Alberta’s land titles office is struggling to keep pace with real estate transactions that have nearly doubled in the province in the past year, according to Lindsay Milligan, press secretary to the Minister of Services Alberta.
This situation has had the effect of significantly lengthening the processing times for applications.
According to the provincial government’s land titles website, the office is currently registering land titles received on February 4, and plans and survey documents received on March 2.
Lou Pesta is a real estate lawyer who works in a well-known law firm in Calgary. He testified that the typical turnaround time over his 40-year career was typically two to five days, and during very busy periods it could exceptionally take up to two weeks.
” One of the lawyers [de notre cabinet] Did some research online and found that we were taking much longer than some 3rd world countries when it came to check in times at the moment. This is frankly embarrassing for a province like Alberta. »
Municipalities, citizens and entrepreneurs are affected
According to stakeholders in the real estate, land law and surveying industry, title registration delays are limited at this time ― they only delay certain types of real estate transactions ― but can be a problem short term. In particular for the municipalities which are preparing this month to send property owners their property tax bills.
Because cities don’t have data on property changes in recent months, property tax bills may not reach the right people.
Homeowners must find tax bills to pay them on time in June […]some of them may be penalized for late payment of property tax
notes Lou Pesta.
Besides municipalities and citizens, the land surveying industry is also affected, and no satisfactory solution has been found so far, according to John Byrne, president of the Association of Alberta Land Surveyors. .
Solutions offered to owners
To save their citizens from getting into these predicaments, some cities, like Cold Lake and Airdrie, are already advising landlords to submit new property information online.
Along the same lines, Anton Szabo of the City of Edmonton’s Assessment and Taxation Branch reports that the City is working to help new homeowners learn tax balance information and enroll in the monthly payment.
He also notes that Edmonton encourages landlords to contact 311 when faced with a delay in transferring their title.
The government wants to shorten the deadlines
Lindsay Milligan of Services Alberta explains that the government allocated $9.1 million in the last budget in order, in particular, to double the staff of the land titles office and thus remedy the exceptionally long delays in processing folders.
” We are also making changes to review processes, exploring technology solutions, and continuing to provide resources to help lawyers get to grips with registration wait times. »
She says Services Alberta is working to implement solutions by the summer and expects to see a reduction in case processing times.
Why are titles important?
A land title is a document that proves ownership of land.
Without this, the parties to real estate transactions are in uncertainty with regard to the date of sale and that of the taking possession by the buyer, explains Jim McKinnon, partner in a law firm in Edmonton. It’s another obstacle or something else in the way of an agreement
he adds.
Due to the delays, he recommends among other things that buyers have title insurance. This type of policy can protect homeowners against title issues, including liens on a property, title fraud, and survey errors.
With information from Madeleine Cummings
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca