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47 Can. Bus. L.J. 1 (2008-2009)
Real Estate Fraud and Systems of Title Registration: The Paradox of Certainty

handle is hein.journals/canadbus47 and id is 19 raw text is: THE REVUE CANADIAN CANADIENNE DU BUSINESS LAW DROIT DE JOURNAL COMMERCE Volume 47, No. 1 December/decembre 2008 REAL ESTATE FRAUD AND SYSTEMS OF TITLE REGISTRATION: THE PARADOX OF CERTAINTY Brian Bucknall* I. INTRODUCTION For most practitioners and academics, real estate fraud is a somewhat surprising phenomenon. One might have assumed a couple of decades ago that it would be almost impossible to make a parcel of real estate the subject of a lucrative fraud. The topic was unfamiliar both in practice and in written commentaries until the last decade. Real estate fraud (or, as it is sometimes termed, title fraud) is often made effective through the use of mortgages. The term mortgage fraud is also used, although the topic is larger than a question of improper financing. Real estate fraud has become, unfortunately, a familiar element in the real estate market over the last 20 years and, correspondingly, a familiar part of our jurisprudence. The issues raised in the cases most frequently relate, in Ontario, to the Land Titles Act' and the application of the principles embodied in the Land Titles Act and the registry regime under the Land Titles Act. In Ontario, the Registry Act2 has a different logic and impact. Fraud under the Land Titles Act has proven to be a more successful vehicle for malfeasance than fraud under the Registry Act. Recently, as will be discussed below, the Ontario government has made major revisions to the Land Titles Act with the intention of dealing with problems associated with real estate fraud. The question * Brian Bucknall, L.S.M., LL.B., LL.M., is a sole practitioner who confines his practice to expert advice on real estate transactions and confines his clientele to lawyers and law firms. 1. Land Titles Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.5. 2. Registry Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. R.20.

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