Most buyers in Quebec, especially first-timers, drastically underestimate the actual cash that they need to buy a home. That’s because closing costs are spread out over time and often hidden behind paperwork, inspections and taxes.
In this article we break down:
- What are closing costs?
- What is total cash to close?
- What is typically included in closing costs?
- How to manage closing costs
- Final remarks
What are closing costs?
Closing costs are the fees and taxes that buyers and sellers must pay in order to complete a real-estate transaction. In Quebec, the buyers closing costs are typically between 2 – 4% of the purchase price. Whereas sellers closing costs are typically between 3 – 5% of the buyers total purchase price.
For example, let’s say that you want to buy a home worth $750,000. In this case, the closing costs would be between $15,000 and $30,000 for the buyer, and between $22,500 and $37,500 for the seller. If the buyer was making a downpayment of 20%, this means they would need to pay $150,000 plus an additional $15,000 – $30,000 in closing costs.
What is total cash to close?
The total cash to close which, is the total amount of cash that has to be paid by the buyer in order to close is normally calculated as:
Total buyer cash to close = Downpayment + Closing costs – adjustments
An example of this is shown in the table below. This example assumes $750,000 purchase price, a 20% down payment, closing costs of 4% of the purchase price for the buyer and $2500 of adjustments.
| Downpayment | $150,000 |
| Closing costs | $30,000 |
| Adjustments | ($2,500) |
| Total cash required to close | $177,500 |
What is typically included in closing costs?
The buyers closing costs in Quebec typically include the following:
- Property inspection
- Notary
- Land transfer tax
- Moving fees
- Appraisal fee
- Title insurance
- Latent defect insurance
Now that we know what closing costs are, let’s take a look at what exactly each of them is for.
Buyers Note
Property inspection (Average cost: $800 – $1300)
A property inspection (often called a home inspection or pre-purchase inspection) is an independent evaluation of a home’s physical condition, carried out before you finalize the purchase.
You indicate that you want a property inspection in your promise to purchase, under Clause 8: “Inspection by a person chosen by the buyer.”
Most people consider this an essential step in the home buying process because, the promise to purchase is a legally binding contract. Without this clause, you would therefore be obligated to buy the property even if a major issue was discovered with the property during closing.
Whilst many sellers get a pre-listing inspection, you should not rely solely on this. This is because you don’t know who performed the inspection, what standards they followed, or whether the report was biased. More importantly, you have no legal relationship with the seller’s inspector, meaning that you will have no legal recourse if something critical was missed.
Notary (Average cost: $1,700 – $2,800)
In Quebec, it is typical for the buyer to hire the notary. This is because the notary is because the work that the notary does is to benefit the buyer. For instance, the notary will make sure the person selling the property has the legal right to do so. They will also check for unpaid taxes or mortgages, and ensure that the property is free of any legal claims or encumbrances.
Once these checks are complete, the notary prepares the key legal documents. This will incude the Deed of Sale and, if needed, the Deed of Hypothec (your mortgage contract). The notary will then coordinate with your lender to receive the mortgage funds and hold them safely in trust until the transaction closes.
The notary will also calculate adjustments between buyer and seller. This will include things like prepaid property taxes or condo fees. Finally, the notary will arrange the final appointment where both parties sign the Deed of Sale. Once this has happened, the notary registers the sale in the Quebec Land Register, transfers the funds to the seller, and provides you with certified copies of the deeds. At that point, the process is complete and ownership officially passes to you.
Adjustments & reimbursements (Average cost: It depends on the property and time of year)
Adjustments are reimbursements between the buyer and seller for any prepaid costs (like school taxes, municipal taxes, condo fees or special assessments). The notary calculates these at closing to make sure each party pays their fair share based on the possession date.
For example, let’s say you’re buying a condo and the seller has already paid the municipal taxes for the next six months, but your move-in date is one month away. In that case, the seller may ask you to reimburse the remaining five months of prepaid taxes, since you’ll benefit from that period of ownership.
These adjustments typically range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on the property and the time of year.
Land transfer tax (Average cost: It depends on the size of your property)
In Quebec, the land transfer tax is a municipal tax that you are legally required pay when you buy a property. The municipalities in Quebec then use this money to fund local infrastructure and services such as road repairs, public transit, parks, libraries, and emergency services.
Land transfer tax is calculated as a progressive tax, based on the properties value at sale. This means that different portions of your property’s value are taxed at different rates. The higher the properties value, the higher the rate on the upper portion. The properties value itself is computed using the higher of either the purchase price or the assessed value.
You land transfer tax is due within 90 days from when the notary updates the Quebec Land Registery. It will be sent to your new house as an invoice that you can pay either by going into a local bank or online.
Moving costs (Average cost: $750 – $1,500)
Buying a new home comes with all the moving expenses that follow. This includes boxes, packing supplies, transportation, and sometimes storage. Even after you’ve signed at the notary, you will still need to budget for the physical move itself.
If you have large furniture, small children, or a busy family schedule, hiring professional movers can be a worthwhile investment. They can handle heavy lifting, reduce stress, and often include basic insurance for your belongings during transport.
Appraisal fee (Average cost: Depends on the size of the property)
A home appraisal is an unbiased, professional evaluation of a property’s current market value conducted by a licensed or certified appraiser. Lenders often require this before they will sign off on your mortgage. This is because a home appraisal will establish that the home you are buying is worth the offer you made.
There are two ways to order an appraisal:
- Lender orders an appraisal (most common)
- Buyer orders an appraisal
In most transactions, the buyer never personally orders or even sees the appraisal. This is because your lender hires a certified appraiser to confirm that the property’s market value that supports the loan amount. The bank will most likely not even charge you for the appraisal.
If you want to double-check the price independently for example, in a private sale, a cash purchase, or to challenge an asking price, you can hire your own appraiser. This is less common but gives you visibility into the report. More commonly you would ask your realtor to complete a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of the property. Your realtor can use this to challenge a home appraisal if necessary.
Title insurance (Average cost: $500 – $1,200)
When you buy a home, your notary conducts a title search through the Quebec Land Register to confirm that the seller legally owns the property, that it’s free of unpaid debts, and that there are no hidden legal claims. All of this information is summarized in the property title, also known as the Index of Immovables.
Title insurance is an optional one-time protection that covers you and your lender against unexpected problems with the property title. These are things the notary might not have been able to detect during their search. These could include clerical or registration errors in the land registry, unpaid liens from a previous owner, boundary disputes, or even fraud or forgery where someone illegally claims ownership.
In Quebec’s civil law system, the notary is legally responsible for verifying ownership, disclosing servitudes, and ensuring there are no outstanding debts on the property. Because of this, most lenders don’t require title insurance and instead rely on the notary’s verification to protect their interests.
Many notaries consider title insurance optional and only recommend it in specific situations for example, when the property has an unclear ownership history, when renovations or additions weren’t properly registered, or when it’s located on a private road or rural lot with servitudes.
If your notary reviewed the Quebec Land Register and found everything in order, they likely didn’t suggest title insurance and that’s perfectly normal in Quebec.
Latent defect insurance (Average cost: $350–$600)
A latent defect (or vice caché) is a hidden problem with a property that isn’t visible during a normal inspection and that significantly reduces the property value or use. Examples might include water infiltration behind walls, foundation cracks, electrical faults, or mold hidden in the structure.
In Quebec, the Civil Code gives buyers the right to take legal action against the seller if such a defect existed before the sale and the seller failed to disclose it. However, these cases can be complex, stressful, and expensive often taking months or years to resolve.
Latent defect insurance is an optional policy that helps protect you from the financial fallout of discovering a hidden issue after you move in. It can cover the cost of repairs or reimburse part of your loss if a serious defect is found and confirmed by an expert.
💡 Buyer’s Tip
How to manage closing costs?
To manage your closing costs, we recommend that you use a closing cost calculator. There are many of these on the internet however, in our research we found that many of these confuse the closing costs with mortgage rate calculations. At Immovision we build a very simple closing cost calculator that you can use to accurately work out what closing costs you expect.
You can access our free closing cost calculator @ Immovision Closing Cost Calculator.
Final remarks
Most people feel financially stretched when buying a new home. This is made worse by the closing costs that will add between 2 – 4% onto the purchase price of your new home. So as to avoid putting yourself into a dangerous financial situation, you should make sure that you understand exactly what you need to pay and when exactly will need to pay it.
There is a lot of financial assistance that is available and can help you get some of the money back when buying a new home. To learn more about what schemes are available in for buyers in Quebec, read the following:
- First time home buyers incentives in Quebec (2026)
- GST/QST New Housing Rebate in Quebec (2026)
- Novoclimat Grant Program Quebec – Everything you need to know (2026)
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