Between the land you own and the project you planned to build on it sits a process that touches half a dozen statutes, multiple levels of government, and a timeline that no proforma accurately predicts. We handle the legal work across every stage of that process.
A subdivision in Ontario takes three to seven years from application to registered plan. That timeline runs through the Planning Act, the Development Charges Act, the Conservation Authorities Act, the Construction Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Building Code Act, and, depending on the project, the Ontario Heritage Act, the Condominium Act, and the Species Conservation Act. Each statute imposes its own requirements. Each municipality interprets them differently.
The purchase agreement is conditional on a rezoning. The rezoning requires an official plan amendment. The official plan amendment may require an Ontario Land Tribunal hearing. The financing structure depends on the timing of all three. A transactional real estate lawyer handles closings. A development lawyer understands that every document in the project is connected to every approval, and that a delay at one stage cascades through every stage that follows.
We work with developers from land acquisition through registered plan and beyond. Residential subdivisions, condominiums, infill, commercial, industrial. Every stage of the project has legal work attached to it. We handle all of it.
At acquisition, we review title, conduct off-title searches, assess zoning against the intended use, coordinate environmental due diligence, and structure conditional purchase agreements tied to the approvals the project requires. For land assemblies, we manage multiple conditional agreements with staggered closings and option structures. We find the restrictive covenant that blocks the intended use, the unregistered easement that cuts through the site, and the zoning that contradicts what the proforma assumes, before the deposit goes hard.
Through approvals, we prepare and file applications for official plan amendments, zoning by-law amendments, plans of subdivision, site plan control, consents, and Part Lot Control exemptions. We negotiate subdivision agreements, including the financial securities, parkland dedication, servicing obligations, and lapsing provisions that come with them. When the municipality does not decide within the statutory period, we file non-decision appeals at the OLT. When decisions go wrong, we appeal on the merits and coordinate the planners, traffic engineers, and environmental consultants that tribunal hearings require.
On financing, we prepare construction loan documentation, provide title opinions at each draw, and manage the Construction Act holdback and trust obligations. We handle Tarion enrollment, warranty compliance, HCRA licensing, and the delayed closing procedures that apply when the schedule slips.
At disposition, we prepare condominium declarations and descriptions, structure disclosure statements, manage cooling-off periods and material change obligations, and close with end purchasers. For freehold projects, we handle Part Lot Control applications and the transfer documentation that delivers finished lots to buyers.
Development charges determine whether the project pencils. The numbers vary wildly by municipality and they change frequently. Some municipalities have cut charges by half in the past year. Others have not. Knowing the current rate is table stakes. Knowing which exemptions apply, when the deferral to occupancy takes effect, and how the background study methodology can be challenged at the OLT is where the value sits.
Construction Act lien priority is the risk that lenders and developers underestimate most consistently. A building mortgage has priority over construction liens only to the extent of the 10% statutory holdback deficiency. The Court of Appeal confirmed that the 10% cap applies across all building mortgages combined, not per mortgage. If a lien is registered on title, subsequent advances are made at the lender's peril. Getting this analysis right before the first draw goes out determines whether the financing position survives a dispute or collapses under one.
The Species Conservation Act replaced the Endangered Species Act in March 2026. The registration-first model lets proponents begin activity after registering rather than waiting for a ministry permit. But species like redside dace, Blanding's turtle, and butternut still delay southern Ontario projects. Archaeological assessment backlogs at the Ministry stretch to seven years. These are the bottlenecks that never appear in the proforma but always appear in the timeline.
Bill 185 introduced lapsing provisions that allow municipalities to withdraw approvals from developments that have not received building permits within three years. A conditional approval that sits idle is no longer a permanent entitlement. It is an asset with an expiry date. If you are sitting on approvals, the clock is running.
Zoning. Official plan designations. Environmental constraints. Heritage listings. Conservation authority jurisdiction. Restrictive covenants on title. We review the regulatory picture before you commit capital to land that may not support the project.
Official plan amendment. Rezoning. Subdivision. Site plan. Each with its own statutory timeline and its own set of conditions. When the municipality does not decide within the statutory period, we appeal. When the decision goes wrong, we take it to the OLT.
Financial securities. Parkland dedication. Road widenings. Servicing obligations. Lapsing provisions. The subdivision agreement is a binding contract registered on title. Every term you accept is an obligation that survives until assumption. We negotiate the terms that belong and resist the ones that don't.
Declaration. Description. Disclosure statement. Tarion addendum. Budget statement. Cooling-off periods. Material change obligations. Deposit trust requirements. HCRA licensing. Every stage from presale through turnover has regulatory requirements attached. We handle the compliance so you can build.
Lender draw requirements depend on title opinions that depend on approvals that depend on municipal timelines you do not control. When the approvals schedule slips, the financing schedule is affected. We coordinate the legal work on both sides so one does not undermine the other.
Presales that did not materialize. Financing that fell through. Construction costs that blew past the proforma. Developer receiverships jumped 50% in 2024. We advise on restructuring, lender renegotiation, purchaser obligations, Tarion and HCRA implications, and when the numbers no longer work, the wind-down. If enforcement is required, our mortgage enforcement team handles the proceedings.
The legal work that prevents delays costs a fraction of the delays themselves. Whether you are assembling land, waiting on approvals, or managing construction, we work at the pace the project demands.