Land Title Practice Manual

Overview Of The Trustee (Church Property) Act

In This Volume

The Act provides procedures by which a religious society or congregation of Christians may appoint trustees to hold, mortgage, lease, acquire, and deal with land on behalf of the religious society or congregation. Under the Act, the trustees are accountable to the bodies they represent, and have the power to sue and be sued.

GENERAL EFFECT ON LAND TITLE PRACTICE

Section 1 sets out the procedure for appointment of trustees. A minute of any appointment or election signed by the chair and secretary of the meeting at which the appointment or election took place is sufficient evidence of the appointment. An original signed copy must be filed with the land title office to register land in the name of the trustees. Title will be registered in the name of the trustees with reference to the Act, rather than in the name of the religious society or congregation, and all dealings with the land must be done in the name of the trustee.

The practice materials included under this Act on the preparation of instruments should be considered a supplement to the requirements of the Director of Land Titles for electronic and hardcopy submissions.

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Reliance on the Act

For the Act to apply, a lease, mortgage, or transfer must state that it is made “in pursuance of the Trustee (Church Property) Act”. If the instrument does not include this statement, the registrar must inquire whether the religious society or congregation is availing itself of the provisions of the Act. If it is not, s. 180 of the Land Title Act and the Trustee Act apply.