Quebec land register (registre foncier)

A buyer of a Quebec business that owns land meets the land register when checking title. The Civil Code of Québec says publication of rights concerning an immovable is made in the land register, in the land book for the registration division in which the immovable is situated.

What a search shows

Québec.ca says the register’s property index groups all transactions on a property and all rights published about an immovable identified by a lot number, including hypothecs and servitudes that may affect it. To see a property’s history there, you need the lot number and a client account, and Québec.ca says the online search works only for lots that have gone through cadastral renovation; for earlier lots it points to the municipality. Québec.ca also says that registering a transaction does not give a right over its object; it makes the rights publicly known.

What to ask

• Whether the lot number matches the property being sold
• Which hypothecs and servitudes are published against that lot
• Whether the published rights match what the seller has disclosed

See how to check title and liens when buying from an insolvency and the RDPRM. This entry covers Quebec only; check the rules where you are.