Condo Law for Albertans is a project of the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA) (legal name: Legal Resource Centre), a non-profit organization whose mission is to help people understand the law as it affects their everyday lives. We develop plain language online tools, publications, and presentations to help people recognize and respond to their legal rights and responsibilities.
Alberta does not have a land transfer tax on the sale of real property, nor should the province contemplate bringing one in. Instead, if the Alberta government seeks new tax revenue, it should institute a sales tax or raise property taxes.
This paper examines previous research on land transfer taxes in Canada, Australia and Europe, and concludes that such a tax would only add its own volatility to that inherent to Alberta’s resource revenue-based economy. Calculations show that a one-per-cent land transfer tax in Alberta would have yielded between $460 million and $500 million for provincial coffers in 2017. However appealing that amount of revenue sounds, the tax’s benefits do not outweigh its drawbacks.
Poised to implement its own Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE), Alberta is in an ideal position to develop regulations that address the program’s main issues by learning from other jurisdictions’ experiences with PACE.
The goal of PACE is to help Albertans live greener by providing financing for clean energy upgrades to their properties. The funding would take the form of a loan repaid through an annual amount added to their property taxes.
A 2018 survey reported that 68 per cent of Albertans believe the provincial economy would benefit by transitioning to lower carbon energy sources. Nova Scotia’s experience has borne out PACE’s intrinsic value – homes with PACE-financed upgrades in that province reduced their total energy consumption by 33 per cent, thus saving approximately 10 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year for each home.
This paper examines the experiences with PACE in both the U.S. and Canada and offers a framework for creating an Alberta model. Still at square one with newly enacted legislation, the Alberta government must address through regulation such issues as the size of PACE loans, eligibility requirements for property owners, what types of environmental upgrades will be permitted and even the interest rate on loans funding the program.
It’s every homeowner’s nightmare: You buy a home, move in, then find out there’s an abandoned gas well beneath, leaking and contaminating your property.
Think it can’t happen to you? It can. According to the Energy Resources Conservation Board in November 2012 over 150,000 abandoned wellsites dotted the Alberta landscape, making it essential that buyers do their homework.
“These nightmares happen because of gaps between what Albertans should know, could know and actually do know about their environment,” says Adam Driedzic, Staff Counsel and author of a new Environmental Law Centre publication, What Lies Beneath? Access to Environmental Information in Alberta.
The government of Alberta is about to institute a major change in its condominium laws. Along with changes to the law itself, this provides an opportunity to review the mechanism through which Alberta consumers are educated regarding this complex legislation.
This document is the result of a study funded by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation in which the program in Real Estate and Urban Economics at the Alberta School of Business, scanned and examined best practices around the world regarding communicating key aspects of condominium legislation and services to industry participants with a specific focus on condominium buyers and owners.
The initial project was a pilot for a nation-wide qualitative study of the attitudes and opinions of private Landlords to investigate their potential to help solve homelessness. However, it became clear in the preliminary stages of research, that a greater understanding was needed around the environmental factors affecting housing of formerly homeless tenants, particularly with regards to the scattered site housing model employed by the Alex’s housing programs, HomeBase and Pathways to Housing.
Formerly the Legal Resource Centre. A series of brochures produced addressing numerous concerns of Alberta Seniors with regards to rental and home ownership. These include Life Leases, Renting out a Room in Your Home, Renting a Condominium, Reverse Mortgages.
The Foothill’s land trust developed these materials to enhance a small land trust’s sustainability and operations. Templates developed include: (1) Policies and Procedures (2) Legal Defence Costs (3) Conservation Easement (4) Baseline Template (5) Baseline documentation. This resource is available as a hard copy in the AREF office.
The intent of the recommendations in this report is to ensure that properties used as illegal drug operations produce no adverse health effects or building code implications that will hinder their resale or habitation. This report describes particular contaminants and hazards of marijuana grow operations and methamphetamine labs. Recommendations for education, communication, organization, roles and responsibilities, and reporting are also included in this report.
Residential builders and REALTOR®s have been neglected in water efficiency research. But these groups can be a highly influential and there are some exciting examples of innovation in Ontario, the Canadian West and in California. This two-year research project investigates the sample groups’ deep beliefs and values – their tacit knowledge. The results will be used to contribute to effective policy for residential water efficiency.
The report investigated Calgary’s housing affordability since 1980 and offered comparison with other Canadian cities, discussed the factors that affect housing prices, and provided recommendations to improve the affordability of Calgary’s residential real estate market.
Grant #: 2007-40
Author: The Chamber of Commerce
Year: 2008
Format: pdf
LawNow is a bi-monthly magazine that provides unique insights into the changing social conditions by examining and reflecting on contemporary issues from the perspective of the law. This edition featured consumer information on real estate. A hard copy of this resource is available in the AREF office.
Summary of the joint review between Urban Development Institute Calgary (UDI) and the City of Calgary for the building and development review process.
This resource is available as a hard-copy in CD format at the AREF office.
This website offers comprehensive information on laws for landlords and tenants in Alberta. The information contained on this site was correct at the time it was posted. Be aware that it is possible there may have been subsequent changes, which make the information outdated at the time you are accessing it.
Land use planning is a complex process. The report is designed to help connect the fiscal land use components of municipal decision making in a straight forward and cost-effective way. Red Deer county sits at Alberta’s centre. It is one of the fastest growing regions in Alberta. The county looked at the cost of community services study to better plan for the future.
An overview of the community consultation process from idea inception through development completion. It also offers information, tools, resources and encouragement to enhance the process. This resource is available in hard copy format in the AREF office.
A package of REALTOR® safety educational materials to educate the real estate industry about the personal safety risks involved with being a REALTOR®, while at the same time assist brokers in complying with provincial legislation. This resource is available in hard copy format in the AREF office.
A document outlining the proposed detailed fiscal framework of how a Community Economic Development Investment fund could operate in Alberta. This resource is available in hard copy format in the AREF office.
A research document maintaining ecological integrity in a multi-jurisdictional area. This resource is available in hard copy format in the AREF office.
An examination of the potential legal liability facing the REALTOR® with regard to the new environmental regulation. This resource is available in hard copy format in the AREF office.
