Alberta’s government has eliminated the backlog in the Land Titles office, and for the first time in more than two years, processing times are back to normal.
Between April 2021 and December 2022, requests at Alberta’s Land Titles office increased by 86 per cent. This increase was a response to Alberta’s growing population and economy, and wait times were exacerbated through the COVID-19 pandemic.
To tackle the delays, the government increased funding and staffing to the office, and kept counter service closed past the pandemic to address the backlog. Now that processing times have been reduced, Albertans doing real estate transactions, and the professionals supporting them, can focus on investment and economic growth.
Every day, more than $340 million in economic activity is processed through Alberta’s Land Titles office, so addressing this backlog was crucial. Processing times peaked in December 2022, when Albertans were experiencing 84 days to process a transfer and register a title and 55 business days for surveys. Now, those processing times are down to 10 to 12 days, the lowest in more than two years. With processing times back to normal, full front counter service has reopened to the public.
Quick facts
More than $50 billion in real estate transactions are conducted in Alberta every year.
More than $500 billion in private property is managed through the Land Titles registry.
The Land Titles office has two locations: one in Edmonton and one in Calgary.
To ensure statutory compliance and property rights of owners, the Land Titles office conducts careful and thorough reviews of all documents and plans that are submitted.
All changes to title (i.e., who owns the land) must be registered with the Land Titles office.
