Mortgage fraud and money laundering are growing worse despite new federal laws dating from 2020, cabinet said yesterday. The Department of Finance detailed new anti-fraud rules to take effect October 1, 2025 affecting realtors and title insurers.

“The Canadian real estate market has been identified as a sector highly vulnerable to money laundering,” the department wrote in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement. “Fraud, a well-known predicate crime to money laundering, is on the rise in the real estate sector with increased reporting of criminals using title fraud to steal ownership of a home to benefit from its value,” it added.

New rules under the Proceeds Of Crime And Terrorist Financing Act require that title insurers verify clients’ names, dates of birth and addresses. “Title insurers provide specialized insurance policies that insure residential or commercial property owners or their lenders against losses related to the property’s title or ownership,” wrote the finance department. “Although title insurance is not mandatory many lenders require its purchase as part of the mortgage agreement. Therefore title insurers are involved in most residential real estate transactions in Canada.”