A New Improved Land Titles Process
Delays due to the pandemic have become something we’ve all grown to expect.
Whether it’s waiting in line a little bit longer to allow for cleaning protocols in the grocery check-out or filling out the necessary covid screening before appointments or dining reservations. But what if your business relied on the efficient processing of documents to ensure you and your employees were able to make a living?
In Alberta, the current Land Titles Office (LTO) registration delays are unprecedented. Registering documents can currently take up to 14 weeks which, in the world of condominium development, is just too long. Condominium developers do not have the tools available to other businesses and the general public to circumvent the delays and keep commerce moving, due to restrictions within the Condominium Property Act of Alberta.
Not only were developers already facing incredible hardships to their business due to a multitude of pandemic challenges, but now the delay in the registration of new condominium sales was choking off the movement of funds. Bryce Milliken at Ogilvie LLP saw the impact of the delays on his clients in this area and acted.
Recently, Milliken made a proposal to Service Alberta to change the registration process at the LTO for new condominiums. The bottom line for Milliken is that, because of the unique legal restrictions on the transfer of funds to developers when a new condominium unit is purchased, these transactions should not enter the general LTO queue to be registered in the order in which they are received.
Milliken proposed an expedited process where transfers involving new condominium units would be attended to immediately and this expedited process should be available to all.
Service Alberta was interested is fixing the delay and because of Milliken’s strong advocacy on behalf of developers, the new expedited process has been adopted and put into practice. If you currently have transactions that are waiting for registration, these can be moved into the new expedited process and registered right away. Please reach out to Ogilvie LLP if you require assistance navigating the new system.
Gurpreet Gill, General Manager at Landmark Communities Inc., has seen a drastic improvement to his business with the new expedited process saying, “thanks to Bryce Milliken at Ogilvie, there has been a huge reduction in the amount of risk to our business. Bryce’s advocacy has had a positive impact province wide.”
The expedited process is addressing the backlog and streamlining the system for both purchasers and developers of new condominium units. Ogilvie LLP is proud of Milliken’s role in overcoming a significant hurdle to Alberta’s economy.
