b-9 - Act respecting registry offices

Updated to 17 April 2001

This document has official status.

chapter B-9

Act respecting registry offices

1992, c. 57, s. 446.

1. The Minister of Natural Resources is in charge of the organization and inspection of the Land Registry Office and the registry offices established for the registration divisions in Québec and has superintendence over the registrars assigned to those registry offices.

The Minister of Justice is in charge of the organization and inspection of the Personal and Movable Real Rights Registry Office and has superintendence of the registrar assigned to that registry office.

Unless otherwise specified, the provisions of this Act apply having regard to the respective responsibilities of the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Justice.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 1; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 2000, c. 42, s. 108.

1.1. The Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Justice jointly shall appoint a Land Registrar in charge of keeping the Land Registry Office and the registry offices established for the registration divisions in Québec.

The Minister of Justice shall appoint a Personal and Movable Real Rights Registrar in charge of keeping the Personal and Movable Real Rights Registry Office.

Registrars appointed under this section must be advocates or notaries.

2000, c. 42, s. 108.

1.2. The Land Registrar shall exercise his or her functions, when acting as an administrator, under the authority of the Minister of Natural Resources and, when acting as a public officer, under the authority of the Minister of Justice. The Personal and Movable Real Rights Registrar shall exercise his or her functions under the sole authority of the Minister of Justice.

In the exercise of his or her functions as a public officer, the Land Registrar shall be assisted by a committee responsible for advising the Land Registrar regarding the legal interpretation or application of legislation respecting land registration. The committee shall comprise two representatives of the Ministère des Ressources naturelles and two representatives of the Ministère de la Justice, and its directions are binding on the Land Registrar. If the committee is unable to act or cannot agree, the directions shall be given by the Minister of Justice.

An advisory committee shall be established, composed of a representative of the Ministère des Ressources naturelles, the Ministère de la Justice, the Barreau du Québec, the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Ordre des arpenteurs-géomètres du Québec. The mandate of the committee is to give its views on any matter concerning land registration submitted by the Land Registrar, the Minister of Natural Resources or the Minister of Justice.

2000, c. 42, s. 108.

2. The Minister shall appoint one or more deputy registrars for the Land Registry Office and the Personal and Movable Real Rights Registry Office. The Minister shall also appoint other deputy registrars for the registry offices established in land registration divisions.

Subject to the restrictions contained in their acts of appointment, deputy registrars have, in all respects, the same powers, duties and obligations as the Registrar and act under the authority of the Registrar.

The Minister may delegate to any public servant with the Minister’s department designated in writing the power to appoint deputy registrars with limited powers, or to appoint deputy registrars with full powers for a limited time.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 1998, c. 5, s. 20; 2000, c. 42, s. 109.

3. The Minister may order a registrar to replace or reconstitute the whole or part of any document kept by the registrar so as to ensure the conservation of the rights published and to facilitate the consultation of the document.

The replacement or reconstitution may be effected by transcription, photocopy, microfilm or any other means that will ensure the conservation of the information recorded in the document and facilitate the consultation of the document.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 4; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 2000, c. 42, s. 110.

4. The Minister determines the means to be used to replace or reconstitute the document and the manner of proceeding with such replacement or reconstitution so as to ensure its authenticity.

Where a document is replaced, the registrar collates the reproduction with the original and certifies in writing and under his oath of office that it is a true reproduction of the original.

Where a document is reconstituted, the registrar certifies in writing and under his oath of office that the reproduction has been carried out in accordance with the order of the Minister.

Any reproduction so certified has the same authenticity, validity and effect as the document it replaces or of which it is a reconstitution and the provisions of the Civil Code relating to the organization of registry offices apply.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 5; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 14, s. 81; 1978, c. 15, s. 140; 1983, c. 55, s. 161; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

4.1. The Minister may, upon noting an irregularity in the authentication of or manner of keeping the registers, issue an order in each case specifying how the registrar is to remedy the situation. Similarly, the Minister may, where required by circumstances, authorize the registrar to temporarily surrender the books, registers or other documents in his custody to facilitate their replacement or reconstitution; the order shall list the documents concerned and fix the maximum period during which they may be surrendered.

2000, c. 42, s. 111.

5. The Government may determine, by regulation, for documents requiring publication, the quality and dimensions of the paper used, the lay-out of the text, the types of copies that may be presented for registration and the manner of keeping the documents forming part of the records of the registry office.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 6; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 14, s. 81; 1978, c. 15, s. 140; 1983, c. 55, s. 161; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

5.1. For the purposes of the laws respecting the publication of rights, the secretaries of the Ordre des notaires du Québec and the Ordre des arpenteurs-géomètres du Québec shall assign to all notaries and land surveyors who apply therefor a personal code allowing them to transmit, in an electronic medium, applications for registration and other documents bearing their signature for presentation to the Land Registrar.

1987, c. 98, s. 6; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 2000, c. 42, s. 112.

6. Where a document is replaced or reconstituted by microfilm, the Minister determines the means and manner of recording any particular relating to an entry appearing on the microfilm.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 7; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 14, s. 81; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 16, s. 3; 1974, c. 11, s. 46; 1978, c. 15, s. 140; 1981, c. 14, s. 21; 1983, c. 55, s. 161; 1987, c. 98, s. 7; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 2000, c. 42, s. 113.

7. Upon their appointment, registrars shall take the following oath before a judge of the Superior Court or the Court of Québec, a clerk of either of those courts or a public servant designated in writing by the Minister:

“I, (name), declare under oath that I will faithfully, impartially and honestly perform, to the best of my ability and knowledge, all the duties of the office of (registrar or deputy registrar) and that I will so exercise all the powers thereof.

The oath is filed at the directorate within the department which, under the Minister’s authority, is in charge of registry offices. The public servant designated in writing by the Minister shall issue, upon request, a certified copy of the oath.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 8; 1991, c. 26, s. 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 1999, c. 40, s. 41; 2000, c. 42, s. 114.

7.1. The Minister may, by order and subject to the conditions fixed by the Minister, allow the signature of a registrar to be affixed by means of an automatic device or electronic process.

The Minister may also, by order and on the conditions fixed by the Minister, allow a facsimile of such a signature to be engraved, lithographed or printed.

2000, c. 42, s. 115.

8. The Government may, by order, make tariffs of fees to be collected by registrars for the various services performed by them. It may, in such tariffs,

(1)  determine the persons, departments or bodies that are exempt from the payment of fees or the documents or services for which an exemption applies;

(2)  prescribe, for the services it determines, the terms and conditions of payment of the fees, and determine the persons, departments or bodies that may benefit therefrom.

Every such order may be amended, repealed or replaced and apply to one or more or to all the registration divisions of Québec.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 9; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 16, s. 3; 1979, c. 43, s. 10; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 2000, c. 42, s. 116.

9. Where the tariff established in accordance with section 8 prescribes that fees must be paid for the registration of a document or the performance of a service in a registry office, no such document may be presented to the registrar, and, subject to the terms and conditions of payment prescribed under subparagraph 2 of the first paragraph of section 8, no such service may be performed by the registrar, unless the prescribed fees have been paid.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 10; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 14, s. 81; 1978, c. 15, s. 140; 1983, c. 55, s. 161; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

10. No fee is exigible

(1)  for the registration of a hypothec granted under the Act respecting La Financière agricole du Québec (chapter L-0.1), the Act respecting the Société de financement agricole (chapter S-11.0101) or the Farm Credit Corporation Act (Statutes of Canada, 1993, chapter 14). However, the application for registration must indicate that the grantor operates a farming business and must make reference to the Act under which the hypothec was granted;

(2)  for searches made in registry offices for the purposes of such hypothecs;

(3)  for the issue by the registrar, either hand to hand or by mail, of certified statements, extracts or copies of applications for registration that relate to such hypothecs.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 11; 1979, c. 38, s. 39; 1991, c. 26, s. 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 1995, c. 33, s. 18; 2000, c. 53, s. 63.

11. The territory of the registration divisions in which registry offices are established is described by government regulation.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 13; 1991, c. 26, s. 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 1993, c. 78, s. 15; 2000, c. 42, s. 118.

12. For the purposes of the updating of the municipal assessment roll, a person applying for the registration of the acquisition, creation, recognition, modification, transmission or extinction of the right of ownership in an immovable or of a special mode or dismemberment of that right must present to the registrar, in addition to the documents required for registration, a copy, authenticated or not, of the act evidencing the right and a copy, authenticated or not, of the summary or extract where the application is made by means of a summary or extract.

Where the act evidencing the right concerns immovables situated in the territory of several local municipalities, the applicant must present one copy per municipality.

The registrar shall send to the local municipality concerned, within the time fixed in the first paragraph of section 10 of the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables (chapter D-15.1) and according to the tariff applicable to the sending of notices of transfer, the copies presented by the applicant under the first paragraph.

The provisions of this section do not apply where the act evidencing the right is a deed of transfer subject to the provisions of section 9.1 of the Act respecting duties on transfers of immovables.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 13; 1991, c. 26, s. 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 1993, c. 78, s. 15; 1995, c. 33, s. 19.

13. The registrar shall not refuse the registration referred to in section 12 on the ground that the applicant has failed to comply with the requirements of the said section concerning the presentation of copies.

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 14; 1992, c. 57, s. 447; 1995, c. 33, s. 19.

14. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 15; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

15. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 16; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

16. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 17; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

17. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 18; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

18. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 19; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

19. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 20; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

20. (Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 21; 1986, c. 62, s. 2.

21. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 22; 1969, c. 26, s. 91; 1991, c. 26, s. 4; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

22. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 23; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 17, s. 2; 1984, c. 46, s. 15; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

22.1. (Replaced).

1982, c. 58, s. 16; 1984, c. 46, s. 16; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

23. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 24; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

24. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 25; 1990, c. 4, s. 115; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

25. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 26; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 16, s. 3; 1979, c. 43, s. 11; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

26. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 27; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

27. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 28; 1990, c. 4, s. 116; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

28. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 29; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

29. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 30; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 16, s. 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

30. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 31; 1974, c. 11, s. 2; 1987, c. 98, s. 8; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

31. (Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 32; 1979, c. 43, s. 12.

32. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 33; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

33. (Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 34; 1982, c. 58, s. 17.

34. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 35; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

35. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 36; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

36. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 37; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

37. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 38; 1985, c. 22, s. 37; 1991, c. 20, s. 2; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

37.1. (Replaced).

1991, c. 20, s. 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

37.2. (Replaced).

1991, c. 20, s. 3; 1992, c. 32, s. 39; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

38. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 39; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 14, s. 81; 1978, c. 15, s. 140; 1983, c. 55, s. 161; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

39. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 40; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 16, s. 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

40. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 41; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

41. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 42; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

42. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 43; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

43. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 44; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 16, s. 3; 1977, c. 5, s. 14; 1991, c. 20, s. 4; 1992, c. 61, s. 89; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

44. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 45; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

45. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 46; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

46. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 47; 1965 (1st sess.), c. 14, s. 81; 1978, c. 15, s. 140; 1983, c. 55, s. 161; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

47. (Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 48; 1991, c. 26, s. 5.

48. (Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 49; 1991, c. 26, s. 5.

49. (Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 50; 1991, c. 26, s. 5.

50. (Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, s. 51; 1986, c. 95, s. 37; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

51. (Replaced).

1982, c. 21, s. 1; U. K., 1982, c. 11, Sch. B, Part I, s. 33; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

FORMS

FORM 1

(Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, form 1; 1986, c. 95, s. 38; 1987, c. 98, s. 9.

FORM 2

(Repealed).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, form 2; 1987, c. 98, s. 9.

FORM 3

(Replaced).

R. S. 1964, c. 319, form 3; 1992, c. 57, s. 447.

REPEAL SCHEDULE

In accordance with section 17 of the Act respecting the consolidation of the statutes (chapter R-3), chapter 319 of the Revised Statutes, 1964, in force on 31 December 1977, is repealed, except section 2, effective from the coming into force of chapter B-9 of the Revised Statutes.