Seller · Documents
A sale that snags is often a missing document. Here is the complete list to gather before listing, and the order in which to do it.
Selling a house in Quebec means gathering about nine documents: an up-to-date certificate of location, the original deed of sale, the seller's declaration, municipal and school tax bills, invoices for major renovations with transferable warranties, the mortgage statement, leases where applicable, condominium documents where applicable, and past expert reports. The certificate of location is the first to check: if it no longer reflects the current state of the premises, a shed, a pool, an extension, the notary will require a new one, a delay of several weeks that can postpone the signing. A complete file handed over from the start speeds everything up: serious buyers set fewer conditions, offers are drafted without grey areas, and the notary finds no surprise two weeks before the signing.
The certificate of location describes the state of the premises: buildings, boundaries, servitudes, encroachments. The buyer's notary requires it to reflect the current state of the property. If you added a pool, a shed or an extension since the last certificate, a new one must be ordered from a land surveyor, and delays are counted in weeks. It is the first check to make, even before the photos: an outdated certificate discovered at the offer stage delays the signing and hands the buyer a renegotiation lever.
A complete file handed over from the start speeds everything up: serious buyers set fewer conditions, offers to purchase are drafted without grey areas, and the notary does not discover a surprise two weeks before the signing. It is also a negotiating argument: documentary transparency puts the buyer at ease and is paid for in the price. It is preparation work the team does systematically before listing: a personalized list for your property, item-by-item verification, and coordination with the notary as soon as the offer is accepted. The full sequence is in our 12-step marketing plan (in French).
At minimum: a valid title of ownership, a certificate of location reflecting the current state of the premises as required by the notary, and the information needed for the deed of sale, taxes, mortgage to discharge. With a broker, the seller's declaration is added and mandatory. The rest, invoices, expert reports, condominium documents, is not always required by law but makes the difference between a smooth sale and one that snags.
There is no legal expiry date: the criterion is that it reflects the current state of the premises. If nothing has changed, no construction, no pool, no moved fence, no new servitude, no cadastral change, an old certificate can suffice. At the slightest change, the buyer's notary will require an up-to-date one: better to order it before listing than to discover it at the offer stage.
In practice, the seller: custom has the seller deliver to the buyer a certificate reflecting the current state of the premises, and the offer to purchase generally stipulates it. The cost varies with the property and the region; the real issue is the production delay, counted in weeks at the surveyor's, hence the interest in starting before listing.
Also available in French: version française de ce guide.
Published September 1, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.
Équipe no 1 de RE/MAX Platine en 2024 et en 2025, 6e au Québec, 15e au Canada et dans le top 50 mondial au classement officiel RE/MAX. Réponse en moins de 24 heures, sept jours sur sept.