A Real Property Report is a drawing by an Alberta Land Surveyor. It shows your lot lines and the visible improvements on them: the house, garage, decks, fences, permanent sheds. The City of Calgary then stamps it for compliance, or marks it non-conforming. Buyers, lawyers, and lenders on a freehold sale almost always want that package.
It is step 2 of our Precision Sale Program, Land Title and Real Property Report Review, because an RPR problem at possession is how sellers lose a week and a holdback, so we would rather find it in preparation.
We are not your lawyer and we are not your surveyor. Your lawyer signs off on the file. What follows is how we run it.
Does an old RPR expire?
No. There is no five-year legal rule. An RPR is a snapshot of the day it was signed. If nothing visible has been added, moved, or rebuilt since that date, a twelve-year-old drawing can still do the job.
We do not take the seller’s word for nothing changed. We walk it. If the drawing matches the lot, no new AC pad, the fence has not moved, no new shed, no new driveway, it is probably fine. If the buyer’s lawyer still wants a fresh one, that is a negotiation, not a law.
What usually means you need a new one
Anything that changed the outside of the lot after the survey date: house additions and attached garages, a new or moved fence, a new or raised deck, a permanent shed, an inground pool, a driveway that crept into a setback.
AC condensers on a pad have gotten RPRs rejected on our files. A window unit does not. Interior fireplaces do not. A portable fire bowl does not. A built-in fire pit or a paved sitting area might, because permanence is the test, not how pretty it looks from the deck.
Sheds are the question we get most. Surveyor practice often leaves off a small, movable shed under about 108 sq ft (10 square metres). A 10 ft by 10 ft shed is 100 sq ft, about 9.3 square metres, so a typical backyard shed can sit under that line if it is sitting on skids. Pour a pad and bolt it down, and it is a different improvement. You can see the line item on the sample above: the City’s compliance certificate does not recognize hot tubs or accessory buildings under 10 square metres. Do not guess. The surveyor decides.
Can you sell without an RPR?
Yes. It is just not how we like to close a Calgary freehold.
The standard contract asks the seller to provide a current RPR with municipal compliance or non-conformance. Conventional condos usually skip this. Bare-land condos and houses do not.
Title insurance is the alternative people mean. It is a policy that pays if a covered title or survey problem later costs someone money. It is not a map. It will not tell you the eave is over the walk, and it usually will not cover a problem everyone already knows about.
We rarely close on title insurance alone. Most buyers want the certainty of a current drawing, and we strongly encourage sellers to update the RPR so closing is clean and there is no holdback. Even when a buyer accepts title insurance in lieu on the contract, their lawyer can still take issue with it. Who pays the premium, seller, buyer, or split, is negotiated.
When an RPR issue shows up late, lawyers often hold back funds: the seller still has to produce a new RPR and any City agreements, and the holdback is typically well above the cost of the report so the work actually gets done. We have seen that enough times that we put the RPR in the listing documents whenever we have one. Buyer’s agents can read it before they write.
Encroachments
Sometimes the drawing is fine and the problem is a sliver. We have seen encroachment agreements over something as small as 10 cm, a garage apron, an eave. That is a lawyer conversation, and we do not freelance it. The usual path with City land is an encroachment agreement.
What it costs and how long it takes
On an inner-city 50 by 100 lot, plan on about two weeks. We use Mark Sutter and the team at Third Rock Geomatics: they draw in colour and they run the compliance stamp. Acreage RPRs cost more and take longer: more land, more drive time, more things sitting on the parcel.
How we handle it
Step 2 is the review, not a surprise in the last week. We find the existing RPR, walk the lot against it, order an update if the lot has changed, and get the City stamp moving. If something will not stamp clean, the lawyer talks options before anyone is under contract.
And you do not need to be listing tomorrow to ask. RPR questions come up long before a sale, and we are happy to talk them through with clients and future clients alike, so get in touch if one is on your mind.
Selling and not sure what you have? Start with the Seller’s Guide. That is the full Precision Sale Program, including this step. Or start where every file starts, with a free home evaluation.
Questions
My RPR is twelve years old and nothing has changed. Can I use it?
Walk it against the drawing. If it matches, no new AC, fence, shed, or driveway, it is probably fine. We still verify, and a buyer’s lawyer can still ask for a new one.
Do I need a new RPR for a 10 ft by 10 ft shed?
Maybe not, if it is movable and under about 108 sq ft (10 square metres). A 10 by 10 is 100 sq ft, about 9.3 square metres. A permanent pad is a different answer. Ask the surveyor.
Does a hot tub go on the RPR?
It depends on how big it is and whether it can be moved. A portable tub usually stays off the drawing, while a large one plumbed in on its own pad is a permanent improvement and can land on it. Calgary’s compliance stamp carves hot tubs out by name, so the drawing and the City treat them differently. Same answer as the shed: ask the surveyor.
Can title insurance replace an RPR?
It can be written into the contract. It is insurance, not a survey. We still push for an updated RPR on freehold sales.
What if we are a week from possession and the RPR is wrong?
Holdback is the usual patch: the seller produces the new report and any agreements, and the buyer holds funds until it is done. That is the file we try never to have.