Reference to the CFA’s Advocacy Update from May 19, 2022

According to the provincial government’s land titles website, the office is currently registering land title documents received on Feb. 4 and survey plans and documents received on March 2. 

Previously, the typical turnaround time has been two-to-five days and as long as two weeks during peak times. 

Professionals in the real estate, law and land surveying industries say the title registration delays have yet to derail deals, but they are holding up certain types of real estate transactions. They are also a looming problem for municipalities, which send out property tax bills this month.

Why are titles important?

A land title is a document that proves ownership of a piece of land. Without it, parties in real estate transactions are in limbo between the date of sale and the purchaser taking possession.

What’s causing the delays?

Service Alberta said real estate transactions and packages submitted for registration have nearly doubled since April of last year. Service Alberta is working to implement solutions by the summer and expects to see the backlog decrease after that.