On February 29, 2024, the Government of Alberta released its proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year, indicating the potential for significant changes to registration fees for transfers of land and mortgages at the Alberta Land Titles Office (the LTO), as previously noted in our Cassels Comment released on March 8, 2024.
On September 27, 2024, the Government of Alberta announced that the registration fee increases will take into effect on October 20, 2024 – the date that the amendments to the Land Titles Act1 are proclaimed – and will displace the current fees as set under the Tariff of Fees Regulation2.
The costs for registration will increase from $2.00 per $5,000.00 of the value of transfers of land and $1.50 per $5,000.00 of the value for mortgage registrations to $5.00 per $5,000.00 of the value for registrations of transfers of land3 and mortgages4 (the Increased Fees). These fees are to be charged in addition to an existing $50.00 base fee. The Increased Fees represent the first fee increase for LTO registrations since 2019.
The Increased Fees will materially increase the cost of registering transfers of land and mortgages in Alberta. Below is an example illustrating the impact of a $10,000,000.00 property with an 80% loan-to-value ratio mortgage before and after October 20, 2024:
The Government of Alberta has indicated that all submissions of transfers of land and mortgages received by the LTO on or after October 20, 2024 will be subject to the Increased Fees. However, any submissions of transfers of land and mortgages received by the LTO before October 20, 2024, subject to certain exceptions, will likely be charged according to the current, lower fees.5
KEY TAKEAWAYS
There are material increases to the registration fees at the LTO that will come into effect on October 20, 2024, that will have significant impacts on the costs for real estate transactions across the province. As long as submitted transfers of land and mortgages are submitted to the LTO before October 20, 2024, subject to certain exceptions, it appears that the LTO will charge based on the current, lower fees.
If you are looking for more information or are seeking to close your real estate transaction in advance of the change in registration fees, please contact our Real Estate & Development Group.
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1 Land Titles Act, RSA 2000, c L-4, as amended by Section 5 of the Financial Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, SA 2024, c 4 (the FSAA).
2 FSAA, s 5(6).
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid, s 5(5).
5 Ibid, ss 5(5) and 5(6).