A writ of execution is a creditor’s Writ of Seizure and Sale, filed with the Sheriff after an Ontario court judgment. It shows up only in a Sheriff’s execution search — never in the Land Registry — and must be cleared before title can pass to a buyer.
Treadstone’s liens guide explains how one arises: “when a creditor obtains a judgment from an Ontario court, they can file a Writ of Seizure and Sale with the Sheriff’s Office”. Once filed, “writs appear in the Sheriff’s execution search — a mandatory component of every real estate title search in Ontario. They do not appear in the Land Registry itself but must be cleared for title to pass”. That detail is why an agent should never treat a seller’s assurance of “no debts against the house” as conclusive — a writ attaches to the *person*, not the property, and can exist even where the seller has never missed a mortgage payment or registered anything against the title themselves.
Writs don’t last forever, though the source is careful to hedge the figure rather than state it as settled: “writs expire after a set period (as of writing, generally six years — verify the current rule). However, creditors often renew before expiry”. In practice, the guide lists four ways a writ actually clears before closing: payment combined with the creditor withdrawing it, waiting out expiry, a court order where a writ was wrongfully filed, or a negotiated settlement with the creditor. For context on how a writ ranks against other encumbrances, municipal tax arrears “have priority over most other encumbrances — including prior-registered mortgages”, and CRA charges “must be addressed before a lender will advance funds” — a writ of execution is one competing claim among several a closing lawyer has to sort through, not the only one.
A seller’s title turns up an old writ of execution from a 2019 court judgment against them, unrelated to the property. The buyer’s lawyer requisitions it before the requisition date. Rather than let the deal stall, the seller’s lawyer negotiates a payout amount with the judgment creditor’s counsel and directs part of the seller’s closing proceeds to satisfy it, with the Sheriff’s Office confirming the writ’s discharge before the transaction completes. Had the seller instead hoped the buyer’s search would miss it, the writ would have transferred as a live defect the buyer could refuse to close over.
See also: the title search and tenants in common.
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