Casual Legal: Alberta finally eliminates squatter's rights
By Jeffrey L. Daniels
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider
Adverse possession, commonly referred to as squatter’s rights, is a unique creation of common law which allows a trespasser to acquire ownership of privately owned land if the registered landowner failed to take action to remove a trespasser within a specified period.
In Alberta, after 10 years of exclusive possession, the trespasser or squatter could extinguish the owner’s rights to the adversely possessed lands and seek a court order confirming the trespasser’s ownership.
The rationale underlying adverse possession is that it promotes efficiency by recognizing the rights of the person actually in possession and using the land. In practice, the law often unfairly rewards a trespasser at the expense of an innocent owner, as letting land sit idle is often the most economically efficient use.
While section 609 of the Municipal Government Act expressly precludes a person from acquiring an interest in municipally owned land through adverse possession, the law had the potential to cause issues and uncertainties for municipalities. A judgment quieting title was effective and enforceable between the parties; however, a successful adverse possessor of only a portion of a titled property still required subdivision approval before a boundary change could be registered at Land Titles.
The elimination of adverse possession in Alberta has been a topic of discussion for some time, with unsuccessful attempts to abolish it in 2012, 2017, and 2018 through Private Member’s Bills.
In late 2022, Alberta joined several other provinces in entirely abolishing adverse possession. The Property Rights Statutes Amendment Act, 2022 came into effect On December 15, 2022. It amended the Law of Property Act, Land Titles Act, and Limitations Act, to prevent claimants from acquiring any right or title to land through adverse possession. Claims filed in Court prior to December 15, 2022, may still be considered, but new claims for adverse possession will fail.
To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call toll-free to 1-800-661-7673 or send an casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (email) to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please call 310-MUNI (6864) or send an riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.
DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.
