Local governments (e.g. Municipalities, Regional Districts, Townships, or Villages) are required to comply with the Land Owner Transparency Act (LOTA), which directs that an application to register an interest in land must be submitted together with a transparency declaration. This includes interests in land that are registered in the name of a local government, in the name of a wholly owned subsidiary of a local government, in the name of a corporate nominee or some other entity.
There are very limited exclusions to the requirement to file a transparency declaration; only where the land is an excluded Indigenous land or prescribed land under section 6 of LOTA. In certain circumstances, local governments may also be required to file a transparency report.
Interests in land under LOTA include an estate in fee simple; a life estate in land; a right to occupy land under a lease that has a term of more than 10 years, or a right under an agreement for sale to occupy land, or require the transfer of an estate in fee simple.
Information filed under LOTA is housed in a publicly accessible registry known as the Land Owner Transparency Registry (LOTR). To understand more about legal obligations under LOTA, local governments are encouraged to seek guidance from a legal professional.
To learn more about LOTA, please visit: