Casual Legal: Alberta's Pending Registration Queue

By Jeffrey Daniels
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider

The provincial government’s Red Tape Reduction Implementation Act amended the Land Titles Act by introducing a pending registration queue.

The queue creates a new priority system for the Land Titles Office (LTO), which is intended to allow real estate transactions to be closed and money to be released as soon as documents are submitted to the LTO rather than waiting for document registration.

Prior to the introduction of the queue, registration numbers and priority on title were determined upon examination and registration of documents. With the queue, priority is determined based on the time documents are received by the LTO, so long as the documents are eventually registered.

When a document is received, it will appear in the queue which is shown at the end of the relevant certificate of title under “Pending Registration Queue”. If documents are rejected by the LTO, the document will maintain registration priority for 30 days, allowing the submitter to correct the document and complete registration.

The thought behind the queue makes sense; if priority is determined upon submission, then why wait for registration to complete a transaction? In practice, the queue has not been well received for several reasons.

The introduction of the queue has significantly affected the process for registering Builders’ liens. Before the queue, liens would typically be registered on the date of submission. Builders’ liens are now submitted into the queue which delays the registration and has resulted in difficulty and uncertainty in registering, discharging, and litigating builders’ liens.

For now, reliance on the queue is voluntary and losses resulting from relying on the queue are not insured by the Law Society. Additionally, since the queue is created entirely based on the land identified on the cover page of the submission and not the actual documents submitted for registration, human error brings the reliability of the queue into question.

Alberta real estate lawyers have generally avoided relying on the queue as the previously available options, conveyancing protocol and title insurance, are seen as better established and more reliable. While the queue may eventually become a serviceable option to combat increasingly long registration periods, uncertainty in its reliability has resulted in the queue accomplishing little this far.

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 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.