By Lev Kramar, Integrity Legal Solutions · Calgary, Alberta
A Real Property Report is a survey drawing prepared by an Alberta Land Surveyor showing where every structure sits on the lot. A Certificate of Compliance is the City of Calgary confirming those structures satisfy the Land Use Bylaw. Title insurance is a one-time policy covering title defects, fraud, and certain survey and zoning risks. They are not substitutes. The standard Alberta purchase contract requires the seller to provide a current RPR with compliance, and buyers who accept title insurance instead are trading a known picture of the property for a claims process.
This is the most misunderstood pair of documents in an Alberta residential closing. Buyers are told they need one, sellers are told the other is cheaper, and the two get treated as interchangeable options on a menu. They are not. They do different jobs, they protect different people, and choosing between them without understanding the difference is how buyers end up owning a problem they never saw.
Here is what each document is, what it covers, and how to decide.
What is a Real Property Report?
A Real Property Report is a legal survey document prepared by a registered Alberta Land Surveyor. It shows the boundaries of your lot with bearings and distances, the footprint of the house with setback measurements to each property line, and every other structure on the parcel drawn to scale. Decks, sheds, garages, fences, retaining walls, window wells, and air conditioning pads all appear. Easements and rights of way show as shaded or dashed strips labelled with their purpose.
The RPR is a picture of physical reality. It answers one question with precision: where is everything, and does it sit where it is supposed to sit.
What is a Certificate of Compliance?
The RPR on its own tells you where the structures are. It does not tell you whether the City is satisfied with where they are. That is the Certificate of Compliance.
You submit the RPR to the City of Calgary, and the City reviews the structure locations against the Land Use Bylaw. If everything complies, the City issues a compliance stamp on the face of the drawing. Current City fees are $189 per parcel for a single-family home, semi-detached, duplex, or single-unit townhouse or rowhouse. Multi-residential townhouse and rowhouse parcels are $281, with a $432 expedited option. Initial review runs one to two business days. If additional review is required, add fourteen days.
Two limits on the compliance certificate are worth knowing, because most buyers assume the opposite:
- The City does not review permit history. A compliance certificate says nothing about whether the basement development, the deck, or the garage was ever permitted or inspected.
- Several items are excluded from bylaw review entirely, including fences, retaining walls, driveway width, low patios, parcel coverage, building height, and accessory buildings under 10 square metres. Those items are reviewed only for encroachment onto City land.
A compliance certificate confirms building location. It is not a clean bill of health for the property.
What does title insurance actually cover?
Title insurance is a one-time payment for a policy purchased at closing. In Alberta it commonly runs a few hundred dollars for an owner policy. It covers a defined list of risks, including defects in title, title fraud and forgery, unregistered easements, certain unknown encroachments and zoning violations, and losses arising from problems that existed before you took ownership.
The key distinction: title insurance is a claims mechanism, not a disclosure document. It does not tell you your neighbour’s fence sits two feet inside your lot line. It pays out, subject to the policy terms, if that turns into a loss later. An RPR shows you the fence before you buy.
What the Alberta purchase contract requires
Under the standard residential purchase contract used across Alberta, the seller is obligated to provide a current Real Property Report with evidence of municipal compliance. “Current” means it accurately reflects every improvement on the property as of the sale date, not as of whenever the last survey was done.
This obligation is regularly waived by amendment. A seller who has added a deck, a shed, or a garage since the last RPR is facing a new survey, a City review, and the possibility that the City refuses compliance. Ordering a new RPR in Calgary takes one to three weeks and costs several hundred dollars before the City fee. Rather than absorb that, many sellers offer to pay for the buyer’s title insurance in exchange for release from the RPR obligation.
That trade is common. It is also the moment where the buyer takes on risk, and it deserves a conversation before the amendment is signed.
So which one do you need?
For a resale detached home in Calgary, insist on a current RPR with compliance. It is the only document that shows you what you are buying. Encroachments, non-conforming structures, and unpermitted additions are found at this stage or they are found later at your expense.
Take title insurance in addition where the property has an older home, visible additions, or a history of renovation. It covers what the RPR cannot: fraud, unregistered interests, and permit problems the compliance certificate never looked at.
Accept title insurance instead of an RPR only when you understand the specific risk you are absorbing, and only after your lawyer has looked at the property and the title. On a newer home with no structural changes since the builder’s survey, that risk is small. On a 1960s bungalow with a rear deck and a detached garage, it is not.
Some lenders require both. Most lenders will have title insurance as mandatory for a lender (not owner) policy where there is no up to date RPR.
Condominiums and new builds work differently
Condominiums
Most condo units do not require an RPR. Unit boundaries are defined in the condominium plan registered at Land Titles, and the corporation holds the architectural plans. What a condo buyer needs instead is the document package: estoppel certificate, bylaws, financial statements, reserve fund study, and minutes. However, there are condominiums with land called bareland condos (rather than a box in the sky), for which RPRs are required.
New builds
Builders sometimes provide an RPR at completion. Confirm it is current as of substantial completion, that it includes final landscaping and any structures added late, and that it carries municipal compliance. A builder RPR issued before the deck went on is not a current RPR. HOWEVER, MANY builder contracts specify that the builder will NOT provide an RPR, in which case title insurance will be mandatory for the lender, and highly recommended for the buyer as owner.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Real Property Report cost in Calgary?
Surveyor fees vary by property complexity and typically run several hundred dollars. The City of Calgary compliance fee is $189 per parcel for most single-family properties. Budget for both, and order early. Rush service exists but depends on surveyor availability. Often it is about $900 to get an RPR with compliance.
How long is a Real Property Report valid?
There is no expiry date. An RPR is current for as long as it accurately shows every structure on the property. Build a deck, add a shed, or replace a fence, and the RPR is out of date the day the work is done.
Can I use my old RPR if nothing has changed?
Yes, provided nothing has changed on your property or on the neighbouring properties shown on the drawing, and provided it carries a compliance stamp. Your lawyer will review it against the current state of the lot.
What happens if the City refuses compliance?
You have three options: remove or modify the offending structure and resubmit, apply for a development permit to relax the bylaw rule, or negotiate with the buyer to proceed on title insurance with the problem disclosed. Relaxations are decided case by case and are not guaranteed.
Does title insurance cover a structure built without a permit?
Standard owner policies commonly cover losses arising from unpermitted work by a previous owner, subject to the policy terms. This is one of the strongest arguments for buying title insurance on an older home even when you have a clean RPR, because the compliance certificate does not look at permits at all.
Talk to Lev
Call (403) 466-6580 or email Lev@integrity-legal.ca to book a consultation. We close real estate transactions across Alberta – including Calgary and surrounding areas, with 1-2 week turnarounds when timelines are tight.
Lev Kramar is the principal lawyer at Integrity Legal Solutions in Calgary. He focuses on residential and commercial real estate, with a particular interest in leasehold and new-build closings, including transactions at Taza Park on Tsuut’ina Nation land. Integrity Legal Solutions serves clients across Alberta, with a reputation for fast funds movement and direct, plain-language communication.
Phone: (403) 466-6580 · Email: Lev@integrity-legal.ca · 1550 5 St SW #300, Calgary, AB T2R 1K3
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