The short version. A Real Property Report (RPR) is a legal document prepared by an Alberta Land Surveyor. It shows your property’s boundaries and where the visible improvements sit against them, such as the house, garage, deck and fences. Most Alberta home sales need a current RPR with municipal compliance because the standard purchase contract asks the seller for one. No statute we know of requires it. On 17 April 2026 the surveyors’ Manual of Standard Practice changed how some boundary crossings are labelled.
What a Real Property Report shows
A Real Property Report is a drawing of your parcel and what is built on it, certified by a surveyor. The Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association (ALSA) defines it as “a legal document prepared by an Alberta Land Surveyor.” The document “shows the boundaries of a property and the location of visible improvements (like buildings, fences, and decks) relative to those boundaries.”
ALSA lists what an RPR includes:
- the legal description and municipal address
- the certificate of title number and the registered owners
- the location and dimensions of visible improvements, measured to the boundaries
- structures crossing into neighbouring lots or public land
- easements and rights-of-way registered on title
The report is a snapshot. ALSA calls it a drawing of the property “on the date the survey was completed” (ALSA, Real Property Reports Additional Information). Only a licensed Alberta Land Surveyor can prepare one, and it must carry the surveyor’s original signature to be valid.
The rules for what goes on the plan sit in Part C, Section 6 of ALSA’s Manual of Standard Practice (MSP). The MSP defines an improvement as “any visible structure of a permanent nature, constructed or placed on, in, or over land.”
How to read a Real Property Report, item by item
An RPR has two pages. Page 1 is the surveyor’s written report and certification. Page 2 is the plan, and the MSP requires it to state that it “is invalid if it is detached from page 1.” Read them together.
The table below follows the 2026 MSP requirements, so you can find each item on your own report.
| What you see on the RPR | What it tells you | 2026 MSP |
|---|---|---|
| The title “Alberta Land Surveyor’s Real Property Report” | The document type, shown prominently | 6.4.3 |
| Legal description, municipality and address | Which parcel the report covers. Check it against your title. | 6.4.1 |
| Legal descriptions of adjoining lands | Who your neighbours are on paper | 6.4.2 |
| Length and bearing of each boundary | The size and shape of the parcel | 6.4.8 |
| Monument symbols, and “Fd No Mk” | Which survey markers were found, and where no evidence was found | 6.4.9, 6.4.10 |
| Buildings with dimensions and setbacks | Distances from walls or foundation to each line, as the municipality requires | 6.5.1 |
| Eaves, decks with height, sheds, pools, retaining walls | The other improvements the surveyor must show | 6.5.3 to 6.5.10 |
| A fence note in the legend | In urban areas, fences are within 0.2 m of the line unless noted. Fence ownership is not shown. | 6.5.11 |
| Encroachments, shown prominently with their extent | A structure of clear ownership crossing a boundary or a registered interest | 6.4.6 |
| Crossings of uncertain ownership, shown prominently | The extent is shown, but the item is not labelled an encroachment | 6.4.7 |
| Easements and utility rights-of-way, dimensioned | Where a registered interest limits building or gives access | 6.4.13 |
| Sidewalks and curbs, with distances | The distance from your line to the back of walk and curb | 6.5.12 |
| Copyright note, permit stamp and signature | Who holds the copyright, and whether the copy is an original | 6.4.12, 6.9 |
| Date of survey and date of title search | How current the report is | 6.10 |
Page 1 ends with the surveyor’s four certified opinions. They state that the plan shows the boundaries, improvements and registered interests. They also state that the improvements are within the boundaries and that nothing on a neighbouring property crosses in. The fourth states that nothing sits within a registered interest. Opinions 2 to 4 list any exceptions.
What changed in 2026
The 2026 Manual of Standard Practice splits boundary crossings into two kinds. The revisions were approved at ALSA’s 2026 annual general meeting and took effect on 17 April 2026.
Before, item 6.4.6 of the 2022 edition asked for “any existing encroachment and the amount of the encroachment.” Now there are two items:
- 6.4.6. Where ownership, origin and authorization are “clear and undisputed”, a crossing is shown prominently and identified as an encroachment, with its extent.
- 6.4.7. Where any of those is uncertain, the crossing is still shown prominently with its extent. It “shall not be labelled as an encroachment.”
The revision also updated items 6.5.4, 6.5.5, 6.5.7, 6.5.8 and 6.5.11. An RPR drawn before April 2026 and one drawn after it can describe the same shed or fence differently.
ALSA’s own RPR brochure, dated December 2021, still points to “Part D, Section 8.5”. That numbering is out of date. The current rules are in Part C, Section 6.
Is a Real Property Report required in Alberta?
The requirement comes from the purchase contract. We found no statute that requires one. The City of Calgary says its compliance certificate “is not a legislative requirement, but rather a service” (City of Calgary).
The Alberta Real Estate Association’s January 2026 residential purchase contract lists the RPR among the closing documents in clause 10.2. It asks for “an RPR showing the current improvements on the Property,” prepared to ALSA’s Manual of Standard Practice. The RPR must come “with evidence of municipal compliance or non-conformance.” Clause 10.8 puts the cost on the seller.
The Real Estate Council of Alberta’s 2016 seller guide says the same. Unless the buyer agrees otherwise, “the seller must provide a Real Property Report (RPR) with evidence of municipal compliance.”
Condominiums differ. AREA notes that conventional condominiums do not require an RPR with compliance, while bare land condominiums with improvements do.
Compliance is a separate municipal step
The RPR is the surveyor’s document. Compliance is the municipality’s review of it. The municipality checks the buildings shown against its land use or zoning bylaw, then stamps the RPR, issues a letter, or both.
AREA explains the three outcomes. A compliant property meets the bylaw. A non-conforming structure complied when it was built, but the bylaw has since changed. Non-compliance means something does not meet the bylaw and must be resolved before the report can be resubmitted.
Each municipality runs its own process. These were the published residential figures on 9 October 2026:
| Municipality | Document | 2026 residential fee | Published review time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton | Compliance certificate | $145 regular, $310 express | About 10 working days; 3 working days express |
| Calgary | Certificate of Compliance | $189 | 1 to 2 days initial review; 14 days if further review is needed |
| Strathcona County | Statement Respecting Compliance | $170 | None published |
| St. Albert | Compliance certificate | $286 regular, $451 accelerated | Up to 15 working days; 5 business days accelerated |
| Leduc County | Compliance request | $173; $200 for 3-day rush | Only the rush time is published |
A compliance stamp does not answer every question about a building. The 2003 lawyers’ rules of practice on RPRs say it “does not guarantee that there are not other building location issues.” Calgary, for example, leaves fences and retaining walls out of its bylaw review.
Real Property Report vs title insurance
Title insurance pays for certain losses. An RPR shows the property as it stands. AREA’s answer to whether title insurance replaces an RPR with compliance is: “No, it is not.”
AREA adds that “title insurance simply moves the requirement of a compliant RPR down the road for a future owner.” The next buyer will usually still ask for an RPR.
RECA’s glossary lists what owner’s title insurance protects against:
- fraud or forgery
- non-title defects
- unknown municipal compliance issues
- hidden deficiencies
- liens to collect a previous owner’s debt
Lender’s title insurance protects the mortgage lender’s right to the title.
Title insurance does not fix a problem. A Reynolds Mirth Richards & Farmer article (2024) notes that a policy “simply provides reimbursement if the insured suffers a covered loss.” It often excludes risks the buyer knew about but did not disclose to the insurer. Risks the owner created or accepted, and risks arising after the policy date, are often excluded too. A known defect on an older RPR is not covered (Duncan Craig LLP, 2025).
If a contract allows title insurance in place of an RPR, ask your lawyer what the specific policy covers before you agree.
Real Property Report vs a boundary survey
An RPR shows where your boundaries are on paper. A boundary survey marks them on the ground. ALSA states that RPRs “are not intended to be used to locate boundaries” (ALSA). It also advises owners not to use one “to establish boundaries (e.g., for fencing) because of the risk of misinterpretation or measurement error.”
The MSP’s standard note on every RPR says the same thing another way. “Unless shown otherwise, property corner markers have not been placed during the survey for this Report.” To set a fence or build near a line, order a boundary survey or a fence line survey.
How long a Real Property Report stays valid
An RPR has no expiry date. It goes out of date when the property changes. ALSA puts it this way: “Technically, an RPR doesn’t expire, but it becomes outdated if new improvements are added or changed.”
AREA uses two words for this. An RPR is current if the property matches it exactly. If anything has changed, “no matter how small,” it is only existing. The standard contract asks for a current one.
Some municipalities set their own limits on age:
- Leduc County accepts a report under two years old as is. It needs a Statutory Declaration between two and ten years, and refuses anything older.
- St. Albert asks for two originals produced no more than five years before submission.
- Calgary accepts a “foundation only” report for 12 months from the survey date.
To update an old RPR, the surveyor must visit the site again and confirm title (MSP 6.7).
How to get a Real Property Report
- Find out whether one exists. ALSA notes there is no central database of RPRs. Ask your lawyer, the previous owner or the surveyor named on any old copy.
- Hire an Alberta Land Surveyor. Only an ALS may prepare one. Tell the surveyor what it is for, including whether you need municipal compliance, and get a written quote.
- Allow access. The surveyor searches title, encumbrances and plans, then surveys the property. That usually means access to markers on nearby lots (ALSA brochure).
- Apply for compliance. In Edmonton the owner applies and pays online, and the City then asks the surveyor to upload the report and title. In Calgary you apply at apply.calgary.ca.
Fees and review times are in the table above. ALSA publishes no survey prices, and our post on what a land survey costs in Alberta explains what moves a quote.
If you are selling in Alberta, we prepare Real Property Reports under our Principal Alberta Land Surveyor. We can also tell you whether the report you already have is still current.
For the local compliance process, see our pages for Edmonton and Calgary.
Technically reviewed by the ProtechGeo Principal Alberta Land Surveyor (ALS).
General information about Alberta surveying requirements, not project-specific advice. Site-specific work requires a defined scope. Surveying services are provided in Alberta only. Fees and review times were taken from municipal sources on 9 October 2026.
