What is a Compliance Certificate?
The Zoning Bylaw enacted by the City of Edmonton has a number of property regulations that require compliance in order to have a property in good legal standing with the municipality. There are numerous rules for residential properties including maximum height of structures, minimum setback from property lines, minimum spacing between structures on the property, maximum percentage of development on the land, permit requirements for development both inside the house or on the land, roofing slope requirements, and many others. Additionally, to be compliant with the Zoning Bylaw, a property owner’s structures must not encroach onto the property of their neighbours, and the fences or other dividers that exist between neighbouring lands must be in the proper location and not be encroaching onto the actual geophysical location of a neighbour’s lands. For commercial compliance with the Zoning Bylaw, there may be many more highly technical requirements that must also be followed depending on the type of commercial development on the property. For example, qualified and registered specialists in a wide variety of areas ranging from Professional Engineers to biologists or even environmental scientists may need to provide detailed studies on a variety of issues for the development. This can include required studies detailing slope and soil information, wind impact on large buildings, sun and shadow effects, floodplain effects, environmental effects, industrial risk assessment, effects on traffic and parking, health impacts, and many others. For both residential and commercial development, there are important implications for non-compliance with the Zoning Bylaw. Non-compliance is a municipal offence and Bylaw Enforcement Officers can require the property owner to remedy the offence and comply with the bylaw by taking corrective measures that must be completed within a specific time period. These corrective measures can be prohibitively expensive, depending on the type of issue that currently exists. On top of the corrective costs, there are also penalties that may be imposed by the Enforcement Officer for the violations. For these reasons, Compliance Certificates are a commonly employed in commercial or residential real estate transactions. They are generally requested by the purchaser or their legal counsel to verify that the buyer will not be stuck with exorbitant non-compliance costs they did not foresee, however it is common practice for a prospective seller to obtain compliance beforehand in order to ensure potential purchasers are not driven away by any non-compliance, ultimately wasting the time of both parties. Many banks in Alberta also will require a Compliance Certificate to be included as part of the transaction before completing a sale of land.
How to obtain a Compliance Certificate: Real Property Report (RPR)
In order to apply for a Compliance Certificate, a landowner must first obtain what is called a Real Property Report (RPR). A qualified and registered land surveyor must assess the land and compile a report that outlines everything pertinent to the land, including property boundary lines, location and size of structures, setbacks, and any improvements to the land. The surveyor will include a visual illustration of the land, its features and the developments as well as include a professional opinion on whether the property is in compliance with the Zoning Bylaw. RPR’s are precise and extensive, and include detailed legal information about the property that identifies the title and any encumbrances that may exist. Before an applicant applies for a Compliance Certificate, the RPR must be ready to be issued by the Certified Land Surveyor, and the applicant bears the responsibility of confirming with the surveyor that it is ready to be digitally uploaded upon request from the City of Edmonton. Once reviewed, the applicant will receive what is known as a Compliance Certificate Report from the City of Edmonton. The report will identify whether the existing property is compliant with the Zoning Bylaw or not, and any steps that need to be taken in order to gain compliance.
If you are considering purchasing a residential or commercial property and have questions about obtaining an RPR or compliance certificate, or if you have received a notice about a compliance issue from your municipality, please contact one of Forum Law’s real estate lawyers as soon as possible.
