Road Widening Transfer Procedure
The following information is for the reference of solicitors who are transferring road widenings to the City as may be required by Development Agreements, Service Agreements, Consents or other agreements with the City. These in particular are handled as one-sided transfers and do not involve the Citys legal department. All inquiries should be directed to
Geomatics Division. Please do not contact the Citys Legal Department or the Planning Department.
This process does not cover widenings acquired through Purchase and Sale agreements or expropriation which are formally handled by the City's Legal Department through Realty Services.
What authorization do I need to complete the transfer?
You will need authorization to act as City Solicitor for the purposes of completing the affidavit under The Land Transfer Act on behalf of the City. Please contact the Geomatics Division if such authorization has not been granted, and provide sufficient details of the transfer including location, legal description and a reference to the agreement which requires the transfer.
What documents do I submit to the City upon completion of the transfer?
You are responsible for submitting the following to the Geomatics Division:
- A letter summarizing the transfer that references the Development Agreement, Servicing Agreement or Consent that required the widening.
- A copy of the transfer document.
- Solicitor's Certificate of Title certifying the City has marketable title to the widening clear of all encumbrances.
The Certificate of Title (which can be downloaded as a Microsoft Word® document or PDF image) must be in form shown below.
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
TO: THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF LONDON
FROM: [Solicitor's name]
RE: [the Property]
In consideration for the sum of TWO DOLLARS ($2.00) and other good and valuable consideration the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, I certify that;
- The Corporation of the City of London is the registered owner in fee simple with a good and marketable title to the Property by Transfer/Deed registered in the Land Registry Office for the Land Titles Division of Middlesex (No. 33) on [date] as Instrument No. [ER#];
- There are no mortgages, liens, easements or other restrictions or encumbrances affecting the Property;
- I am a member in good standing of the Law society of Upper Canada.
Dated at London, this [ ___ ] day of [ ___________ ], 20[ __ ].
__________________________
(Name and address of solicitor)
Notwithstanding clause 2, the City may be prepared to accept lands subject to utility easements and, in some circumstances, rights-of-way, but under no circumstances will the City accept lands subject to mortgages or charges.
The transfer will not be considered complete without a Certificate of Title that is acceptable to the City.
Once the transfer and Certificate of Title has been received and approved, the Geomatics Division will notify the City departments involved with the project that the transfer has been completed.
Is there anything else that I should be aware of?
Non-local solicitors are advised that the City of London is now automated under the Provinces POLARIS land registration system and consequently all land transfers must be completed electronically using Teraview. If you do not have access to Teraview you will have to make the necessary arrangements with an agent that does.
Will the widening be dedicated as public highway?
Yes. Upon receipt and acceptance of both the transfer and the Certificate of Title, the City hereby undertakes to pass the necessary dedication by-law at the earliest opportunity. The period of time between the transfer and registration of the dedication bylaw can be as long as two months depending on Council's schedule and how long the Registry Office takes to assign the new PIN. A copy of the bylaw will be faxed to the solicitor when the registration is completed.
During the period between the widening transfer and the passing of the dedication bylaw, the City has no objections to the continued use of the widening lands for inegress and egress if the access was in existence prior to the transfer. Due to the difficulty and expense of releasing temporary ROW's across widenings for lands registered in Land Titles the City will not accept widening transfers subject to such ROW's.
Questions?
Please direct all questions regarding road widening transfers to:
Geomatics Division
Environmental and Engineering Services Department
Room L106, City Hall
300 Dufferin Ave.
P.O. Box 5035
London, ON N6A 4L9
t: (519) 661-2500 Ext. 4908
f: (519) 661-6422