Easements on an Alberta Property Title: What They Mean for You

Finding an easement on your title can be unsettling, especially if you are about to buy or sell. It means someone else has a right connected to your land, and you need to know how far that right goes.

This article explains in plain terms how easements and related rights work in Alberta, whether they can be changed or removed, and how they can affect use and resale. Your exact document controls, so a lawyer should read it.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

What an easement is and how it shows up

In plain words, an easement is a right for someone else to use part of your land for a limited purpose, such as running a utility line or crossing to reach another property. It appears on the certificate of title, which shows registered interests such as easements. You own the land subject to the interests endorsed on your title.

In Alberta, no right of access, use of light or other easement can be acquired by prescription, so an easement must be created by registered instrument or statute rather than long use.

To get a current title search you need one of a legal description, a land identification number code (LINC) or a title number. Titles can be searched through the Spatial Information System (SPIN2) or a registry agent, and since May 29, 2025 you can also search and pay for titles in the Alberta Registry for Land Online (ARLO). Screens and steps may change as these systems develop, so follow the instructions shown when you search.

Common types you may see

• Utility rights of way: where an owner grants the Crown or a corporation rights for purposes such as utilities, pipelines or drainage, the instrument can be registered, and the right runs with the land even if the grantee owns no benefited land.
• Encroachment agreements: a registered agreement binds later owners as if it were an easement.
• Party wall agreements: registered agreements whose rights and covenants run with the land.
• Restrictive covenants: rules about how land may be used, registered against one parcel for the benefit of another.

Some matters affect land without being on the title at all, such as public highways and rights of way granted under Alberta law. A search reflects only what has been registered, so interests can also exist that you will not see on it.

Once a certificate of title has been granted, an instrument does not pass an estate or interest in the land unless it is executed and registered under the Land Titles Act. A lease of three years or less is an exception and can pass without registration. A registered instrument becomes operative according to its tenor and intent.

Can it be moved or discharged?

The Registrar must cancel an easement, restrictive covenant, party wall or encroachment registration on production of a prescribed discharge signed by the registered owner of the dominant tenement, meaning the land that benefits. An affected owner can also apply for the Registrar to cancel such an instrument.

A utility right of way that has been mortgaged or encumbered cannot be surrendered without the mortgagee's or encumbrancee's consent. Otherwise the grantee may surrender it by registered instrument.

Besides the discharge route above, a registered restrictive covenant can also be modified or discharged by court order, including where it conflicts with a land use bylaw or statutory plan, if that is in the public interest. Whether a particular easement can be moved depends on the document and the people involved, so a lawyer should review it and prepare any paperwork.

You may also see a caveat on title protecting an easement, party wall agreement, encroachment agreement or certain restrictive covenants that name a dominant tenement. That kind of caveat may be withdrawn only by the registered owner of the dominant tenement. A caveat protecting a restrictive covenant running with the land is not subject to the usual lapse process and may be modified or discharged only by court order.

Effect on use and resale

Later owners are deemed to have notice of a registered covenant that runs with the land and are bound by it. A buyer takes the land with these burdens, so expect questions about them during a sale. Calling a covenant 'running with the land' does not make it run if its nature or wording would not otherwise allow it.

A registered restrictive covenant has a memorandum entered on the certificates of title of both the burdened parcel and the benefited parcel, so it can be traced from either title.

Municipal bylaws and development permits also affect building near easements, and those sit outside the Land Titles Act. Ask your municipality before you build, fence or plant over a right of way.

What to do next

• Get a current title search and a copy of the registered easement document.
• Read who holds the right, what it covers and where it runs.
• Check the survey or plan to see where it sits on the land.
• Look for any caveat or covenant memorandum on the title that relates to the easement.
• Ask whether a mortgagee has an interest that affects changes.
• Speak with a lawyer before building near it or before agreeing to a discharge.

Every easement is different, so how these rules apply to your property depends on your documents and situation. It is worth confirming the details with a lawyer before you decide anything.

Frequently asked questions