Two very different people read this page: someone who is owed money and wants to secure it against a property, and someone who has just discovered a lien on their own title. Both answers are below.
How much does it cost to put a lien on a property in Ontario?
The land registration fee is the small part – roughly $75 to $100 to register the document on title.
The real cost is getting to the point where you can register it:
| Route | Registration fee | What else it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Construction lien (you supplied labour or materials) | ~$75–$100 | Lawyer to prepare and register: commonly $1,000–$2,500. No court order needed first. |
| Judgment lien / writ of seizure and sale (any other debt) | ~$75–$100 per land registry office | You must sue and win first. Small Claims Court for amounts up to $35,000; Superior Court above that. |
The distinction matters more than the fee. A construction lien can be registered without going to court. Every other kind of creditor has to obtain a judgment first, which means a lawsuit, months of time, and legal costs that often exceed the debt.
If you are owed money for construction work, you have a powerful remedy with a short deadline. If you are owed money for anything else, a lien is the end of a long process, not the start of one.
Who can put a lien on your house in Ontario?
Contractors, subcontractors, workers, material suppliers and equipment lessors. Anyone who supplied services or materials that improved the property can register a construction lien under the Construction Act – including subcontractors you have never met and never hired. If you paid your general contractor and the general contractor did not pay the drywallers, the drywallers can still lien your house.
Your mortgage lender. A mortgage is itself a lien, registered when you borrowed. So is a home equity line of credit.
The Canada Revenue Agency. For unpaid taxes, the CRA can register a lien after issuing a formal demand. Once registered it secures the debt against the property, and you will not sell or refinance without dealing with it.
Judgment creditors. Anyone who has sued you and won can file a writ of seizure and sale with the sheriff and the land registry office. It sits against every property you own in that jurisdiction.
Condominium corporations. Unpaid common expenses become a lien on the unit, and the corporation has a short window to register – condo liens carry priority ahead of most mortgages.
Construction Act deadlines: the numbers that actually matter
Miss these and the right disappears. There are no extensions.
60 days to preserve. Register the lien on title within 60 days of the earliest of: publication of the certificate or declaration of substantial performance, completion of the contract, or abandonment or termination of the contract.
This changed. Under the old Construction Lien Act the period was 45 days, and older articles – including guides still online – quote that number. For contracts governed by the current Construction Act, it is 60.
90 days to perfect. After preserving, you must start a court action and register a certificate of action on title, within 90 days of the last day on which the lien could have been preserved. Note where the clock starts: not from your registration date, but from the end of the preservation window. Register early and you get more time, not less.
Fail to perfect and the lien expires whether or not the debt is real.
Changes as of January 1, 2026. Amendments brought in through Bills 216 and 60 introduced a mandatory annual release of holdback and tightened the “proper invoice” rules. If you are running projects that span more than a year, your holdback obligations are no longer what they were.
How to register a construction lien, step by step
- Confirm you have lien rights. You must have supplied services or materials to an improvement of the land. Confirm who the owner is on title – liening the wrong party is fatal.
- Calculate the deadline. Find the trigger date and count 60 days. Do this first, not last.
- Prepare the claim for lien in the prescribed form, stating the amount owed and the correct legal description.
- Register it at the land registry office against the property’s title.
- Serve notice on the owner.
- Perfect within 90 days – statement of claim plus certificate of action.
Overstating the amount, naming the wrong owner, or missing the deadline all put the lien at risk and can expose you to a costs award. This is a short, technical process where the errors are unforgiving.
How to remove a lien from your property
Pay the debt. Once paid, the lien claimant must discharge it. Get the discharge registered – a paid lien that stays on title still blocks your closing.
Post security into court (vacating the lien). This is the option most owners do not know about, and it is usually the right one when a sale or refinancing is pending. You pay the lien amount plus a security allowance for costs into court, and the court orders the lien removed from title. The dispute continues, but your title is clean and the deal closes. For anyone selling with a lien registered, this is normally faster than arguing about who is right.
Challenge it. A lien registered after the 60-day window, or for work that was never done, or against the wrong property, can be discharged on motion. Inflated liens can also be reduced, and a claimant who deliberately overstated the amount can be ordered to pay damages.
Negotiate. Most liens settle. The claimant knows perfecting means litigation, and litigation on a $12,000 unpaid invoice rarely makes commercial sense for either side.
How to avoid a lien on your renovation
- Hold back 10% of every payment for the statutory holdback period. This is not optional courtesy – the Construction Act requires it, and an owner who released holdback early can end up paying twice.
- Ask for statutory declarations confirming subcontractors and suppliers have been paid, before you release each payment.
- Get the contract in writing, with a payment schedule tied to milestones.
- Search title before closing. Your lawyer will, but if you are refinancing or selling shortly after a renovation, check early – a lien discovered three days before closing is a problem with expensive solutions.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone put a lien on my house without me knowing in Ontario? Yes. A construction lien is registered at the land registry office and does not require your consent or a court order. You are supposed to be served with notice afterwards, but many owners discover a lien only when they refinance or sell.
What happens when someone puts a lien on your house in Canada? Nothing changes day to day. You keep living there and the lien claimant cannot take the property. What it does is cloud your title, so you cannot sell, refinance or discharge a mortgage until it is paid or removed.
What is the most common lien on property? A mortgage. Beyond that, construction liens from unpaid renovation work, CRA liens for unpaid taxes, condominium liens for unpaid common expenses, and writs of seizure and sale from judgment creditors.
How do I file a construction lien in Ontario? Confirm you supplied services or materials to the improvement, identify the correct registered owner, prepare the claim for lien in the prescribed form, register it against title, and serve the owner. Then perfect it – a court action plus a certificate of action – within 90 days.
How long does a lien last in Ontario? A construction lien expires unless it is perfected within 90 days of the last day for preservation. A writ of seizure and sale is generally valid for six years and can be renewed.
How long does it take to remove a lien? If it is paid, the claimant should discharge it promptly and registration takes days. If it is disputed, vacating it by paying security into court can be arranged in a week or two – far faster than arguing about who is right, which is why it is the usual route when a closing is pending.
How to put a lien on someone’s house in Ontario? For construction work, register a claim for lien within 60 days and perfect within 90. For any other debt, you must sue and obtain judgment first, then file a writ of seizure and sale with the sheriff and land registry office.
Can I put a lien on a property for unpaid rent or an unpaid invoice? Not directly. Only construction claimants and certain statutory creditors can register without a court order. Everyone else needs a judgment first.
Speak to a Toronto real estate lawyer
LD Law LLP handles real estate, title and lien matters for owners, contractors and lenders across the Greater Toronto Area. If a lien has appeared on your title before a closing, or a deadline is running on money you are owed, call us – both problems get harder with time.
1551 Bloor Street West, Toronto · 416-747-9900
General information about Ontario law as of August 2026. Not legal advice – lien deadlines are strict and fact-specific.