What a Toronto seller doesn't have to tell you — and how to find it yourself
Ontario buyers are mostly on their own: caveat emptor still rules, disclosure forms are optional, and suing after closing is slow and expensive. The good news — much of what sellers stay quiet about is sitting in the public record.
Every few weeks a thread appears from a buyer who closed, moved in, found the problem — the wet basement, the DIY wiring, the deck that never had a permit — and asks whether they can sue the seller. The honest answer: sometimes, slowly, expensively, and with no guarantee. Ontario resale housing still runs on caveat emptor — buyer beware — and the time to protect yourself is before the offer, not after the closing.
What sellers must disclose (it's less than you think)
The general rule: a seller doesn't have to volunteer a property's flaws. The main exceptions are narrow:
- Known latent defects that make the home dangerous or unfit to live in — hidden problems a reasonable inspection wouldn't catch, which the seller actually knew about. Concealing those, or actively papering over them, can support a claim.
- Patent defects — anything visible or discoverable on inspection — are entirely your problem. If you could have seen it and didn't, that's the deal you signed.
- The Seller Property Information Statement is voluntary, and many agents advise sellers not to complete one at all. No form, no representations, less to sue over.
Even where a claim exists, you'll be litigating years after closing, paying legal fees against an uncertain recovery, and carrying the burden of proving what the seller knew. Prevention is cheaper than any lawsuit you will ever win.
The seller's silence isn't the last word. Buildings leave paper trails — permits, orders, investigations — and none of it belongs to the seller.
The paper trail sellers can't hide
Before you offer, pull the public record on the address:
- Permit history — a finished basement, a new deck, moved walls with no permits on file tells you the work was never inspected. An open permit means a project was started and never signed off — and it can become your problem on closing. Here's how to read a building permit.
- Orders and violations — the City telling the owner to fix something is exactly the kind of news that doesn't make the listing. See what an open work order means.
- Bylaw investigations — complaints about the property or its use, from illegal suites to grading disputes with the neighbours.
- Nearby applications — the vacant lot behind the fence may already have a 45-storey proposal on file.
None of this replaces a home inspection — an inspector finds the physical problems, the record finds the administrative ones. You want both, because title insurance and inspections each have blind spots the other doesn't cover.
Check the address before you fall in love
Run the permit history, orders & violations, and investigations on any address — or pull the whole property snapshot at once. If you're circling a house that hasn't listed yet, monitor it and let the record come to you.