Police Record Checks

A police record check is a search of police databases to determine if they contain any entries (information) relating to an individual. Many employers, volunteer organizations and others use police record checks as a screening tool. That is, they use police record checks to assess applicants’ suitability for opportunities. Determining what information should be disclosed in the results of a police record check involves balancing public safety interests with an applicant’s privacy and human rights. […]

May 28, 2020

Adverse Possession and Lasting Improvements to Wrong Land, Report 33

Adverse possession has a long history in the common law of England, Canada, and Alberta. It originated as a common law doctrine used to determine a person’s rights to land. In today’s Alberta, it involves two people: the person in actual possession of the disputed property (the occupier) and the registered owner of the disputed property (the registered owner). The essential common law elements of adverse possession are: -the registered owner must be out of […]

February 15, 2020

Tenancies of Mobile Home Sites, Final Report 28

This report contains a proposed Act that balances the sometimes conflicting interests of the parties to tenancies of mobile home sites, and that will still provide the parties with appropriate and convenient new rights, responsibilities, and remedies. This report covers special features of tenancies of mobile home sites, trends towards statutory regulation, the scope of the proposed legislation, the tenancy agreement, obligations of landlord and tenant, remedies, failure to give possession, termination of tenancies, security […]

April 3, 1978

Residential Tenancies, Final Report 22

This extensive report is the product of research the Institute undertook regarding the law relating to tenancies of residential premises, which is the part of the law of landlord and tenant. It includes a proposed Act that balances the interests of landlords and tenants with the hope that it will provide a satisfactory legal framework for their activities. A plan for a security of tenure is discussed and included to assist in making an informed […]

February 1, 1977

Residential Tenancies Project: Mobile Homes, Research Paper 8

This paper addresses the potential problems (as of the time of publication) of individuals who own a mobile home located on rented land. This situation is unique in that it has some similarities to home ownership, and some similarities to renting. The paper considers the issues related to this type of ownership, and the statutory responses to it in the United States, the United Kingdom, and some jurisdictions of Canada. Included are some requirements for […]

November 4, 1975

Contract or Property Law; Form and Delivery of Lease; Right to Assign and Sublet, Research Paper 7

The laws of contract and property are fundamentally different, with different common law, equitable, and statutory guarantees coming into play when dealing respectively with property and with a contract. The first part of this paper considers whether the relationship between landlord and tenant, as determined by the Residential Tenancies Act at the time of publication, should be regulated by the law of property or the law of contract, and how this regulation should work. The second part […]

Resolution of Disputes; Landlord and Tenant (Advisory) Boards; Distress, Research Paper 6

This paper addresses several issues related to the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants, and is broken into three sections. The first section is a broad overview of extra-judicial processes for resolving disputes between landlords and tenants, and includes and overview of the process as conducted in Alberta at the time of publication, as well as a listing of issues relevant to any similar dispute resolution process. The second section is a survey of […]

Termination Procedures; Failure of Tenants to Pay Rent; Overholding Tenants, Research Paper 4

This paper deals generally with issues that arise at the ending of the legal relationship between a landlord and a tenant. Each section of the paper includes an informative introduction, a survey of legal rules throughout jurisdictions in Canada (at the time of publication), and issues raised around the topic of the section. The first section of this paper deals generally with the termination of the landlord and tenant relationship, and specifically with three aspects […]

Obligation to Repair; Security Deposits, Research Paper 3

This paper addresses the three somewhat disparate issues listed in the title. The first section of the paper surveys the common law rules (throughout Canada) and statutory rules of several jurisdictions within Canada (at the time of publication) regulating the duties of a landlord and tenant to maintain and repair certain parts of leased property (and associated properties, such as elevators, hallways, parking stalls, etc.). Issues that must be addressed when considering these rules are […]

Entry of Landlord; Locks and Security Devices, Research Paper 2

This three-part paper, deals with the different rules that govern who may or may not enter leased property. Each section surveys the statutory provisions (regulating the issue in question) of various jurisdictions throughout Canada at the time of publication, and lists issues relating to the question covered in the section. The first section of the paper addresses the right of the tenant to exclude entry by the landlord and his or her agents. The second […]