When an Ontario agreement makes time of the essence, closing-day deadlines become strict and mutual: a party who isn’t ready to complete is in breach and can be sued — and in the same stroke loses the right to enforce the clause against the other side.
Treadstone’s closing-extension guide states the mechanic directly: “deadlines are then strict. A party who is not ready to complete on the closing date is in breach, and the other side can terminate and sue” — but “a party who is not ready itself cannot enforce it against the other”. Pushing the date takes more than a phone call: an extension needs “written agreement from all original signatories”, which explicitly includes “a spouse who signed only to consent to the sale of a matrimonial home” under Ontario’s Family Law Act. Crucially, “an amendment is not a waiver and not a notice of fulfilment” — discussing a possible new date changes nothing legally until a document is signed and delivered.
Extensions also cost money, and the guide is specific about who pays: “the party who needs the extra time normally pays for it” — typically mortgage interest, taxes, insurance and utilities, storage or accommodation costs, and reinstating a firm new date with time of the essence expressly restated. Leaving that silent is an invitation to a dispute: “if the amendment is silent, expect an argument once the file closes”.
A buyer’s mortgage funding is delayed two business days by the lender. The agreement has time of the essence and no automatic grace period. If both sides agree to move the closing date, the written amendment must be signed by every original signatory — including a spouse who signed only to consent to a matrimonial-home sale — and should state who covers the extra mortgage interest, insurance and any storage costs, and should re-state that time remains of the essence on the new date. Skip any of that and the file closes with an open argument about who owes what, which is exactly the outcome the source warns about.
See also: the requisition date, the statement of adjustments and condition precedent.
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