Do I need a lawyer or a notary to buy a property in BC, and what do they do?

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Either can do an agreed purchase in BC: a notary in good standing may draw the documents that are registered on title, while a dispute, a court matter or advice beyond that needs a lawyer. Every BC purchase closes through a legal professional who searches the title, holds the money in trust, files the transfer and pays the seller. In BC that can be a lawyer or a notary public, who is a legal professional here with powers set by statute. The choice matters when something goes wrong: only a lawyer can take a dispute to court. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. What a notary may do: A member of the Society of Notaries Public in good standing may draw instruments relating to property that are to be registered, recorded or filed in a registry, and contracts; draw and supervise some wills; draw affidavits and statutory declarations; administer oaths; and draw powers of attorney, representation agreements and advance directives (Notaries Act s. 18). A member in good standing is a notary public and may use the title (s. 16); one who isn't in good standing must not act as one (s. 19). What only a lawyer may do: The practice of law, which includes appearing as counsel, drawing documents for a proceeding, settling a claim for damages and giving legal advice, is for practising lawyers only, with listed exceptions; the lawful practice of a notary public is one of them (Legal Profession Act ss. 1 (1), 15 (1)). The Society of Notaries Public says notaries do non-contentious work, where the parties agree, and don't represent clients in court. When a lawyer is the safer choice: A deal that may end in a dispute: a seller who won't complete, a deposit both sides claim, a builders lien or a certificate of pending litigation on title, a court-ordered or estate sale with a contested will, or a boundary or easement fight with a neighbour. A notary can start the file, but a dispute goes to a lawyer (our reading of the two Acts). What the conveyancer does: The Land Title and Survey Authority lists what a legal professional does on a transfer: acts for you, searches the title to see what documents it needs, prepares and certifies the forms (the Form A transfer is witnessed by a lawyer, a notary public or another person the Evidence Act authorizes), files your transparency declaration, files the transfer electronically and fixes any defect at their own cost, and gives you a State of Title Certificate afterwards. They also file the property transfer tax return and pay the tax with the registration (the LTSA's changes to ownership page). Doing it yourself: The LTSA accepts an application from an owner without a legal professional, by mail or in person, but recommends one, and a transfer still needs a qualified witness. On a purchase with a mortgage, the lender will want a lawyer or notary to register its mortgage (our reading). Money in trust: A notary must keep money received for a client in a trust account (Notaries Act s. 23); a lawyer deposits a client's money in a trust account too, and interest on pooled trust accounts goes to the Law Foundation of BC unless you ask for a separate account (the Law Society's trust accounts page). The seller is paid out of trust only once the transfer is registered (our reading). If money goes missing: Every BC lawyer carries trust protection coverage, run by the Lawyers Indemnity Fund, for theft of a client's money or property by the lawyer acting as a lawyer; written notice is due within six months of learning of it and within 10 years of the theft (the Law Society's claims for lawyer theft page). The Society of Notaries Public keeps a special fund to reimburse losses from a member's misappropriation of money entrusted to them as a notary, in the cases and amounts its directors think advisable (Notaries Act s. 20). Checking who you hire: The Law Society's Lawyer Directory shows whether a lawyer may practise, any restrictions and their discipline history, and its unauthorized practitioners database lists people offering legal services without the right to; the Society of Notaries Public confirms a notary's good standing on its Roll of Notaries. Fake law firm websites exist, so the Law Society suggests checking the firm's site as well. One regulator to come: The Legal Professions Act (SBC 2024, c. 26), assented to May 16, 2024, amalgamates the Law Society and the Society of Notaries Public into one regulator once its section 5 is in force. On BC Laws on the read date, Parts 1 to 17 weren't in force, so the Notaries Act and the Legal Profession Act above still apply. What it means for a buyer: On an ordinary purchase the work is the same either way, and the fee is each firm's own price (see closing costs). Pick early, as the subjects and the completion date run to their timetable, and ask what they'll check: the charges on title, the property taxes, a strata's records, and on rural land the easements and rights of way a report can't show (our reading).

Do I need a lawyer or a notary to buy a property in BC, and what do they do?

What the answer means

Before you buy: who to ask