2. Manner of Tenure
All names are the same as Property Online or a comment has been made (If staff believe that the name represents the same person, they would approve, e.g. J Susan Jones and Susan Jones would be considered to be the same but J Susan Jones and Susan White would be rejected without a comment provided).
If it appears that there are multiple names that represent the same owner (e.g. Jennifer Lynn Smith and Jennifer Lynn Jones) without the use of the qualifier otherwise Known As, the AFR should be rejected. The rejection comment should ask for clarification on whether these names represent one person or not. The lawyer should show the legal name as the fee simple owner without a qualifier plus any other variations with the qualifier 'Otherwise Known As'. NOTE: A name must not appear with the qualifier ‘otherwise known as’ without any other variation of the name being present (without a qualifier).
Any Estate of registered owners are enabled by a deed where Estate of .. is the Grantee on the deed. Exception: If the Grantee is an individual (no mention of 'Estate' in the deed), and the owner is being added with a qualifier of 'Estate', then the lawyer must be adding a textual qualification that the individual is deceased, that proof of death is available, and that Probate has not yet been opened. If a TQ has not been provided, the AFR must be rejected.
Carrying on business as, or a name of a Trust (i.e. 'Smith Family Trust), or the name of a Partnership (other than general partnerships) has not been used as a fee simple owner or as part of a registered owner name. Partnerships cannot be shown as a fee simple owner unless it is a general partnership (this should be able to be ascertained by the name of the partnership or by the identification of the entity being a general partnership after the name on the document. Note: This does not include fee simple owners with a qualifier of Trustee, Trustees of a Church (i.e. Trustees of St. John United Church), or a Trust Company (i.e. Olympia Trust Company).
Any additional owners shown on the AFR (usually appear as in care of) with the Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board / DVLA as a registered interest, must also appear as Grantees on the deed that is shown as the enabling instrument. Otherwise, any 'in care of' names that appear in the AFR, are Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board Occupiers, who must be entered in the separate field for Farm Loan Board Occupants and must not appear as registered interest holders.
Registered interests are enabled by instruments which can transfer an ownership interest (e.g. deeds, probate documents, condo declaration, court order-transferring, etc.). Note: If a Form 32 is the enabling document, there must be a TQ present which provides additional information about title to the parcel as directed within the Order.
None of the following documents have been used as an enabling instrument: boundary line agreement, plan, notice of approval of a plan of subdivision, repeal of a plan of subdivision, statutory declaration re defacto consolidation or instrument of subdivision.
A discontinuance of highway or road closure document, which is typically an 'Order in Council', can be used to enable a registered interest if the owner is a level of government (municipal, provincial, or federal).
If a statutory declaration is used to enable registered owners, the statutory declaration relates to one of the following:
possession;
An election under the Intestate Succession Act;
Crown lands that have never been granted: the declaration has been signed by the Registrar of Crown Lands and the parcel is being migrated in the name of Her Majesty the Queen;
Road Closure, Extinguishment or Discontinuance of Highway and the registered interest holder is a level of government (municipal, provincial or federal)
Last conveyancing document shown on Property Online is used as an enabling instrument for a registered interest or a comment has been made. (If no conveyancing documents appear on Property Online, no comment is required. In addition, if a lawyer is using a more recent conveyancing document than what appears in POL, no comment is required).
The enabling instrument for the registered interest must be recorded in the migrating county (i.e. a deed cannot be used from another county).
There are complete mailing addresses (using one of the following: civic address, RR#, PO Box, Site # or General Delivery) for all interest holders (individuals or companies, this does not include PIDs, Together with… , etc) that appear on the draft AFR or a comment has been made to explain why address is not included (e.g. company has gone out of business and there is no mailing address available).
If ownership is based on a plan that was filed (i.e. Expropriation), a Quieting of/Certificate of Title, or by a Statutory Provision;
See: Enabling Instruments on the AFR to see if a Form 32 request applies.
n. If a Tax Deed is being used to enable registered owners, where the registration date is less than six years from the current date - then a TQ must be added as either one of the following variations;
A tax deed for this parcel was registered on (insert recording date) as instrument number (insert doc #). Pursuant to subsection 6 (2) of the Marketable Titles Act, the presumption of regularity for the assessment and tax sale process will be effective on and after (insert date). This qualification expires on (insert expiry date).
OR
A tax deed dated (insert date of deed), for this parcel was registered. Pursuant to subsection 6 (2) of the Marketable Titles Act, the presumption of regularity for the assessment and tax sale process will be effective on and after the date of registration of the deed and expires after six years of registration.
2) Manner of Tenure If the MOT is either 'Tenants in Common' or a ‘Mixture of Joint Tenants and Tenants in Common’, then there must be a TQ added to specify the Percentage or Share of Interest Held because it is extremely important to indicate the nature of the interest that is held by the interest holder(s) involved. A TQ is required because the description of tenure entered in an AFR will not appear in the parcel, but a TQ is viewable and will provide this information for anybody reviewing the parcel register.
3) Parcel Access The lawyer must ensure that the parcel access selected does not conflict with other information that appears in the AFR.
Refer to the information on the following page for guidance: Parcel Access on the AFR.
All document references shown on the draft AFR match the Property Online GGI with relation to the following: book/page (if applicable), document # and registration date.
Notes:
The lawyer must always provide the actual document number and registration date whether it is found in the GGI or on the document itself.
If the GGI has an arbitrary document # but there is a document # on the actual document, the actual document # must be entered.
If the GGI has an arbitrary document # and there isn't a document # on the actual document, the arbitrary document # must be entered. It is not acceptable to enter a '0' (zero) as the document #.
If the GGI has a zero for the document # and there isn't a document # on the actual document, then '0' (zero) must be entered as the document #.
The lawyer may be submitting a date such as 16-01-82 where the GGI shows 01-01-82 or 15-03-98 where the GGI shows 01-03-98. This is not a cause for rejection as imports of the GGI data were dated either the first of a year or the first of a month. The lawyer must use the correct date as shown in the actual document and staff will correct the date in the GGI to match. Otherwise, if there is a day, month and year registration date in the GGI or document, which differs from the draft AFR, staff will reject the AFR.
If the document submitted on an AFR has been recorded in one of the dead districts (former registries - St. Mary's, Parsboro, Chester, Barrington), the submitter must include the three digit prefix in front of the document number. If not, the AFR will be rejected.
a) All instrument types shown on the draft AFR match the Property Online GGI. If the GGI instrument type differs from the instrument type on the AFR, staff must review the document to ensure that the type on the AFR is appropriate and will only change the code to match AFR if it is appropriate to do so. If not appropriate, staff will not change the code to match the AFR and must reject the AFR because of the discrepancy. If the GGI shows 'other instruments', staff will correct the document, based on the lawyer's entry, before approving the AFR, so the document will be properly coded.
b) All interest types shown on draft AFR make sense with the type of instrument. (e.g. Easement / ROW Holder (Benefit or Burden) are often enabled by a deed which is perfectly appropriate in this situation).
c) An instrument type (Form 8A Notice – code 407) cannot be used to enable any interest on the AFR. The 8A is only a notice under the Registry Act that is placed in the GGI to ensure that a search of the named land owner’s parcel will include the notice and require the searcher/lawyer to go to the parcel registers identified on the 8A. It is the lawyer’s responsibility to determine the effect of the interest on the non-LR parcel and add any appropriate entries on the AFR, using the appropriate document reference (not the 8A), that enables the interest on this parcel.
a) All benefits and burdens shown in parcel description appear on draft AFR in the appropriate category or as a TQ. If the wording is such that the burden/benefit DOES apply, then it must also be in the description. If the wording is such that the benefit/burden MAY POSSIBLY apply, then it can't be included in the description.
b) If a benefit/burden is described only by reference to a Book/Page or Document #, then the AFR must reference the same enabling document. If the benefit or burden is described full text (includes what the benefit or burden entails, a book and page reference if present, is not a reason for rejection).
c) Correcting description required flag has been set if benefits and/or burdens appear on draft AFR and are not included in parcel description.
d) All benefits require a 'Together with …' entry on the AFR.
e) If a PID is shown as a Servient Tenement PIDor Dominant Tenement PID, it is not the PID that the AFR has been submitted for.
f) Various Owners, Various PIDs, or Servient Tenement PIDs cannot be shown on an AFR without a corresponding 'Together With...' entry showing the same enabling instrument.
g) There are not multiple references to the same easement benefit or burden with the same book/page or document / year reference and interest holder name.
h) See: Acceptable Entries for Benefits and Burdens (AFR) for details on how benefits and burdens must appear in the AFR.
i) Use of Various PIDs/Various Owners for a Benefit or Burden:
1) A comment must be made advising staff of the date that the RG granted permission to use ‘Various PIDs/Owners’. If this information is not provided, the AFR will be rejected.
AND
A TQ must also be added to the AFR that provides additional information about the benefit or burden that is enabled by the 'Various PIDs/Owners' entry and includes a caution that the corresponding benefit/burden may not be shown in the parcel registers of other affected 'flip-side' parcels, or the AFR will be rejected.
OR
2) The ‘Various PIDs or Owners’ entry must either relate to a condo unit AFR or to a STP/DTP that is a condo unit parcel. The RG’s directive dated Aug. 31, 2009 stated that there is a blanket ‘various PIDs’ exemption for corresponding benefits/burdens that affects units in a condominium corporation, and that in this case permission from the RG is not required. The submitter may or may not provide a comment to advise of the above.
AND
A TQ must also be added to the AFR that provides additional information about the benefit or burden on the parcel being registered. If a TQ has not been provided, the AFR will be rejected.
j) Enabling document for the benefit/burden is recorded in another county:
If a benefit or burden is enabled by a document from another county - the only thing that staff will check for is that the instrument type is a Deed or Certificate of Title (which is acceptable). If the enabling document is a grant of easement, then this is not acceptable. The lawyer must be advised that the easement document must also be recorded in the migrating county so that it can be used on the AFR to enable the interest.
k) Development Agreements & Amendments to Development Agreements:
l) Benefits and Burdens shown as unregistered
interests:
See:
Benefits
and Burdens on the AFR- Unregistered
Interests
m) Horizontal Surface Restrictions (pursuant to the Aeronautics Act): It is up to the lawyer as to whether this type of an interest is added by using a TQ or as an entry under the Burden section of the AFR. Either method is acceptable.
See: Acceptable Entries for Benefits and Burdens (AFR) for details on how this type of an interest must appear in the AFR if it has been entered as a burden
n) Assignment of a Burden: A burden holder can assign the interest that they hold to another party. In this case, because the assignment relates to a burden, the interest of the assignee would have to appear in the burden section as well. If there is an entry in the burden section for 'interest assigned', then the assignment must also appear in the burden section. If the lawyer has placed the assignment under the recorded section, the AFR must be rejected.
NOTE: If 'interest assigned' is being added with respect to an assignment for Bell Canada, then a TQ relating to the Bell Canada assignment is not required.
See: Assignment Relating to a Burden
There are complete mailing addresses (using one of the following: civic address, RR#, PO Box, Site # or General Delivery) for all interest holders (individuals or companies, this does not include PIDs, Subject to ... ,etc.) that appear on the draft AFR or a comment has been made to explain why address is not provided. "Address is unknown" or " unable to provide address" is not an acceptable reason. The only valid reasons for an address not being provided would typically be: a name of an interest holder from many years back where the current address of that interest holder cannot be established or a company that has not been in existence for many years and there isn't a mailing address available.
Addresses are not required for PIDs, Various Owners, Various PIDs, or "Subject to..." entries. (See Acceptable Entries for Benefits and Burdens (AFR) for the only acceptable options using generic entries for burdens). Since these entries are not individuals or companies/entities, they do not require a mailing address.
"Unknown" or "N/A" must be used as the mailing address in any of the above circumstances
a) If there is an assignment as an enabling instrument (other than an Assignment of Leases and/or Rents or a General Assignment of monies that isn’t an assignment of a mortgage), there must be another interest holder on the AFR that has "Interest Assigned" as the interest holder name. Note: Some lawyers may also change any documents related to the instrument being assigned to "Interest Assigned" such as amendments, postponements, etc. This is also acceptable.
b) An Agreement of Purchase and Sale is not being used as an enabling interest in the recorded interest section.
c) A name of a Trust has not been used as an interest holder or as part of an interest holders name. (Exception: a trust company). Only the trustees can be shown as interest holders. This is based on subsection 28(1) of the LRA.
Note: This does not include names with a qualifier of Trustee or Trustees of a church.
d) If a judgment has been added to the AFR, staff must check the GGI to see if it is associated to a judgment renewal. If a judgment has been renewed, both the judgment and the renewal document must appear in the AFR or it must be rejected.
Note: If only the renewal appears in the AFR, then staff must reject with a request that the submitter add the related judgment document to the AFR .
e) Development Agreements & Amendments to Development Agreements:
f) The name of a registered interest holder does not also appear as a recorded interest holder.
g) There are complete mailing addresses (using one of the following: civic address, RR#, PO Box, Site # or General Delivery) for all interest holders (individuals or companies, this does not include PIDs, Subject to ... ,etc.) that appear on the draft AFR or a comment has been made to explain why address is not provided. "Address is unknown" or " unable to provide address" is not an acceptable reason. The only valid reasons for an address not being provided would typically be: a name of an interest holder from many years back where the current address of that interest holder cannot be established or a company that has not been in existence for many years and there isn't a mailing address available.
a) There are no textual qualifications listed which should appear as a benefit or burden under the appropriate section. (If the lawyer is naming an interest holder and document, this should be entered under the appropriate section and need not appear as a TQ. If the lawyer is naming an interest holder but does not have a document, this should be entered as an unregistered interest but it does not have to be. This is up to the lawyer to decide. This would include General Utility Easement – Owner Unknown).
b) Comments made in Comments field do not belong in Textual Qualification field. (If the lawyer has provided Comments which appear to be something they wish to display in the parcel register, staff will reject and advise that this information will disappear when the AFR is approved and needs to be moved to the TQ field).
c) An agreement of Purchase and Sale is not being used as a Textual Qualification.
d) All textual qualifications will be reviewed by the Registrar to ensure they are compliant with S 11 of the Regulations.
Typical examples of scenarios that may require a TQ:
1. Foreclosure Orders:
The Foreclosure Order (412) must be a recorded interest on the AFR
Interest holder name must be the party that foreclosed.
2. Access is over other lands owned by same owners:
Parcel Access Type must be other, private (other), or no access
No access benefit is enabled on the AFR or if there is one it is representing a different benefit than the one referenced in the TQ.
3. Assignment of Bankruptcy:
Assignment of Bankruptcy must be in the parcel register
4. Possession:
If statutory declarations that relate to possession are referenced in the TQ, these declarations must be included in the registered interest section (not recorded interest section) of the AFR.
5. Deceased Owner:
If any reference is made to a deceased person, ensure that the deceased has not been shown as a registered interest holder.
6. Expiration of Restrictive Covenants:
If there is a TQ stating that the restrictive covenants on a parcel are going to expire on a specified date, there must be restrictive covenants shown on the AFR.
7. Floating Charge Debenture:
If there is a TQ that identifies a debenture as a Floating Charge Debenture, this is acceptable.
The floating charge debenture may or may not appear in the AFR.
8. Surface Restrictions relating to Shearwater Naval Air Station:
Cannot reference a book and page
Must be in the PDCA
Must identify the restrictions or identify the specific document which contains the restrictions
9. Form 8A:
TQ would explain that no Form 8A has been filed because the owner is undetermined or unknown as indicated on POL. Wording of TQ should be similar to the following: No Form 8A has been filed with respect to PID 12345678, as the apparent owner on Property Online appears as "Road Parcel Owner Undetermined."
10. Bell Canada Interests and a related TQ:
Where Bell Canada is added as an interest holder on an AFR, the lawyer may wish to add the following TQ (or similar wording);
"By a transfer effective as of July 1, 2015, Bell Aliant Regional Communications Inc., transferred all of its assets, including its rights to all easements, licenses and other real property interests, to Bell Canada. An assignment of these real property interests has been recorded in the consolidated index (the grantor-grantee index) for each county in Nova Scotia. The current interest holder is the Bell Telephone Company of Canada or Bell Canada. The mailing address for service can be found on the Nova Scotia Registry of Joint Stock Companies."
NOTE: The lawyer is not required to add the above TQ to the AFR.
11. Percentage or Share of TIC Interests:
A TQ that specifies the percentage or share of interest held by the TIC interest holders.
Note: Staff will reject AFRs where any reference is made (including comments) to statutory declarations regarding possession (adverse possession), if the declarations referenced are not currently appearing in the registered interest section of the AFR.
See also:"Showing Certain Interests on the AFR" on how the most commonly used interests should be shown.