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Real Estate Law / Residential

Residential Real Estate Lawyer
in Alberta.

Our lawyers handle every step of a residential closing in Alberta: the contract review, the title work, your mortgage documents, the Statement of Adjustments, and registration at Land Titles. You get a flat quote before we start, and we work to the possession date in your contract.

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How a purchase closes in Alberta

Once your offer is firm, we pull the title and review everything registered against it, including mortgages, caveats, utility rights of way, and restrictive covenants. We tell you plainly which ones matter for you. We prepare your mortgage package with your lender, build the Statement of Adjustments so taxes and other items are split fairly to the day, and meet you to sign well before possession.

Most Alberta closings complete under the Western Conveyancing Protocol, which lets keys and money move on possession day even while Land Titles processes the registration. It takes experience to run a protocol closing properly, and it is one of the reasons we can hold dates that other offices would push. Our goal is a possession day where nothing eventful happens at all.

Selling, condos, and new construction

On a sale, we pay out your mortgage, answer the buyer’s trust conditions, and deal with the Real Property Report. An RPR with evidence of municipal compliance is the standard contract requirement for detached homes in Alberta. If the survey is old or a shed sits over the line, we walk you through the options: updating the survey, getting compliance or an encroachment agreement, or covering the gap with title insurance.

Condo purchases come down to the documents. We review the bylaws, financial statements, reserve fund study, board minutes, and the information certificate, and we flag special assessments or underfunded reserves before your condition deadline. On new builds, we review the builder contract, confirm New Home Buyer Protection Act coverage, and handle the GST and rebate details so the final numbers match what you were promised.

One thing buyers from other provinces are always happy to hear: Alberta has no land transfer tax. You pay modest registration fees at Land Titles, and that is it. We confirm the exact figures on your Statement of Adjustments before you sign anything.

What this desk handles

  • Purchase and sale closings for houses, duplexes, and townhomes
  • Condominium purchases with full document review
  • New construction and builder contract review
  • Mortgage documents and lender coordination
  • Real Property Report and compliance issues
  • Dower Act consents and spousal signatures
  • Statement of Adjustments and trust accounting
  • Rush closings on tight possession dates

Where we act

Our lawyers handle residential files across Alberta from our Calgary office, including Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere, Edmonton, and everywhere between. Alberta has one Land Titles system, so the closing works the same wherever the property sits. Signing happens at our office, by video where permitted, or with a local commissioner near you.

Common questions

Residential: frequently asked questions

  • Your lawyer reviews the purchase contract, searches the title, prepares and explains your mortgage documents, builds the Statement of Adjustments, moves the money through trust, and registers the transfer at Alberta Land Titles. The transfer documents have to be signed in front of a lawyer, so every Alberta closing runs through one.

  • No. Alberta has no provincial land transfer tax. Buyers pay registration fees at Land Titles based on the property value and mortgage amount, which are small compared to the transfer taxes in B.C. or Ontario. We set out the exact charges on your Statement of Adjustments.

  • A Real Property Report is a surveyor’s drawing of the lot showing every structure on it, and standard Alberta contracts require the seller to provide one with evidence of municipal compliance. If the RPR is outdated or something encroaches, we help you sort out whether to update the survey, obtain compliance or an encroachment agreement, or bridge the gap with title insurance.

  • Most files run two to six weeks from a firm deal to possession, depending on financing and the date in the contract. We regularly handle closings inside seven days. If your date is tight, call us the day your offer goes firm and we will tell you right away whether it works.

  • Alberta’s Dower Act protects a married person’s right to live in the family home. When a home is owned by one spouse alone, the other spouse has to consent to a sale or mortgage and acknowledge that consent separately in front of a lawyer or commissioner. We check for dower issues at the start of every file so they never show up as a surprise at the signing table.

  • In Alberta, closings are handled by lawyers. Unlike B.C., notaries public here do not do conveyancing, and lenders send their instructions to lawyers. The upside is that the person closing your file can also give you real advice when something on the title needs judgment.

Book a consultation

Talk to one of our lawyers about your residential file.

Send us the details of what you are working on and we will follow up within one business day. Closing inside seven days? Please call us directly.

Call the firm
587-327-7314
Office hours
Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Mountain Time
Signings outside these hours by arrangement.

Book a consultation

One business day response. For closings inside seven days, please call us directly.

One business day response. Closing inside seven days? Call us.

Calgary · Alberta

Opening a residential file?

Send us the details and we will respond within one business day, with a flat quote on standard matters.