Quebec real estate glossary · French to English
Hypothèque = Hypothec (mortgage, in everyday English). The legal English term in Quebec is hypothec. The Civil Code uses it hundreds of times. In conversation, people say mortgage.
En bref, en français : En droit québécois, « hypothèque » se traduit par hypothec, pas par mortgage. Le mot « mortgage » vient de la common law et reste courant à l'oral.
This is the one term where a direct translation is genuinely wrong in law. Quebec is a civil law jurisdiction, and its English legal vocabulary follows the Civil Code, which uses hypothec throughout, hundreds of times. "Mortgage" is a common law concept.
Educaloi bridges the two for the public: writing in English about buying a home, it refers to "the deed of hypothec (mortgage)". That parenthesis is the whole story.
Where you will see each word
- Your notarial documents: deed of hypothec.
- Your bank's English marketing: mortgage, almost always.
- The Civil Code and the Land Register: hypothec.
Legal hypothec
The Code also provides for a legal hypothec, which arises by operation of law rather than by agreement, for example in favour of those who took part in construction or renovation work. It is not a bank loan, and it is a real thing to check for before buying.
Say it in a sentence
The word on its own is rarely the problem. These are the sentences you will actually hear, and what they become in English.
| Vous entendrez | In English |
|---|---|
| L'acte d'hypothèque sera signé chez le notaire. | The deed of hypothec will be signed at the notary. |
| Il y a une hypothèque légale sur l'immeuble. | There is a legal hypothec on the property. |
| La quittance de l'hypothèque du vendeur est publiée. | The discharge of the seller's hypothec is published. |
The mistake we see most often
The mistake is assuming a discharged loan means a clear title. A hypothec stays in the Land Register until it is formally discharged and that discharge is published. A seller who paid off a loan years ago may still have it registered. Your notary checks this, and it is one of the reasons a Quebec sale goes through a notary rather than being signed across a kitchen table.
Where this fits in a Quebec transaction
Buying or selling in Quebec means signing documents that exist in both languages, written under civil law rather than common law. A word-for-word translation is sometimes right and sometimes actively misleading. The full list is in our Quebec real estate glossary, French to English.
Related terms
Questions we get asked
Is hypothèque translated as mortgage?
In everyday English, yes. In Quebec law, no: the Civil Code of Quebec uses hypothec. Your notarial deed will say deed of hypothec.
Why does Quebec use a different word?
Because Quebec private law is civil law, not common law. The hypothec is a civil law security on property, with its own rules, so English legal texts in Quebec keep the civil law term.
What is a legal hypothec?
A hypothec that exists by operation of law rather than by contract, notably for construction and renovation work. It can affect a property you are buying, which is why the notary checks the register.
Published by the Loaa & Manseur team, number one team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025. We work in French and in English. Tell us about your project.