Writ of execution

When a creditor wins a money judgment against a seller, a writ is how the claim reaches the seller’s property. A buyer meets it in searches before closing. See how to check for liens on business assets for the wider steps, and execution search for the search itself.

How it works in Ontario

Under Rule 60.07 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, where an order may be enforced by a writ of seizure and sale, the creditor is entitled to its issue on filing a requisition with the registrar where the proceeding was commenced, or through the Teranet software for an authorized user; leave of the court is needed in the cases subrule (2) sets out. Under the Execution Act, the sheriff enters writs in an index; a writ against personal property binds it from filing with the sheriff and entry into the index. Under s. 10(3), a writ against personal property (other than bills of sale and instruments in the nature of chattel mortgages) does not prejudice the title of a person who acquires the property in good faith and for valuable consideration, unless that person had notice that a writ had been filed with the sheriff and remains unexecuted. A Small Claims Court writ of seizure and sale of personal property is not entered into the index and binds only from seizure (s. 10(2)).

How it differs elsewhere

Other provinces run their own enforcement regimes. Saskatchewan, for instance, keeps a Judgment Registry at Information Services Corporation (ISC); ISC says that if a judgment is not registered there, no legal process is available to enforce it. Name the province whose rules apply before relying on this entry.