How to transfer control of your home to another person if you have moved out?

Transferring the management of your real estate to a third party is a complex process that requires not only basic knowledge of powers of attorney and management agreements, but also an understanding of the finer points of Canadian law, taxation, risk management, and digital technology. Below are additional details to help you confidently delegate management and minimize any risks.

1. Details of the power of attorney

Document title: In Canada, the most common form is “General Power of Attorney for Property.” Make sure that the title mentions real estate management.

Contents of the power of attorney:

• Signing and concluding purchase and lease agreements

• Making payments for utilities, property taxes, insurance, local fees

• Representation before the municipality (submitting applications for change of address, permits for repairs, etc.)

• Management of bank accounts opened to receive rent payments

• If necessary, initiation of legal and administrative proceedings on your behalf

Special conditions:

• Indicate whether the representative has the right to sub-delegate their powers
• Conditions for revocation: under what circumstances you can revoke the power of attorney, what steps are necessary to do so (write a notarized revocation notice)

Certification:

• In Canada — before a provincial notary
• Abroad — at a Canadian consulate with an apostille from the relevant jurisdiction

2. Detailed terms and conditions of the property management agreement

Manager's security deposit Require the management company to make a deposit to cover emergency repairs in excess of the agreed budget.

Tenant selection criteria Determine the minimum credit rating, availability of references, income level (e.g., at least three times the rent).

Dispute resolution procedure Mandatory inclusion of an arbitration clause (mediation/arbitration clause) in case of conflicts with tenants or contractors.

Insurance requirements Who is responsible for taking out buildings and contents insurance, liability insurance, and what minimum limits must be observed.

Regular audits The owner has the right to engage a third-party auditing firm once a year to check the financial statements and condition of the property.

3. Tax planning and optimization

Use of Canadian corporations Many non-residents transfer their real estate to a private corporation (holding company), which allows them to:

• Defer capital gains, divide income among the corporation's participants
• Reduce the NRWT rate, as dividends may be taxed at lower rates

Capital Cost Allowance (CCA) The manager must include depreciation of the building (up to 4% per year for residential real estate) in the tax return, which reduces your taxable income.

Planning repair costs Spread large capital works over 2–3 financial years to avoid a peak in expenditure in a single year and ending up in a higher tax bracket.

4. Advanced digital tools and security

Platforms for monitoring payments and documents Buildium, AppFolio, Propertyware — comprehensive solutions with owner access via a secure portal. They provide integration with the CRA for automatic NRWT reporting, PDF report generation, and CSV data export.

Internet of Things (IoT)

• Smart thermostats (Nest Learning Thermostat) with geofencing adjust the temperature when you are away to save energy
• Water leak sensors (Flo by Moen) automatically shut off the water and notify the manager of a leak

Cybersecurity

• Use of VPN and two-factor authentication to access management systems
• Regular backups of photo and video evidence of property condition to cloud storage (AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage) with encryption

5. Psychological and communication aspects

Aligning expectations with the representative Draw up a Service Level Agreement (SLA) specifying response times to requests (e.g., 24 hours for non-standard situations, 5 business days for scheduled maintenance).

Open channel for tenants Offer tenants a short questionnaire every six months (e.g., via Google Forms) to assess the quality of service.

Regular virtual meetings Hold a video conference with the management company or agent once a quarter to discuss financial results, the status of technical systems, and plans for the next period.

6. Examples of typical problems and solutions

7. When to complete the transfer of management

• You are planning to return to Canada and want to manage the property yourself.
• You are selling the property or transferring it to an heir/corporation.
• The cost of management services exceeds the income — you need to recalculate your expenses and find a more economical solution.

In all cases, comply with the terms of revocation of the power of attorney and the provisions of the management agreement to avoid legal conflicts.

Careful consideration of each of the above aspects will ensure that you can safely and effectively delegate the management of your property in Canada, even while you are on another continent.