Letter Regarding Statement 9185 and LTTA Record Keeping
Members of the OBA's Real Property Law Executive have continued their efforts to clarify the Ministry's intent, and to convey the concerns of lawyers acting for clients in land transfers involving Statement 9185, which reads as follows:
SOLICITOR STATEMENT (To be completed when the declarant is an individual licensed to practice law in the province of Ontario): I have fulfilled my obligations as the solicitor of [INSERT NAME OF TRANSFEREE(S)] for the conveyance, in relation to the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Rules of Professional Conduct and its By-Laws, as well as the Land Transfer Tax Act, and have reviewed with the transferee(s) their obligations under the Land Transfer Tax Act that are material to the conveyance described in this document.
In a letter to the OBA, the Ministry of Finance has advised that MOF will no longer require the completion of Statement 9185, and that the Ministry will work with the OBA's Chair of Real Property Law, Ian Speers, to develop guidelines for compliance with record keeping obligations under the LTTA.
Lawyers interested in learning more about these and other recent changes in Real Property Law are encouraged to view the Real Property Law Section's OBA Institute Program which was taped on February 8th, 2018, and will be available for viewing online in the coming weeks.