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GENERAL EFFECT ON LAND TITLE PRACTICE

The Municipal Replotting Act deals with replotting schemes. Replotting schemes are normally undertaken to resolve survey issues. The process begins when a municipal council defines a part of the municipality as a district for the purpose of replotting. The entire district forms one common mass of real property from which land is taken as necessary for highways, parks, and public squares, with the remainder divided into new parcels for allotment to the former owners of the land incorporated in the district.

After council obtains approval of a proposed replotting scheme from the owners of the required percentage of the land in the district, the council may by resolution authorize the initiation of the scheme and then initiate it by filing the resolution and plans in the land title office. Notice of the scheme is endorsed on the title of parcels situated in the district pursuant to s. 12 of the Municipal Replotting Act, and the council has four months within which to elect, by resolution, whether to complete or discontinue the replotting in accordance with s. 14. If the council elects to discontinue the replotting, the municipal corporate officer must file a certified copy of the resolution to discontinue, and the registrar must then cancel the notice endorsed on the titles of the parcels in the district. If the council elects to proceed, application must be made by the municipality to have title to the common mass of property registered in the name of the municipality in trust for the owners of the new parcels. The application package must include a subdivision plan defining the new parcels, and upon deposit of the subdivision plan the new parcels vest in their respective individual owners. The municipality must make application for the registration of the titles to the new parcels on behalf of the owners.

PRACTICE

Initiation of Replotting Scheme at Land Title Office: Section 12

Submissions

On the Form 17 Charge, Notation or Filing, select Nature of Interest, Scheme of Replotting, and attach an image of the certified copy of the council resolution and copies of the plans referenced in s. 8(2)(a) of the Municipal Replotting Act.

The following copies of plans that have been sent to the owners of parcels in the district under s. 8(2)(a) of the Act are attached to the electronic Form 17:

  1. a copy of the plan of the real property affected by the scheme showing the land as it is presently subdivided; and
  2. a copy of the plan of the real property affected by the scheme showing the land as if the replotting scheme were in effect.

Examination of Initiation Package

On receipt of the material referred to above, the registrar examines the package for completeness. Specifically, the plan showing the land as presently subdivided must be sufficient for the registrar to identify all of the freehold titles, roads, parks, and public squares affected by the replotting scheme. Where there is doubt, the issue should be referred to the municipality for resolution.

Replotting schemes are normally undertaken to resolve survey issues in the area. In these circumstances, the plan of the land as presently subdivided may not be completely consistent with plans already on deposit in the land title office. Because the object of the initiation procedure in the land title office is to identify all of the titles affected by the scheme, the examination process need only be concerned with this issue.

Endorsement of Initiation

Once the registrar is satisfied that the initiation package identifies all of the titles, roads, parks, and public squares affected by the scheme, the registrar endorses, by legal notation, a memorandum of the filing on each title affected in accordance with s. 12(2).

Once the endorsement is made, the scheme is initiated and the municipality has four months from that date to elect either to discontinue the scheme or to authorize completion in accordance with s. 14. If the municipality does neither, the registrar may effect a cancellation of the endorsement on their own initiative. In these circumstances, a request by the owner is referred to the registrar, who, without fee, cancels the initiation endorsement.

Discontinuance

If, within four months of the filing date of the initiation package, the municipality, by resolution of council under s. 14 of this Act, elects not to proceed with the replotting, it may file a certified copy of the resolution in the land title office. The certificate must be issued by the municipal corporate officer under the seal of the municipality under s. 15. Application may be made by letter to the registrar requesting that the resolution be filed and the legal notation regarding the scheme be cancelled. The registrar must cancel the legal notation in accordance with s. 15.

Submissions

On the Form 17 Cancellation of Charge, Notation or Filing, select Nature of Interest, Scheme of Replotting, and attach an image of the certified copy of the council resolution.

Completion

Application to Register Title to Common Mass

If the municipality, by resolution of the council under s. 14, elects to complete the replotting, it must, within four months of the filing of the initiation package, apply for registration of title to the “common mass”, being all of the land affected by the replotting scheme.

Submissions

On the Form 17 Fee Simple, select Nature of Interest, Application to Register Title to Common Mass, and attach an image of a certified copy of the council resolution.

The application must include, in the following order:

  1. an electronic reference plan defining the common mass and an electronic plan application;
  2. an electronic declaration, with a certificate signed by the municipal corporate officer attached as a supporting document, setting out the information required under s. 16(3);
  3. an electronic subdivision plan of the common mass to effect the replotting, together with an electronic application; and
  4. fees payable under s. 41.

Completion of the Certificate by the Municipal Corporate Officer: Section 16(3)

Provisos Set Out in Crown Grant: Any provisos set out in the Crown grant should go in the fifth column of the certificate.

Mineral Rights: A reservation of mineral rights should, if registered as a charge on the old title, be in the fourth column of the certificate. Provisos should go in the fifth column of the certificate.

Non-Money Charges: Where there is an easement, right of way, proviso (such as one providing that no compensation is payable to an owner should flooding occur), mineral claim, or the like, the registrar enters the charge on the appropriate title.

Vesting and Registration of the Common Mass

On being satisfied that the reference plan is in order, the registrar is required to register a title to the common mass in the name of the municipality in trust for the owners of the new parcels. The title is registered on the basis of the reference plan.

Because s. 18 operates to vest the common mass in the municipality, as trustee, free of all charges registered against the former parcels, and to extinguish all highways, parks, and public squares, the owner name segment of the new title is shown as follows:

MUNICIPALITY/CITY OF [NAME], IN TRUST PURSUANT TO S. 16(1) OF THE MUNICIPAL REPLOTTING ACT

The reference number is the running serial number assigned to the certificate referred to in s. 16(2)(b).

Section 18 does not obviate the duty of the registrar to find a good safe holding and marketable title in the name of the municipality. While the legal validity is supplied by s. 18, the registrar must be satisfied that the statutory requirements have been met and that all issues of description have been resolved to the registrar’s satisfaction.

Examination of Subdivision Plan

On registration of title to the common mass, the registrar may proceed to examine the subdivision plan. However, any obvious defects should be resolved before registration of the new title in order to ensure that the entire package can be registered. The subdivision plan is subject to examination under Part 7 of the Land Title Act and the approval of the approving officer must be endorsed on the plan. Also note that the subdivision plan must bear the title “prepared under the replotting provisions of the Municipal Replotting Act” in accordance with s. 16(2).

Vesting and Registration of New Titles

A deposit of the subdivision plan operates to vest the respective new parcels in persons named in column 3 of the certificate prepared under s. 16(3) and to vest the interests less than the fee simple in the persons named in column 4 subject to any claims shown in column 5. The municipality must make the application under s. 20 for registration of the new titles on behalf of the owners or, if an owner is deceased, the owner’s personal representative. Any outstanding duplicate title to a former parcel must be surrendered as a condition of registration at this time.

Submissions

On the Form 17 Fee Simple, select Nature of Interest, Replotting Scheme—Transfer from Trustee, and attach an image of the certificate and schedule required by s. 16(3). It is recommended that the user attach the certificate and schedule to the first application and reference the first application in all subsequent applications rather than reattaching the image to each application as the scanned multiple-pages file can get to be a sizeable proportion affecting the upload in EFS.

Security Interests in Fixtures

Where a notice under s. 49 of the Personal Property Security Act is filed against the title to a former parcel, it is necessary to establish the location of the fixture before carrying the endorsement forward on the new title. A letter from the surveyor or the municipal corporate officer confirming the location is satisfactory.