Vacating a lien moves the security from the property itself onto money or a bond posted into court, so a sale or refinancing can proceed while the underlying payment dispute keeps running on its own separate timeline.
In Ontario, an owner can pay security into court — the amount claimed plus an allowance for costs, subject to a cap — to have a lien vacated from title. Treadstone Law describes the mechanism directly: “an owner can also pay the amount claimed (or an agreed lesser amount) into court, or provide equivalent security, and obtain an order vacating the lien from title” and doing so “moves the security from the property itself onto the funds or security posted, letting the property transaction proceed while the payment dispute is resolved on its own timeline”.
There’s a real check on the other side of this process, too: a claimant who registers a “wilfully exaggerated lien”, or one filed knowing there’s no basis for it, is exposed to liability for the damages that caused — vacating security isn’t the only remedy available to an owner facing a lien that shouldn’t have been filed at all.
Other provinces run an equivalent process under their own Builders Lien Act or Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act procedures — posting cash or a bond into court to have a registered lien removed from title while the dispute continues — but the exact amount, court rule and forum are set provincially. Confirm the current procedure with counsel in the province where the lien is registered before posting security, rather than assuming Ontario’s mechanics apply.
A $180,000 lien is registered against a commercial property mid-sale, threatening to delay closing. To keep the transaction on schedule, the owner pays $180,000 into court plus a costs allowance the court sets under the applicable rule, subject to its cap. The registrar then vacates the lien from title: the sale closes on schedule, the claimant’s security now sits in the court-held funds instead of on the property, and the underlying dispute over whether the $180,000 is actually owed proceeds separately — unhurried by, and no longer able to hold up, the real estate transaction.
See also: What registering a construction lien does · Preserving a lien vs perfecting one.
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