Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Common law for residential real estate requires that a seller disclose latent or hidden defects that he or she is aware of and that could not be seen in an ordinary inspection. Most real estate purchase contracts obligate sellers to disclose certain information, especially with respect to compliance with municipal regulations and appliances. While generally not legally mandated in Canada, seller property disclosure statements, also called property condition statements or seller property information statements, afford some protection to both buyers and sellers.
My questions today are for the Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs. The Member for Yellowknife Centre also raised this concern in the recent past.
Could the Minister inform the House, what is our government doing to raise awareness of a home seller’s legal duty to disclose hidden defects and serious issues to potential buyers?