Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction. (Government of Alberta)

By Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction

Op-Ed

Big overhaul planned for Alberta’s Land Titles Registry

Mar 21, 2023 | 2:16 PM

The real estate industry is a vitally important sector of Alberta’s economy. More than $50 billion in real estate transactions are conducted in Alberta every year.

The industry employs thousands, from skilled tradespeople to surveyors, engineers and architects, realtors and legal professionals. And for tens of thousands of hard-working families, their home is their biggest single investment.

A critical hub for the industry is Alberta’s land title registry system, with more than $200 million in economic activity is processed daily through these offices.

In recent years, the Land Titles Office has struggled to keep up with growing demand for its services. Following the uptick in real estate market activity, the Land Titles Office experienced an 86 per cent increase in documents submitted which, unfortunately, led to delays in processing these submissions.

Alberta’s government is taking action to clear the backlog in the Land Titles Office, get processing times back to normal, and modernize the Land Titles registry system so it can meet the needs of Albertans today, and in the future.

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I want to assure buyers, sellers, real estate agents, builders, developers, and all Albertans that we have heard their calls to address these issues.

Since October 2022, we have doubled the number of staff working in the Land Titles Office. Processing times are on their way down, and as our new hires get up to speed we will see the backlog decline even faster. Our target processing time for land titles registrations is 10-12 business days, and we expect to reach that target by the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Not only are we increasing staff to eliminate the backlog in Land Titles, we are also investing nearly $60 million over three years to modernize its systems. The systems currently used are decades old, largely paper-based, and unable to respond to today’s market conditions.

Using a co-design approach, we’ll be working closely with our users and stakeholders throughout development – ensuring the system works for them and has the capabilities to efficiently meet the demands of the office.

In the long term, we plan to keep reducing processing times to less than 10 business days.

Modernizing Land Titles is part of a larger $100 million plan announced in Budget 2023 to update all of Alberta’s registries, including Land Titles, Motor Vehicles, Corporate, Personal Property and Vital Events registries. We’re taking the steps now to ensure that these services can respond to the needs of Albertans today, and in the years ahead.

Whether you are buying, building or selling a home, getting a driver’s licence, starting a company, registering the birth of a new baby, or checking to see if there is a lien on a car you are thinking about buying, Albertans deserve quick and efficient government services, and we are committed to making that a reality.

Budget 2023 ensures Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction will continue supporting investment and job creation while helping Albertans navigate their day-to-day lives.

Dale Nally

Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction

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