To sell a house in Ontario you need proof that you own the property, your current mortgage details, a signed listing agreement with your brokerage, and government-issued photo identification. If you are selling a condominium, you also need a status certificate from the condo corporation. Most of these documents are gathered before the home reaches the market, and a few are produced later by your lawyer.
Ownership comes first. Your real estate lawyer confirms how title is held and runs a title search, so you rarely need to dig up the original deed yourself. What matters is knowing whether you hold title alone or with someone else, because every registered owner has to sign the closing documents. You will also be asked for a recent mortgage statement. The lawyer uses it to arrange the discharge and work out any prepayment penalty.
The listing agreement is the contract that authorizes a brokerage to market and sell your home. Signing it also triggers an identity check. Under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, which FINTRAC administers, sellers have had to show one piece of photo identification when they list since 2008. The brokerage records those details and keeps them on file.
Buyers and their lawyers will expect to see the property paperwork too. A recent property tax bill and your utility bills feed into the closing adjustments. An existing survey, if you can find it, sometimes spares the buyer the cost of ordering a new one. Gather any rental contracts tied to the home as well, such as a hot water tank or furnace lease, because those agreements pass to the buyer.
Selling a condominium adds one important document. The status certificate has to be supplied by the condo corporation within ten days, and the Condominium Act caps the fee at $100 including tax. It lays out the reserve fund balance, the budget, the rules, and any lawsuits involving the building.
A couple of documents are voluntary. The Seller Property Information Statement is optional in Ontario, and so is a written defect list. Even without them, you still have a legal duty to disclose hidden problems that could make the home unsafe to live in.
Related reading: What Is a Seller Property Information Statement?, Seller Disclosure Obligations in Ontario Real Estate, and Chattels vs Fixtures: What Stays in an Ontario Sale?.