What actually stays with the house
On an Ontario sale, fixtures stay. Chattels leave, unless the agreement of purchase and sale says otherwise. That is the default. The fight on closing is almost never the legal test. It is a blank line on the form.
A built-in oven is usually a fixture. A fridge on wheels is usually a chattel. A rental hot-water tank looks like a fixture and is often owned by someone else. Write all three on the agreement. Do not leave the tank to common law.
A Toronto real estate lawyer reads the three lists on the agreement and the title search for a rental notice, because a silent tank is a closing-day fight.
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The test, in one paragraph
Ontario still uses Stack v. T. Eaton Co. (1902), 4 O.L.R. 335. Things resting by their own weight are chattels, unless they were meant to stay. Things attached even slightly are fixtures, unless they were meant to remain chattels. Intention is read from the article, how it is attached, and why it was attached, not from what the seller says at the door on closing day.
Light fixtures, built-in dishwashers, attached mirrors, and HVAC that is hard-plumbed or hard-wired usually stay. Curtains on a rod, a free-standing island on casters, a wall-mounted TV, and the garage remote in the kitchen drawer usually do not, unless they are on the chattels list.
Write it on the agreement
The standard OREA form has three boxes that matter:
- Chattels included. If you want the fridge, stove, washer, dryer, or window coverings, name them. Brand and location beat "all appliances."
- Fixtures excluded. If the dining-room chandelier is going, say so. Silence means it stays.
- Rental items. Hot-water tank, furnace, alarm, water softener, HVAC. The company name and that it is a rental, not a guess.
If the agreement is silent, fixtures pass with the land and chattels do not. A listing photo of a gas range is not a chattels clause. Schedule A is where the extra sentences belong, including whether included chattels must be in working order.
Rental hot-water tanks
This is the inclusion that blows up Ontario closings. The tank is plumbed in, so it looks like a fixture. The rental company still has a contract. The seller cannot give you title to a tank they do not own.
Put the tank on the rental-items line. The buyer then knows they are assuming a monthly contract, or the seller has to buy it out before closing. Leave it off, and you get a last-week letter from Enercare or Reliance and a fight about who pays the buyout.
The lawyer's title search can still show a notice of security interest or a rental registration against the PIN. Existing notices do not always match what the seller told the agent. Ask for the rental agreement. Do not assume the tank is owned because the listing said "owned." Listings are not the APS.
Do the appliances have to work?
The standard form warrants that the seller can give title to the chattels listed. It does not, by itself, warrant that the dishwasher will run on Monday. If you want working order, write it. Same for the rental tank: assuming the contract is not the same as a new tank in good repair.
That is also why title insurance is a poor substitute for the three lists. Title insurance does not replace a fridge that left on a truck.
What the lawyer actually checks
The lawyer reads the signed lists against the listing, the photos, and the search. If a tank or furnace is rented, the file needs the contract, the monthly amount, and whether the buyer is assuming it. If a chandelier is excluded, it should be off the wall before closing, not a punch-list item at 6 p.m.
Get the lists right before the offer is firm. Fixing them after waiver is a favour, not a right.
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Zachary Soccio-Marandola
Real Estate Lawyer
Direct: (647) 797-6881
Email: zachary@socciomarandola.com
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is a dishwasher a chattel or a fixture?
Built-in and hard-wired or plumbed, it is usually a fixture and stays unless excluded. A portable dishwasher on wheels is a chattel and leaves unless it is on the chattels list. Write it anyway.
The listing said the hot-water tank was owned. It is rented. Who pays?
The agreement controls, not the listing. If rental items were blank, the buyer can push the seller to buy out the contract so title to the tank is clear. If the rental line listed it, the buyer is on the contract. Raise it the day you see the search, not on closing day.
Can the seller take the dining-room light?
Only if it is on fixtures excluded. A light fixture is attached. Silence means it stays with the house.
Does "all appliances" cover the washer in the basement?
Maybe. Maybe not. Name the appliances and where they sit. "All appliances" is how two people remember different rooms.
Do included chattels have to work on closing?
Not under the standard form, which warrants title to those chattels, not that they run. If you want working order, add the sentence on Schedule A.