protection for registered titleholders against competing claims. Disputes are still possible, but registration puts the title holder in a more secure position. 

Registration stops the clock on claims for adverse possession or prescriptive easements. Adverse possession and prescriptive easements require evidence of at least 20 years of use. If those 20 years accrued prior to registration, registration does not extinguish those rights but it does mean that no new rights can accrue. 

Only in very limited circumstances. 

Provincial and municipal governments and public utilities such as Nova Scotia Power and the Halifax Water Commission can take (expropriate) private land, but only for public purposes. Usually, this would be to build roads or to expand or improve public services. If the government needs your land for a public purpose, the government must compensate you by paying you the market value of the land.

You can also lose your land if you do not pay your property taxes. If you do not pay your property taxes, your municipality can put your land up for auction. 

A claim of a right of way or an easement over a parcel of land will not challenge the owner’s title to the land, so it will not prevent registration. 

Easements can be documented in a deed or other document recorded at the Land Registration Office. If the owner of the dominant property recorded the easement, a lawyer would discover it during the title search of your property (for example, during the migration process). 

Easements can also be prescriptive. Someone can claim to have a prescriptive easement over your property if they can provide evidence that they have used your property for at least 20 years. Registering a property in the Land Registry System stops the clock on claims for adverse possession or prescriptive easements. However, if those 20 years accrued prior to registration, registration does not extinguish those rights. It just means that no new rights can accrue.  

Squatters’ rights are rights of land ownership that someone gains through long-term use and occupation of land legally owned by someone else. These rights eliminate the ownership of the person with legal title to the land. Another name for squatters’ rights is adverse possession.

To claim adverse possession of someone’s land, a person must show that:

• they (or other people before them) have continuously occupied and used the land for at least 20 years,
• their use of the land has been publicly known and
• their use of the land has excluded other people from using the land.

It’s also possible to claim squatters’ rights against the Crown (government), but the squatter must show 40 years of continuous use and occupation.

Here is more detailed information about squatters’ rights. 

Department of Natural Resources: Land Titles Clarification - Visit novascotia.ca/natr/titles-clarification/ , or contact the Department of Natural Resources, Land Services Branch for information about:

• applying to get clear title to land under the Land Titles Clarification Act
• adverse possession (squatter's rights)
• Crown Land

Nova Scotia Land Registry - Visit www.novascotia.ca/sns/access/land/land-registry.asp for information about Land Registration

Your municipality or county collects property taxes from property owners within the relevant region. Property taxes are one of the most important ways the government raises money to pay for things like schools, fire and police departments, libraries, streetlights and community centres.

Your municipality will send out a tax bill.  For example, the Halifax Regional Municipality sends a tax bill every six months. Payments are due at the end of April and the end of October. The Cape Breton Regional Municipality sends an interim tax bill in April and a final one in September. Please check with your local municipality for details in your community.

Most municipalities allow people to pay their property tax bill in several ways: online banking, online credit card payment, in-person with a cheque or money order, or as part of your mortgage payment.

Property taxes are calculated as a percentage of the value of the property. The value of a property or “assessed value” is determined by a not-for-profit organization called the Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC).

A property assessment notice is sent to property owners at the start of every year advising them of the current assessed property value for property (municipal) tax purposes.

Assessments are based on market value, which varies by community and type of home. The municipality sets tax rates, taking into account services provided (for example, fire, police, schools, sidewalks, transit) and mandatory contributions for services such as education and corrections.

Property taxes are based on the market value of the property. The market value is the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for the property. Any houses or buildings on a property affect its value. For example, a property with a house will usually have greater value than a property without a house.

All real property is assigned a market value assessment by professional assessors employed by Property Valuation Services Corporation, on behalf of the Province. This value is based on such factors as construction quality, location and age of the property. This value may be adjusted annually to reflect changes that could go up or down in the market value of property in your area.

Go here for more information about how PVSC values property.

You can appeal your property assessment if you disagree with it. Assessments are mailed out in January each year. You must appeal within 31 days of receiving your Assessment Notice in the mail or epost.

It is a good idea to contact PVSC before you decide if you are going to appeal your assessment. Contact PVSC toll free at 1-800-380-7775 or visit their website at www.pvsc.ca/en/home/howassessmentworks/appealinformation/default.aspx for more information about the appeal process.

You can appeal your assessment by filing an Appeal Form.   The Appeal Form is attached to your Assessment Notice, and is also online on the PVSC website.  Explain why you are appealing the assessment on your Appeal Form.   Sign and date the form and then send it to PVSC by mail, fax, email, or drop it off in a secure drop-box at one of PVSC's locations.   PVSC must get the Appeal Form by the date (deadline) indicated on your Assessment Notice.

The account will fall behind if your property taxes are not paid on time. This is called being “in arrears”. Arrears is money that is owed and should have been paid earlier. 

If this happens, you will be charged interest on the amount you owe. For example, in the Halifax Regional Municipality, the interest rate charged for accounts in arrears is 15% per year (as of 2024). That means if you owe $1,000, you would owe an additional $150 after one year – a total of $1,150.  The interest rate on arrears may differ in other communities across the province, so check with your local municipality.

If property taxes remain unpaid for more than one year or two years (depending on your municipality or county), the municipality has the option of selling the property at a tax sale or trying to sue you on the debt as an alternative to a property tax sale.

The municipality can sell your property at a public auction if your property taxes remain unpaid for more than one or two years, depending on where you live. These tax auctions or sales are open to the public.

The municipality must notify the owner and all lien holders about the upcoming tax sale. A “lien holder” is someone who has a right or potential claim against someone’s property. The lien holder is usually a bank, credit union, or another financial institution. 

The notice to the owner must be in a registered letter. The owner will get information indicating the following:

• the amount owed
• how much time is left to pay
• the date of the tax sale and
• estimated extra expenses that could be added to the total.

When it is impossible to notify the owner, a Tax Sale Notice is stuck on the property door.

At auction, the starting price for the property will be the amount of outstanding taxes, interest, and expenses owed to the government, which is usually much less than the property's market value.

If the property taxes have been unpaid for more than six years, the successful bidder at a tax sale will get a tax sale deed. 

If the property taxes have been unpaid for six years or less, the owner still has an opportunity to redeem the property within six months. Redemption cancels the certificate of sale. If the owner does not redeem the property, the title passes to the successful bidder through a Tax Sale Deed. 

Buying a property at a tax sale is a risky thing to do. If you are considering bidding for a property at auction, consult with a property lawyer first. 

A property lawyer can make sure that you understand the associated risks. They can also do a title search on the property to confirm whether the title is clear and whether there are liens registered against the property. Only bid on a property if you understand and accept the risks involved. 

Some of the risks associated with bidding on a property at tax sale are unavoidable. Some of them you can protect yourself against by consulting with a lawyer. Here are some examples of the risks associated with buying property at a tax sale:

• No pre-purchase inspection or walk-through. The property is purchased “as is, where is”. A property sold at auction cannot be checked with anywhere near the same level of detail as a property purchased on the market. 
• No property disclosure statement. There may be significant issues with the property, which you need to take financial responsibility for as the new owner. 
• Regulatory compliance issues. You might think you got a bargain, but there may be costly regulatory compliance issues waiting for you when you take ownership of the property. A common example is environmental issues (oil spills, wastewater, hazardous materials,etc). If you purchase a property with issues like that, they become your problem to deal with (and you pay the bill). 
• Neighbour disputes. Sometimes the properties that end up at tax sale are marginal properties with disputed boundaries. Purchasing a property like that can mean that you’re walking into a protracted dispute with the surrounding property owners. This is another risk that you can protect yourself from by consulting with a lawyer. 
• Wasted time. Many of the properties that are put up for auction are redeemable by the owner or mortgage holder. That means the results of the auction aren’t actually final. If the property taxes have been unpaid for six years or less, the owner still has an opportunity to redeem the property within six months. Redemption cancels the certificate of sale. Also, the auction process usually involves sealed bidding and because the minimum bid is often so low, there’s a lot of guesswork involved in making a bid and people often guess wrong. 
• Rising prices. The minimum bid at auction can still be quite low, but it’s very common for the successful bid to end up being pretty close to fair market value. Basically, there are fewer and fewer “deals” to be had at tax sales. The prices are rising, but the risks are the same. 

If you are thinking about bidding on a property at a tax sale, consult with a property lawyer. You can review the local rules applicable to the tax sale before bidding.

Paying property taxes is an essential part of owning property. Municipalities across Nova Scotia offer some tax relief options, including tax payment deferrals (postponements), payment plans (paying in smaller monthly amounts), or exemptions for those with a lower income.  Please check with your local municipality to find out what options are available.

Property tax relief options tend to vary from one municipality to another. However, the Nova Scotia Property Tax Rebate for Seniors is available province-wide. Seniors who get or who are eligible to get the federal Guaranteed Income Supplement or Allowance can get a 50% rebate of what they paid on their previous year's property taxes, up to a maximum of $800. If you are a senior living in your home and your taxes are paid in full, you can apply for the rebate by contacting Service Nova Scotia toll-free number at 1-800-670-4357.  Applications for the rebate are accepted each year from July 1 to December 31.

There are also various municipal tax exemption programs for households with low taxable incomes.

For example, the Halifax Regional Municipality offers the Affordable Access Program, which may help some low-income property owners with their tax bill payments. 

Although the owner is responsible for their tax bill, someone else can pay it on their behalf. If someone other than the owner pays the tax bill, that person does not get ownership rights. That means they don’t become an owner just because they paid the tax bill. At most, the person has a claim against the owner (or their estate) for the money they put toward the taxes.

Property Valuation Services Corporation (PVSC)
Website: www.pvsc.ca
Telephone: 1-800-380-7775

Your municipality

Halifax Regional Municipality (Halifax)
Taxes Website: www.halifax.ca/home-property/property-taxes
Telephone: call 311 or 902-490-5016

Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM)
Website: www.cbrm.ns.ca/Telephone: 902-563-5025 or 902-563-5080 (Citizen Service Centre)

Click here to find your municipality.

Legislation that applies:

Nova Scotia Assessment Act
Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act

Yes, you can be evicted if you do not pay your rent.

There had been 3-month suspension of evictions due to rental arrears related to COVID-19, but that ended on June 30, 2020.

Landlords may evict tenants only for the legal reasons allowed under the Residential Tenancies Act such as:

• Rental arrears
• Safety and/or security risk (for example, physical assaults)
• Abuse of landlord rules (for example, continued smoking in a non-smoking building)
• Tenant not following their legal obligations under Residential Tenancies Act  (for example, subletting without the landlord’s permission)
• Damage/destruction to property
• Property owners wish to move back into their home
• Early termination is required for a new property owner to take possession of their new home
• A property is foreclosed on by a financial institution.

The current rent increase cap is 5%. That means from January 1, 2024, until December 31, 2025, a tenant's rent can't be increased by more than 5% per year. The Provincial Government previously capped rent increases at 2%, but they changed the cap to 5% for 2024 and 2025. 

The Nova Scotia government has a pdf renoviction fact sheet for Residential Tenants and Landlords (66 KB) that sets out important changes to the rules about ending a tenant's lease for the purpose of renovations ('renovictions').  The new rules came into place on March 21, 2022. 

Here are the highlights:

The ban on renovictions has ended. There are now new rules about renovictions.

The new renoviction rules include:

• Landlords and tenants may both agree to end the lease due to a renovation.  The agreement must be in writing and must use Form DR5: Agreement to end tenancy (lease) for demolition, repairs or renovations available from Residential Tenancies at novascotia.ca/RTA
• Landlords must give tenants at least three months notice of a planned renoviction
• Landlords must give tenants between one month and three months rent as compensation, depending on the building size.  Landlords may have to pay more compensation to tenants if the landlord does not follow the rules about renovictions
• If the landlord provides another unit that is acceptable to the tenant, and the tenant agrees to enter into a lease for the new unit with the same benefits and obligations as the current lease, the tenant is not entitled to compensation
• If the landlord and tenant  do not come to an agreement, the landlord must apply to the Residential Tenancies Program asking for an eviction order.

See sections 10AB, 10AC, and 10AD of the Residential Tenancies Act for more information about ending a tenancy for demolition, repairs or renovations.

Landlords may evict tenants only for the legal reasons allowed under the Residential Tenancies Act such as:

• Rental arrears
• Safety and/or security risk (for example, physical assaults)
• Abuse of landlord rules (for example, continued smoking in a non-smoking building)
• Tenant not following their legal obligations under Residential Tenancies Act  (for example, subletting without the landlord’s permission)
• Damage/destruction to property
• Property owners wish to move back into their home
• Early termination is required for a new property owner to take possession of their new home
• A property is foreclosed on by a financial institution.

SCAN is a Nova Scotia law called the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act.

SCAN deals with illegal activities that adversely affect a neighbourhood that:

• may be a health, safety or security concern, or
• interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of property.

For example, SCAN covers specific activities like:

• illegal sale of alcohol or drugs
• illegal gambling, or
• prostitution.

SCAN allows anyone to complain anonymously to Nova Scotia’s Public Safety Investigation Unit if they are concerned that these activities may happen regularly in their community.

Anyone can make a complaint if they believe activities like the illegal sale of alcohol, possession of drugs, or illegal gambling are regularly happening in their community. Complaints are confidential.

Once you make a complaint, you are referred to as the complainant. Your identity cannot be revealed unless you agree in writing. Contact Nova Scotia’s Public Safety Investigation Unit at 1-877-357-2337 to make a complaint. You'll find more information online at www.gov.ns.ca/just/Public_Safety/safer_communities.asp

Call the Public Safety Investigation Unit at 1-877-357-2337 to make a complaint.

After a complaint is made, the Director of Public Safety or public safety investigators may:

• Try to solve the problem informally
• Ask for more information
• Question neighbourhood residents
• Investigate the complaint, including conducting surveillance of the property
• Send warning letters to the property owner or occupants
• Apply to court for a community safety order
• Take other steps the Director considers appropriate.

The Director may decide not to act on a complaint or to stop action on a complaint. If so, they must tell the complainant about this decision in writing.

The Director does not have to give reasons for a decision.

A Community Safety Order is a court order that requires people to stop doing specific illegal things on a property and may also order people to leave a property.

A Community Safety Order:

• gives the property's address
• describes specific activities that are the reason for the order
• requires people not to do or allow any of the activities at the property
• requires certain people named in the order to do what is reasonable to stop the activities from continuing or happening again and
• gives the date the order ends.

Depending on the situation, a community safety order might also:

• Order people to leave the property
• Stop people from going back to the property
• End a lease or tenancy agreement
• Order that the property be closed for up to 90 days, and
• Give the owner possession of the property.

The court might order a Community Safety Order if:

• activities are happening that show the property is being used for a “specified use,” and
• the activities negatively affect the community or neighbourhood.

“Specified use” includes: the illegal sale of liquor, prostitution, illegal gambling, illegal possession, use, sale, transfer or exchange of drugs. The activities must be happening regularly.

If you have been served with a Community Safety Order and disagree, you should get legal advice immediately. You may be able to get legal advice from Dalhousie Legal Aid or Nova Scotia Legal Aid. If you do not qualify for Legal Aid, you may contact a lawyer in private practice.

You may apply to the Court (Supreme Court of Nova Scotia) to ask a judge to change the Community Safety Order if you live in the property but are not the owner (for example - you are a tenant), and the order:

• says you and anyone living with you must leave (vacate) the property and can't go back
• ends your lease or tenancy agreement, or
• says that the property must be closed.

 If you are unsure whether the order does any of these things, call the Public Safety Section, Policing & Victim Services Division, Nova Scotia Department of Justice, at (902) 424-2504.

You must apply to court within 14 days of the date you were served with the order.

A property owner or anyone who lives at the property, including a tenant, may apply to the Court to change part of an order that says the property must be closed. You must apply to the court before the date given to close the property.

Applying to the Court does not stay the Community Safety Order. This means that even if you apply to the Court to get the order changed, you still have to follow the order until the Court says differently.

If you are a tenant, the Court might change the community safety order by, for example:

• giving you and anyone living with you more time to leave the property
• allowing you to move back in if you have already moved out or
• putting your lease or tenancy agreement back in place.

You should get legal advice immediately if you want to appeal a decision under SCAN. If you want to appeal, you must apply to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal within 14 days of the order you are appealing from. An appeal can only deal with questions of law, which are legal issues the judge made a decision about, not decisions on the facts. You must first get the court’s leave (permission) to appeal.

Yes.

The penalty is different depending on your offence.  See the list below for offences under SCAN and the possible penalties:

• If you are found guilty of removing or defacing an order notice posted on a building under SCAN, you may have to pay a fine of up to $2,500.00 and be sent to jail for up to 3 months or both.
• If you are found guilty of entering a property that is closed under a Community Safety Order, you may be fined up to $5,000.00 and sent to jail for up to 6 months or both.
• If you are found guilty of not following a Community Safety Order, you may have to pay a fine of up to $500 each day you do not follow the order.

If there is any conflict between the Residential Tenancies Act and the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act, the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act takes priority.

• Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act and regulations
• Contact Nova Scotia’s Public Safety Investigation Unit at 1-877-357-2337 to file a complaint. You'll find more information online at: http://www.gov.ns.ca/just/Public_Safety/safer_communities.asp
•  LISNS Legal Information Line 1 800 665-9779 or 455-3135

For legal advice:

• Nova Scotia Legal Aid nslegalaid.ca, or listed under Legal Aid in the government blue pages of the telephone book
• Dalhousie Legal Aid Service (902) 423-8105
• A lawyer in private practice (a lawyer you would pay) 

You should get an idea of the market value of your home. There are two ways to do that:

• Contact a real estate agent. A good real estate agent will give you an idea of what you can expect to sell your house for based on what other houses are selling for in your area. It is free to consult with a real estate agent. 
• Get a professional appraisal. You can find professional appraisers online or in the Yellow Pages. The Nova Scotia Real Estate Appraisers Association has an online directory that you can use. You have to pay for a professional appraisal. Expect it to cost around $500 to $750 for an appraisal. 

Real estate agents advertise online and in the Yellow Pages. There are many agents to choose from. You should find someone who knows the area you live in. Family, friends or people you work with may be able to recommend an agent. 

Real estate agents' fees vary, so you should find out as much as you can about how much an agent charges. Typically they charge somewhere in the range of 4%-6% of the sale price, plus HST.  

The Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission licenses real estate agents in Nova Scotia. You should confirm that the realtor you want to work with is licensed. You can do that by doing a licensee search on the Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission’s website. 

You must sign a listing agreement if you decide to hire an agent. Carefully read through the agreement and ensure you understand the charges and commissions you can expect to pay and what to expect from the agent. You and your agent will discuss whether it should be a multiple or exclusive listing. Multiple listings give you broader exposure, but you may pay a higher commission. Generally, the agent will be entitled to their commission when a ready, willing and able buyer signs an offer to purchase your home at the price you and your agent agreed to sell it for. 

Depending on the listing agreement, you may still have to pay a commission even if:

• the transaction fails,
• you sell the house yourself while the listing agreement is in effect, or 
• you sell it after the listing agreement has expired, and the agent introduced you to the buyer or introduced the buyer to the property during the term of the listing agreement. 

Yes, some owners choose to sell their houses without using an agent. Some businesses provide services to help people do this, for example, by providing signs and draft documents and listing the home for sale on websites like MLS or Viewpoint. Although this costs less than hiring an agent, you must be prepared to advertise and show the property yourself and will not have access to the same resources as a professional agent.

The main risk is that you might not get the best price possible. If you don’t use an agent, you will not get the benefits of their professional help. A good real estate agent will:

• Know the market conditions and advise you on them
• Give you a strategy for advertising and pricing your homes to get the best value
• Give suggestions about what minor changes or fixes can be made to the home to increase value
• Give you options or suggestions for staging the home to make it look its best
• Strategize with you if your home is not getting offers
• Help you navigate multiple-offer situations to get the best price

Without an agent, you may not get the price for your home and your home might spend much longer on the market than necessary. 

Yes, but you should hire a real estate agent who is not representing the purchaser. This ensures they will solely serve your interests in the home selling process. 

If one of your real estate agent’s clients wishes to purchase your property, the agent must inform you. 

An agent representing the seller and the purchaser cannot advise one party against the other party's interests. As the seller, you still pay the agent's fee.

Yes. Your lawyer will: 

• advise you about the terms of the purchase and sale agreement, 
• ensure that the documentation is prepared properly
• ensure the property is migrated to the land registration system before closing, 
• receive the money from the purchaser’s lawyer on closing day, 
• pay off the amount owing on your mortgage, 
• pay your real estate agent out of the sale proceeds, and 
• provide you with an accounting of the proceeds from the sale. 

You should not use the same lawyer as the purchaser. If the purchaser and the seller use the same lawyer, nothing either party tells the lawyer is confidential from the other. If an issue arose that could not be resolved, both parties would have to find new lawyers.  

You should not try to sell real estate without a lawyer. If the property has not been migrated to the land registration system, that process must be completed by a lawyer.  

No. If you sell your home and you owe money on a mortgage, on the closing date for the sale, your lawyer will use the sale proceeds to pay off the amount owing on the mortgage. Your lawyer will ensure your lender issues a release confirming you have paid off the mortgage. 

However, before you list your home, you should contact your lender to:

• Confirm precisely how much is left owing on the mortgage. 
• Find out if you can pay off the mortgage early, and if so, if there is a penalty. 
• Ask your lender to put this information in writing for you. 

Your real estate agent will review the offer with you in detail. They’ll make sure that you understand the offered terms. 

You can:

• Accept the offer,
• Reject the offer, or
• Make a counteroffer.

You can reject the offer if you are unsatisfied with the offered price or any of the conditions. You are usually not required to accept the highest price. 

You can also make a counteroffer. Your real estate agent can help you prepare a counteroffer. You can decide whether to make this your final offer or whether you will consider a counteroffer from the purchaser. 

You can end the negotiation if you and the purchaser cannot agree on an acceptable offer. 

If you reach an agreement, the purchaser pays a deposit held by the real estate agent in trust until closing.

When someone buys your house, the sale must include all fixtures unless you clearly exclude them in the purchase agreement. 

Fixtures include anything attached to the house permanently, so its removal would leave obvious damage or a scar. Permanent attachment can include anything that is plastered, bolted, screwed or nailed in place. For example, wall-to-wall carpeting, a sink, and central air conditioning are all fixtures, while a throw-rug, free-standing cupboard, and washing machine would not be fixtures. 

You can include things that aren’t fixtures, but that must be clearly stated in the purchase and sale agreement. 

A Property Disclosure Statement is a report the seller prepares for the purchaser. It discloses information known to the seller about the property's existing condition. It contains information that the seller is aware of, such as the age of the roof and electrical wiring, any problems with leaks or water damage, and so on. The statement may help the purchaser decide whether any aspects of the house, such as the roof, electrical wiring, or heating system, need further inspection.

The Property Disclosure Statement must be completed honestly, but it is not a warranty or a guarantee that the property is free from defects. There may be defects that are unknown to the seller. 

It may not be advisable to complete a Property Disclosure Statement if you are not familiar with the property – for example, if you are selling a property as an executor on behalf of an estate, or if you do not live in the property.  

Your lawyer can advise you on preparing this statement. 

Generally speaking, no. The seller usually does not have to collect sales tax (HST) from the sale of a used private home. 

If you are selling the home that you currently live in, it is unlikely that you will have to collect HST. However, if you have done significant renovations, the house you are selling is a newly built house, or you rented it out short-term (e.g. Airbnb), you should contact the Canada Revenue Agency to find out if you need to collect any taxes. You should also talk with your lawyer. 

If your home isn’t registered under the Land Registration Act, you must register it before you complete the sale. This is also referred to as having the property migrated or converted. 

There is a registration fee. It is up to the purchaser and the seller to negotiate who covers the costs. The practice has developed that the seller usually registers the property and pays the registration fee. Usually, the cost will be between $1,000 and $1,500 plus tax. Your lawyer can advise on this and other costs involved in selling your home. 

Once a property is registered under the land registration system, it will not need to be registered again. For more information on registering property and the Land Registration Act, visit the website of the Land Registration Office of Nova Scotia.

The purchaser is entitled to vacant possession once they release the funds to your lawyer and the sale is complete. You must arrange to move out on or before closing day. Most often, the purchase agreement will contain a time on the morning of the closing date that the house has to be vacant in order for the purchaser to complete their pre-closing walkthrough. You do not receive your sale proceeds until the house is vacant.

For more information about selling your home, we suggest the following guides from:

• Nova Scotia Real Estate Commission
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
• Canada Revenue Agency

A realtor can give you information about the selling process and about the market conditions in your community.

A property lawyer can advise you about your legal rights and responsibilities throughout the process and on specific steps, such as completing the Property Disclosure Statement. 

On Private Land

If you have enough evidence to establish that you have used and occupied privately owned land for 20 years or more to the exclusion of the landowner, you can ask a property lawyer to register your ownership interest in the land under the Land Registration Act. The lawyer would have to review the facts to confirm you have a legitimate claim for squatters’ rights.  

The acts of possession required to make a successful squatters’ rights claim against a landowner are very fact-specific. It depends on the circumstances and the nature of the land in dispute. 

If the landowner migrated the property to the Nova Scotia Land Registration System, the entire 20 years of adverse possession must have occurred before the land was registered. However, there is an exception for claims of less than 20% of adjacent land. 

You have 10 years after the migration to register your claim. 

On Crown Land

You can also claim adverse possession against Crown land but must show 40 years of continuous occupation. 

Crown land is owned by the Province of Nova Scotia and is managed by the Department of Lands and Forestry. Approximately 29% of the province is designated as Crown land. 

You can apply to the Department of Lands and Forestry to make a squatters’ rights claim on Crown land. If the Department is satisfied that the evidence proves that the Crown’s ownership right has been wiped out, they will issue a certificate of release to confirm that the Crown no longer owns the land. You must get a lawyer to register your ownership interest in the land. 

You can also prove ownership claims in court using a law called the Quieting Titles Act. 

Landowners should consider the following things to help protect against adverse possession claims: 

• Inspect your land regularly to ensure no one else uses it without permission. 
• Migrate the land to the Land Registration System in Nova Scotia.
• Consult a lawyer before deciding whether to allow someone to use your land.  
• If you allow someone else to use your land, put it in writing. Make clear that they’re using the land with your knowledge and permission. You can use a lease, license or other agreement. A lawyer can help you decide what document is best for you. 

General information on adverse possession from the Government of Nova Scotia:

• www.novascotia.ca/natr/land/policyadversepossession.asp 
• www.novascotia.ca/natr/land/adverse-possession.asp 
• Adverse possession on Crown land: www.novascotia.ca/natr/land/adverse.asp

Land Titles Initiative: 

The Land Titles Initiative helps residents in the communities of North Preston, East Preston, Cherry Brook/Lake Loon, Lincolnville and Sunnyville get clear title to their land at no cost. Nova Scotia Legal Aid provides services for the Land Titles Initiative.

• https://ansa.novascotia.ca/landtitles 
• www.nslegalaid.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PLE-OTHER-Land-Titles-Initiative-March-2019-2.pdf 

Legal Aid: www.nslegalaid.ca 

Legal Information: www.legalinfo.org 

Land Registration: www.novascotia.ca/sns/access/land/land-registry.asp

Legislation: 

• Land Registration Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/land%20registration.pdf 
• Quieting Titles Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/quieting.htm
• Crown Lands Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/crownlan.htm 
• Real Property Limitations Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/real%20 property%20limitations.pdf 
• Land Titles Clarification Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/landtitl.htm