Verification of Compliance

What is a Verification of Compliance?

It is common practice for a purchaser or a purchaser’s financial institution or lawyer to request a Verification of Compliance to protect the purchaser’s investment in the property.  A Verification of Compliance (also referred to as a Letter of Compliance or Compliance Certificate) is a statement from Beaver County whether the development on a property meets the regulations of the County’s Land Use Bylaw.  The verification is based on a Real Property Report (RPR) prepared by a surveyor, and is limited to confirmation of property line setbacks and the development permits issued.  The County will not conduct a physical inspection of the property.

While the County is not required to verify compliance, it provides this service to residents.  The Verification of Compliance is not a legal document and the County will not be liable for verifying the compliance of improvements not shown on the RPR.

The fee for a Verification of Compliance is $50 plus GST and the timeframe within which verification can be given is dependent on the findings of the review of the RPR and the development permit(s).  If a development has been built without the required permit, or has been built in a different location than that authorized by the permit, new permits must be obtained before a verification can be issued.  This process can take up to six weeks, therefore you are strongly advised to seek the Verification of Compliance several weeks before the sale transaction is scheduled to close.

A request for Verification of Compliance must be accompanied by:

• Completed application form
• A Real Property Report prepared and endorsed by an Alberta Land Surveyor. Real property reports older than one (1) year, but no older than five (5), will be accepted if accompanied by a sworn affidavit signed by the landowner, indicating that the Real Property Report is an accurate and current representation of the property. The RPR must contain certain information, see the policy below for more details.
• A Certificate of Title, issued no earlier than three (3) months from the date of request for verification of compliance.
• Payment of the fee (payable to Beaver County)

Please forward the required documents to Municipal Planning Services at admin@munplan.ab.ca and pay the fee to Beaver County by cash, cheque, debit, or credit card.

Questions? Please contact Municipal Planning Services at 780-486-1991