Manitoba Law Reform Commission Consultation Paper on The Law of Partition and Sale

The Manitoba Law Reform Commission has issued a consultation paper on The Law of Partition and Sale:

"When co-owners of Manitoba land need or want to terminate their co-ownership, but they cannot agree on the dissolution of their co-ownership, ss. 18-26 of The Law of Property Act provide them with two potential remedies: partition, a judicial order physically dividing the co-owned property between the co-owners, and sale, a judicial order of sale of the co-owned property and division of the proceeds of sale between the co-owners (...)"

"Sections 18-26 of The Law of Property Act outline some of the key components of partition and sale proceedings; namely, the major actors and their rights under the Act, the powers of the Court in conducting partition or sale proceedings, and the duties owed by the Court to the various actors in the process. The major actors in partition and sale proceedings include individuals bringing the action for partition or sale of land, individuals who may be compelled to make partition or sale of land , and other individuals who are not necessarily parties to the action, but who have some type of interest in the land that is the subject of the action (“subject land”). In addition to delineating the rights of these individuals, ss. 18-26 of the Act set out the powers of the Court and the duties it owes to these actors in various unique circumstances (...)"

"In this Paper, the Commission contemplates whether the current version of ss. 18-26 of The Law of Property Act and the complementary QB Rules adequately address the partition and sale of land in Manitoba, or whether these sections and rules are in need of reform. Specifically, the Commission contemplates whether the Act or Rules require further specification, elaboration, modernization or simplification to better reflect the current realities of Manitoba and to better guide and support Manitobans through an inherently complicated legal process. In particular, the Commission contemplates whether the Act and Rules should be amended to more clearly address who can bring action for and who may be compelled to make partition or sale of land in Manitoba, and to touch upon additional unique circumstances in which partition or sale proceedings may be brought, such as where encumbrance holders are involved, where parties have contracted out of the right to apply for partition and sale, where dispositions are pending in parallel proceedings under other Acts, etc."

The paper examines legislation and court tules on the issue in the other provinces of Canada as well as the relevant Canadian case law.