A mortgagee may be faced with a situation where the mortgagor becomes bankrupt and the trustee, in which the property then vests, disclaims the mortgaged property. By force of a trustee’s disclaimer, the bankrupt’s fee simple estate escheats to the Crown in the right of the State. When the Registrar of Titles receives a notice of disclaimer from a trustee, a Registrar’s caveat will be recorded over the property.

In Chandos Construction Ltd v Deloitte Restructuring Inc[1] [Chandos], the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) reaffirmed the common law anti-deprivation rule in Canada.