Toronto's fast-paced real estate market is set to take advanted of the new e-commerce laws, image by Alexander Zhukau
As of July 1st, buying and selling property in Ontario has become significantly faster and easier, with an amendment to the Electronic Commerce Act making e-signatures legally equivalent to pen and paper in real estate transactions. Under previous legislation, the signing of hard copy documents was required for a legal transfer of ownership, making for a relatively slow process fraught with potential complications for buyers and sellers.
In fast-paced markets where listings are sometimes sold in a matter of hours, the time needed to deliver and process documents poses an increasing challenge to competitive real estate transactions in an otherwise digital world. Likewise, missed signatures and incomplete paperwork can further complicate transactions, slowing down the process at best, and creating potential legal ambiguities at worst.
With electronic signature apps and cloud-based transaction platforms, however, the user is generally guided through each step of the process, and incomplete documents are usually practically impossible to submit (online, the user is typically sent back to complete missed signatures), reducing the margin of error. Likewise, while physical documents can be lost, electronic copies are instantly reproducible, making transactions more secure.
For two parties in separate locations, the use of e-signatures means that documents can be instantly sent and received, saving time and reducing potential complications. According to Madeleine Meilleur, Ontario's Attorney General, "modernizing real estate transactions will save Ontario families a lot of time and stress."
Ontario's new legislation follows the adoption of similar laws in Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and PEI, which have paved the way for increased efficiency in those real estate markets. In Ontario, the updated law comes as good news for e-commerce companies, such as Toronto-based start-up DealTap—a cloud-based real estate transaction platform— whose founders worked with the government to bring about the new amendment.
With over 200,000 real estate transactions taking place across the province last year, the new amendment is set to significantly speed up both individual transactions and the bureaucracy that oversees them. More information can be found on the Government of Ontario's website here.