Residential Title Insurance - Stewart Title Guaranty Company

The word "title" refers to a person’s ownership interest in their property. By purchasing title insurance, homeowners are protecting their ownership to their property, and their lender’s priority in the mortgage against losses arising from various title and off-title risks.

Types of residential title insurance policies

The Residential Gold Owner Policy to protect and defend a homeowner’s title to his/her property

The Residential Gold Loan Policy to protect the priority and enforceability of the mortgage for the lender

The Residential Existing Homeowner Policy is available for homeowners who did not obtain a policy when they purchased their home. This policy provides similar protection as a Residential Gold Owner Policy, but is modified by an "existing owner" endorsement. The policy date is the date the homeowner first purchased their property.

Stewart Title also offers commercial title insurance policies and provides gap coverage.

Policies can be issued all across Canada for:

residential dwellings of up to six units
vacant land
cottages
condominiums
cooperatives
leased land

For a one-time fee, some of the covered title risks for residential properties include:

someone else owns an interest in your title
existing liens against the title
violations of municipal zoning by-laws
encroachments onto an adjoining property (other than fences and boundary walls)
setback violations
realty tax arrears
outstanding municipal utility charges, provided such charges form a lien on title
existing work orders
lack of legal access to the property
unmarketability of the land due to adverse matters that would have been revealed by an up-to-date survey / RPR/ Building Location Certificate
fraud, forgery and false impersonation to the extent they affect the validity of title

Cost & time savings

The total title insurance premium often pays for itself when compared to the cost of an up-to-date survey/ RPR/ Building Location Certificate and standard off-title searches. Title insurance is available for a low one-time premium. Our survey/ RPR/ Building Location Certificate coverage is generally acceptable to lenders in lieu of an up-to-date survey/ RPR/ Building Location Certificate. This saves borrowers the cost of obtaining a new survey/ RPR/ Building Location Certificate and allows for a transaction to close faster. For a schedule of our title insurance premiums, please contact us.

Whether it is a house, condominium or cottage, title insurance brings security and peace of mind to lenders and homeowners during and after the real estate process, quite possibly saving them thousands of dollars should a claim arise. Title insurance has no deductible so the premium is truly a one-time fee. Coverage is valid for the entire time the homeowner holds title to the home.