Blog > Fixtures, Chattels and Rental Equipment in an Ontario Home Sale: What Stays, What Goes, and What You Take Over
Fixtures, Chattels and Rental Equipment in an Ontario Home Sale: What Stays, What Goes, and What You Take Over
by
In Ontario, fixtures stay with the house unless the agreement of purchase and sale excludes them. Chattels leave with the seller unless the agreement includes them. That is the default, and the agreement is where it actually gets settled.
Rented or financed equipment is a third category. A water heater, furnace or air conditioner the seller does not own outright needs to be dealt with in writing, or a buyer can close thinking they own something they are really taking over payments on.
Fixtures and chattels, in plain terms
A fixture is attached to the property in a way that makes it part of the house. A chattel is movable personal property that can come out without damaging anything. One Ontario real estate law firm boils it down to a simple question: is it fixed in place, or could it be lifted out easily, as if it were only there for a while?
The Ontario Real Estate Association gives its own members the same default rule. Fixtures stay with the property unless they are specifically excluded in the agreement of purchase and sale. Chattels are excluded unless they are specifically included. A built-in dishwasher is a fixture. A freestanding fridge is a chattel.
That part is easy. The trouble is everything in between.
The items that actually cause arguments
Most disputes are not about the fridge. They are about items that could reasonably be read either way. OREA flags these as the usual grey areas:
- light fixtures and window coverings
- wall-mounted TVs, and the brackets they hang on
- mirrors, medicine cabinets and shelving
- farm gates and equipment on rural property
- docks at a cottage or waterfront home
On rural and waterfront property between Ottawa and Brockville, it is worth adding anything that serves the land rather than the house itself: a standby generator, a water treatment system, a shed that is not on a foundation, a boat lift. If it matters to you, it belongs in the agreement.
| Category | Typical examples | Default in Ontario | What to do about it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixture | Built-in dishwasher, attached light fixtures, built-in shelving | Stays with the property unless the agreement excludes it | If you are selling and want to take it, list it as excluded |
| Chattel | Fridge, stove, washer, dryer, freestanding furniture | Leaves with the seller unless the agreement includes it | If you are buying and want it, list it as included and describe it clearly |
| Grey area | Wall-mounted TV and bracket, curtains and rods, mirrors, docks | Depends on how it is attached, and people read it differently | Name it in the agreement either way |
| Rented or financed | Water heater, furnace, air conditioner, water softener | The seller may not own it outright | Disclose it as a rental item and confirm whether the buyer takes over the contract |
Write it down, and write it clearly
OREA's advice to agents on this is six words long: when in doubt, spell it out. In practice that means a few habits.
- Describe items specifically. If there are two fridges, say which one. Dale Streiman Law suggests recording chattels by make and model.
- Make sure the listing, any feature sheet and the offer all say the same thing about what is included.
- Raise disagreements before anyone signs, not on closing day.
None of this is complicated. It just has to happen at the offer stage, alongside the conditions in the offer, because after that the paper says what it says.
Rented and financed equipment is its own problem
In Ontario it is not unusual for a hot water tank to be rented rather than owned, and furnaces, air conditioners, water softeners and alarm systems can be rented, leased or financed too. These items look like fixtures. They are bolted in, plumbed in or wired in. But a seller cannot sell the buyer something the seller does not own.
Levy Zavet, an Ontario law firm, makes the point that if rental items are not disclosed in the agreement, a buyer may assume they will own them and only find out later that they are on the hook to keep renting. The agreement should list what is rented and say whether the buyer is taking over the contract.
Rented and financed are not the same thing. With a rental, the buyer usually just carries on with the monthly rental. With financed equipment, Dale Streiman Law warns sellers they may find they have to pay off the entire balance before closing. Questions worth asking before anyone firms up:
- Is the water heater owned or rented, and who is the provider?
- Is anything else rented, leased or financed: furnace, air conditioner, water softener, alarm system?
- What does the rental cost each month, and is there a buyout option?
- If something is financed, is the seller paying it off on or before closing?
What changed with notices on title
For years, some equipment companies registered a notice of security interest, usually called a NOSI, on the title of the home where the equipment was installed. Those notices could turn up during a sale or a refinance and hold things up.
Ontario has ended that for household equipment. According to the province, the Homeowner Protection Act became law on June 6, 2024, and bans registering a NOSI for consumer goods such as water heaters, furnaces and air conditioning equipment. Consumer NOSIs that were already registered are deemed to be expired. They can still appear on the title record, but the province says they no longer affect the land, and a lawyer can apply to have one removed if it matters for a transaction.
The notice coming off title does not mean the equipment is paid for.
The province is clear that the change does not cancel an existing contract or eliminate the underlying security interest. The seller still owes whatever they owe under that contract, and the buyer still needs to know whether they are taking over a rental. Ask the question directly rather than assuming a clean title search answers it.
Title problems in general are a separate subject, and title insurance is there for a different set of risks. I covered that in what title insurance covers in Ontario.
The last visit before closing
Most fixture and chattel problems show up when the buyer walks back in and something is missing. The standard agreement does not give a buyer a pre-closing visit on its own, so it needs to be negotiated as part of the offer. What happens on the day itself is covered in what actually happens on closing day.
If something that was included is gone, or an item that was supposed to stay has been swapped out, raise it with your lawyer before closing. It is far easier to deal with while the funds have not moved.
What I would do, on either side
Selling. Decide early what you are taking. If the dining room light fixture matters to you, either replace it before the listing photos are taken or exclude it clearly. Tell your agent what is rented or financed before you list, not after an offer arrives. It fits naturally with the rest of getting a house ready to list.
Buying. Read the chattels, fixtures and rental items in the offer as carefully as the price. If you want the TV bracket, the curtains or the generator, name them. If you are not sure whether the water heater is rented, ask before you firm up.
Buying or selling somewhere between Ottawa and Brockville and not sure how to word what stays and what goes?
Send me the address and what you are thinking of including or taking, and we can talk through how I would handle it in the agreement. Get in touch. No pressure either way.
Sources: Government of Ontario, Notices of Security Interest; Ontario Real Estate Association, Chattels versus fixtures: Explain the difference to clients; Dale Streiman Law LLP, Negotiation of chattels and fixtures: are they included or not?; Levy Zavet, Agreements of Purchase and Sale: fixtures, chattels and rental items.
This is general information about how fixtures, chattels and rental equipment are usually handled in an Ontario resale, not legal advice. Your signed agreement and your lawyer's review are what govern your transaction.