Native Land: Trust Completion Dates

In the province of British Columbia, leased lands on native reserve are now sold by a new RECBC contract which contemplate both a Trust Completion Date and a Final Completion Date.

The Trust Completion Date is the date where the Buyer deposits the Purchase Money with his or her lawyer. The Final Completion Date is the date following actual registration in the Indian Lands Registry.

Buyers should note that these days can often be as much as 90 days apart, and therefore it is important that appropriate escrow provisions be in place to ensure:
a) that the Buyer has occupancy of the home when desired;
b) that transfer and mortgage documents are appropriately registered; and,
c) the Seller is able to i) payout prior mortgages, and ii) receive the balance of the purchase price within a reasonable period of time. Title insurance may be helpful in this situation to provide "gap" coverage.

IMPORTANT: these consideration do not apply to Westbank First Nations Lands, for these property please consult the WFN Contract prepared by Peter Borszcz and Barry Porrelli.

Freehold vs. Leasehold

At common law, in British Columbia, land tenures can be generally divided into two large catagories, fee simple land and leasehold lands.

Fee simple lands (also called freehold lands) are lands where the owner owns all the property rights associated with thoses lands, except the rights which are reserved for the Crown (for example oil and gas rights). The restrictions on use on freehold land are imposed by the Province and the local municipality.

Leasehold lands are lands where the rights of the owner are limited by the another party, usually a landlord. Long term leases (49 - 99 ys) are commonly found in the Province of British Columbia when land is sold on Native Reserves as the inalienability of native lands, under the Canada Constitution, prohibits Native Reserve being "sold" to anyone except to the Crown. Additional restrictions on the use of leasehold land are found in a LEASE or HEADLEASE document which creates contractual obligations between the Landlord and Tenant.