Between signed offer and keys, a lawyer verifies title, clears liens, reviews conditions, handles funds through trust, and registers the transfer. It's the safeguard that catches problems while they're still the seller's problem.

Construction / Builder's Lien

Construction (mechanics'/builder's) liens let contractors and suppliers secure payment against a property — powerful, but governed by strict, short deadlines. Whether you're claiming one or facing one, timing and paperwork decide everything.

Landlord Won't Return the Deposit

Deposit rules are strict: what can be deducted, itemization, and return deadlines are all regulated, and wrongful withholding often triggers penalties — sometimes multiples of the deposit. Documentation from move-in and move-out wins these disputes.

Property Boundary Dispute

Boundary fights are resolved by evidence, not fences: a licensed survey establishes the legal line, and long-standing use can create rights (or erode them) through doctrines like adverse possession or prescriptive easements. Early legal advice prevents self-inflicted damage.

Received an Eviction Notice

A notice is the start of a legal process, not an order to leave. In most places only a tribunal or court can end a tenancy, notices fail on technical defects regularly, and tenants have defenses — especially where maintenance or retaliation is in play.

Serious Problems Discovered After Buying a Property

Your position depends on what was disclosed, what you could have discovered on inspection, and the wording of the purchase contract. Undisclosed defects the seller knew about and concealed are treated very differently from problems a reasonable inspection would have revealed. Quebec is notable: its Civil Code provides a latent-defect warranty that is often stronger than common-law protections elsewhere.

Other Practice Areas

Civil Litigation Lawyers Corporate Law Lawyers Tax Law Lawyers Employment Law Lawyers Family Law Lawyers Banking & Finance Lawyers Child Custody Lawyers Property Division Lawyers

Go deeper

Guides, Forums & Where This Is Decided

Background reading and the bodies that hear real estate matters.

Related guides

Facing Eviction in Ontario: The LTB Process
How Ontario eviction actually works: what N-forms mean, why a notice isn't an eviction, the LTB hearing, defences, and free help for tenants.
The Legal Side of Buying a Home
The legal steps in a home purchase: conditions that protect you, title and searches, the closing process, and how Quebec's notarial system differs.
Buying a Home: The Legal Process
The legal side of buying property: offers and conditions, title searches, inspections, closing, and what protects you if defects appear. US & Canada.

Where this is decided

Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal
Ontario · Administrative
Assessment Review Board (ARB)
Ontario · Administrative
Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ)
Quebec · Administrative
Commission municipale du Québec
Quebec · Administrative
Committee of Adjustment (City of Toronto)
Ontario · Municipal — first instance

All courts & tribunals

If your issue involves a company or institution, the Real Estate consumer rights section sets out how to escalate and who regulates it.