What is real estate title insurance? Mtre Bryan-Eric Lane answers this question in a column published on the news site of Tremblant Express.

In the Placements Beauvais-Chabot v. Fogel decision, rendered in 2014, the Court of Appeal ruled that the mere presence of a pipe that might constitute an indication of the presence of an underground tank is not a certain warning sign of a soil contamination problem.

In this video (FR), Mtre Bryan-Éric Lane addresses some important details about the legal warranty of quality.

This article, published in the Éditions Yvon Blais’ "Droit immobilier en bref" in 2018 (FR), explains the general ins and outs of real estate title insurance, outlining certain risks normally covered by such insurance that a jurist, notary or lawyer, may not be able to detect as part of his due diligence prior to a real estate transaction. 

Did you know that recent cases of stolen and leaked personal data have increased the risk of real estate fraud by identity theft? Le Journal de Québec recently published an article entitled « Les infos volées chez Desjardins pourraient servir à des fraudes immobilières », which discusses the increased risk of real estate fraud by identity theft following the recent cases of personal information theft that have recently made headlines in the past weeks. This article explains what real estate fraud by identity theft is and how you can protect yourself from this real and growing risk by purchasing real estate title insurance.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on April 2, 2019 (FR), discusses the judgment in Dionne v. Climatisation Labelle 1996 inc. (Full Text), in which the court determines the impact of failing to send a notice providing a sufficient time period for the seller to remedy the alleged defects with respect to the legal warranty of quality on a residential geothermal system. Ultimately, the court concludes that the failure to send such notice providing a sufficient time period is fatal to the buyers’ recourse.

Real estate flips: watch out for flops! Particularly when you have done major renovations before reselling.

Have you sold an immovable a few years ago and your buyer just notified you of a problem that he considers a latent defect? This article outlines the steps to follow upon receiving a claim for latent defects from one’s buyer.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on May 24, 2018 (FR), discusses the judgment in Société en commandite de l’Avenir v. Familia Saint-Jérôme (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), in which, in 2017, the Court analyzed a claim for a reduction of an immovable’s sale price due to the soil’s contamination with oil on the basis of various guarantees, namely (i) the legal warranty of quality of section 1726 C.C.Q., (ii) the warranty against violations of public law restrictions of section 1725 C.C.Q., as well as (iii) the seller’s contractual warranty, his specific declaration to the buyer, at the time of the sale, that the immovable in question did not violate any environmental protection laws.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on April 17, 2018 (FR), discusses the judgment in Wilhelm Ahlfors v. Crevier (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), in which the Superior Court reiterated, in 2016, that an apparent defect can become a latent defect when the seller makes specific representations as to the absence of any defects, even when these representations are made in good faith.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on January 19, 2018 (FR), discusses the judgement in Giagnotti v. Anania (Full text | Fiche Quantum), in which the Court of Appeal reminds us that recommendations made by a pre-purchase inspector to carry out certain maintenance work or repair work once the sale is completed constitute “post-purchase” recommendations that do not require any further inspection before the purchase. Therefore, in principle, such post-purchase work recommendations cannot be considered recommendations that should lead buyers to consult an expert before the sale in order to inspect further.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on February 20, 2018 (FR), discusses the judgement in Mainguy v. Courchesne (Full Text | Fiche Quantum) where the seller who was sued by his buyer for latent defects called his real estate broker in warranty, contending that his real estate broker had committed a contractual fault by poorly advising him when completing the seller’s declaration, failing to correct this declaration when he found that there was no question as to the state of the retaining wall, and not having informed the buyers of the retaining wall’s problem, as he had undertaken to do.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on January 9, 2018 (FR), discusses the judgement in the leading case Lavoie v. Comtois (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), which addresses the concept of a prudent and diligent buyer. Essentially, a prudent and diligent buyer must conduct a thorough and attentive visual examination of the building and must remain alert as to any clues that could suggest the presence of a defect. If a serious doubt forms in his mind, he must investigate further.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on November 6, 2017 (FR), discusses the judgment in SG2C inc. v. Morin (Full text | Fiche Quantum), in which the Superior Court determined whether or not the buyer’s failure to notify the seller of a defect before beginning the corrective work should be sanctioned by the complete dismissal of the recourse.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on October 2, 2017 (FR), discusses the importance for a buyer of an immovable, who makes a claim for latent defects against the seller, to distinguish between the cost of corrective work, which can be claimed, and improvements, which cannot, as well as the consequences for the buyer who blindly claims sums relating to both corrective work and improvements, between which the supporting documents provided by the buyer in support of his claim make no distinction. 

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on September 12, 2017 (FR), discusses the judgment in Leduc v. Vachon (Full Text), rendered in September 2016, in which the Superior Court ruled on the application of section 178(1)(e) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act with regards to two sellers who went bankrupt and against whom the buyers obtained a judgment in March 2006 in the context of a recourse for latent defects. In this case, the court refused to release the sellers of their obligations under the judgment from 2006 despite the fact that they were discharged from their bankruptcy, given that they deliberately concealed that a flood occurred in the building a few days before the sale.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on June 19, 2017 (FR), discusses the judgment in Mazzella v. Retsinas (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), which reminds us that a claim for latent defects is a personal right that persists despite the sale of an immovable during the proceedings.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on May 30, 2017 (FR), discusses the judgment in Matteau v. Vigneault (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), which reminds us that fraud requires very precise proof.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on May 10, 2017 (FR), discusses the judgment in Desmeules v. 1845-0460 Québec inc. (Full Text | Fiche Quantum) in which the court reminds us that a buyer who fails to follow his expert’s recommendations made before the sale related to the signs or problems detected by said expert during his inspection is fatal to the buyer’s recourse for latent defects.

This post, published on Éditions Yvons Blais’ blog on latent defects on April 24, 2017 (FR), discusses the judgment in Immeubles Jacques Robitaille inc. v. Province canadienne des religieux de Saint-Vincent-de-Paul (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), in which the Superior Court reminds us that the presence of a defect affecting an immovable intended to be demolished is, in principle, not covered by the legal warranty of quality, as the immovable’s use is in no way compromised by the presence of the defect.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on March 2, 2017 (FR), discusses the recent judgment in Gingras v. Duplessis (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), in which the sellers of an immovable were ordered to pay the buyers $28,441.17 due to a crack in the foundation.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on February 17, 2017 (FR), deals with a fundamental concept in matters of latent defects: the applicable standard of conduct for a buyer, namely that of acting as a prudent and diligent buyer.

What is the legal warranty of quality? What is a latent defect? While they may appear simple, the rules on latent defects are numerous and sometimes complex. Every case is different, and an analysis is always required in order to confirm whether we are in the presence of defects covered by the legal warranty of quality. In fact, and contrary to popular belief, a defect is not automatically defect covered by the legal warranty of quality.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on January 4, 2017 (FR), which discusses the judgment in Paiement v. Archambault (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), answers an interesting question regarding the reduction of the sale price: when it comes time to evaluate the reasonableness of the reduction of the sale price claimed by the buyers, must we also consider the additional amounts that can be granted as reimbursement of expert fees, interest, and the additional indemnity?

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on November 17, 2016 (FR), which discusses the judgment in Axa Assurance inc. v. Immeuble Saratoga inc. (Full Text | Fiche Quantum), reminds us that a seller’s bankruptcy and subsequent discharge do not have the effect of extinguishing the legal warranty of quality against latent defects resulting from an act of sale concluded before the seller’s bankruptcy for latent defects discovered by a buyer after the seller’s discharge.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on November 10, 2016 (FR), reminds us that a court may, in the absence of expert evidence as to the applicable depreciation, decide to apply the depreciation that it deems appropriate. The judgment in Deslauriers v. Desmangles (Full Text | Fiche Quantum) reminds us that the court has the power to impose the depreciation it deems applicable, even in the absence of expert evidence to this effect.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on October 4, 2016 (FR),  reminds us that a pre-purchase inspector’s abstract or general warning does not, in principle, constitute a positive indication of a defect if the inspector does not detect any particular indications or signs that could indicate the potential existence of a defect related to the subject of the recommended inspection.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on August 24, 2016 (FR), reminds us that a claim filed with the administrator of a warranty plan and the subsequent request for arbitration do not have the effect of releasing a contractor (who is a seller) from the obligations incumbent upon him under the legal warranty of quality, such that the Superior Court retains competence over a recourse for latent defects, and specifically, retains its jurisdiction to order the requested cancellation of the sale, if necessary.

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on August 9, 2016 (FR), reminds us that a problem/defect affecting an immovable that was discovered after the sale does not automatically constitute a latent defect covered by the legal warranty of quality.