Dower Act: Life Estate, Report for Discussion 37

The Dower Act protects a spouse if the couple’s home is owned by the other spouse. It applies to a “homestead” which is a parcel of land where the owner lives or has lived. The Dower Act became law in Alberta over one hundred years ago. The last substantial reforms were in 1948. The Alberta Law Reform Institute’s (ALRI) research and consultation shows that the Dower Act functions largely as intended, but it is outdated […]

November 24, 2021

Dower Act: Consent to Disposition, Report for Discussion 36

The Dower Act protects a spouse if the couple’s home is owned by the other spouse. It applies to a “homestead” which is a parcel of land where the owner lives or has lived. The Dower Act became law in Alberta over one hundred years ago. The last substantial reforms were in 1948. The Alberta Law Reform Institute’s (ALRI) research and consultation shows that the Dower Act functions largely as intended, but it is outdated […]

November 23, 2021

Adverse Possession and Lasting Improvements to Wrong Land, Final Report 115

Adverse possession allows a person who has occupied another’s land for at least 10 years to potentially claim ownership of that land. The occupation must be exclusive, open, notorious and continuous. Adverse possession is commonly, but mistakenly, referred to as squatter’s rights. ALRI is recommending that the law of adverse possession be abolished in Alberta. This change would prevent new claims from being brought in the future, but would not affect claims that have been […]

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

Contracts for the Sale and Purchase of Land: Purchasers’ Remedies, Final Report 97

Under the present law of Alberta, specific performance of a contract for the sale and purchase of land will not be granted to the purchaser under the contract unless the land is unique in the sense that no substitute is readily available. In 1996, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Semelhago v Paramadevan, said that it is no longer the case that every piece of real estate is unique and that it therefore cannot be assumed […]

October 29, 2009

Contracts for the Sale and Purchase of Land: Purchasers’ Remedies, Report for Discussion 21

This report addresses the current state of the law (as of the time of publication) concerning situations where a purchaser of land has fulfilled his or her obligations under the purchase contract, but the vendor has not transferred the land. In Semelhago v. Paramadevan, [1996] 2 SCR 415, the Supreme Court of Canada determined that in most such cases, the purchaser will be entitled to damages, but not specific performance (i.e., receipt of the land in […]

March 2, 2009

Occupiers’ Liability: Recreational Use of Land, Final Report 81

The Minister of Justice requested this report regarding the liability of occupiers of land to recreational users permitted on their premises without payment of a fee. This is not a typical ALRI report, as a recommendation as to whether this aspect of occupiers’ liability law should be reformed is not given due to a lack of adequate information about the potential problem to be solved and resources to compile that information. The report suggests matters […]

February 29, 2000

Proposals for a Land Recording and Registration Act for Alberta, Final Report 69 Volume 2

October 29, 1993

Proposals for a Land Recording and Registration Act for Alberta, Final Report 69 Volume 1

Volume 1 of this report recommends that a new Land Recording and Registration Act be enacted to provide a modern and more efficient system of land recording and registration for Alberta. The new Act would replace the Land Titles Act (Alberta). The report contains a draft of the proposed Act. Parts 1 to 8 of the draft Act establish a reformed system of recording and registering interests in land which preserves the beneficial aspects of the existing system of […]

Section 195 of the Land Titles Act, Final Report 63

This report recommends that section 195 of the Land Titles Act be amended so that purchasers may rely on the Land Titles Office register. The amended section should make it clear that actual or constructive notice of an off-register interest does not affect a non-fraudulent purchaser who acquires an interest from the registered or caveated owner of the interest. This report contains a draft of an amended section 195. Section 195 protects the purchaser against finding that […]

February 1, 1993