Do You Need a Survey Certificate to Buy a Home in British Columbia?

When you buy or sell a home in British Columbia, you will hear about the title, the legal description and sometimes a survey or building location certificate. It is easy to mix these up, and people often ask whether a survey is something they must have.

This article explains what each document does in plain terms, what the title record can and cannot tell you about boundaries, and how encroachment and right-of-way concerns are generally dealt with. Whether you need a survey for a particular purchase depends on your lender, your contract and the property, so a lawyer can confirm it for you.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

What a survey or building location certificate is

In plain words, a survey certificate or building location certificate is a document prepared by a surveyor. It generally shows where the house and other structures sit on the lot compared with the property lines. It is a snapshot of how the land is used on the ground.

That is different from a title. A title is a government record of who owns the land and what is registered against it. Survey standards and the approval of legal survey plans are part of the work of the Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA), which runs both the land title and survey systems.

Whether a certificate is required is not a single rule you can rely on here. A mortgage lender, the contract of purchase and sale, or an existing survey on file may all affect it. Ask your lawyer or notary early, so there is time to order one if it is wanted.

What the title can and cannot tell you

A title shows the registered owner or owners in fee simple, the legal description, the parcel identifier and the charges, liens and interests registered against the property. It reflects the register at a specific point in time.

An indefeasible title that is in force and uncancelled is conclusive evidence of the registered owner's title, subject to listed exceptions such as existing grant conditions, highways, and fraud in which the registered owner took part.

A title does not show a building's position on the lot. It also does not tell you whether a registered charge can be enforced, because registering a charge is not a decision by the registrar that the charge is enforceable. That is one reason buyers look at the title together with other documents.

Easements, rights of way and covenants that affect the land

Boundary questions are often really questions about registered rights. Several kinds can limit where you can build or how you can use the land.

• Easement: created by a registered instrument or shown on a registered plan. The dominant tenement is the land that benefits.
• Statutory right of way: registration creates a charge on the land in favour of the grantee, and its terms bind and benefit the grantor, the grantee and their successors in title unless a contrary intention appears.
• Section 219 covenant: a covenant about use of land, building, subdivision and separate sale that is enforceable against the covenantor and the covenantor's successors in title.

A right of way that covers only part of the land is endorsed only against that portion. One that includes access rights over all of the land is registered against the whole property, unless the applicant applies for two rights of way. Reading the registered documents themselves, not just the list of charges, is how you learn what they actually allow.

If a building crosses a line or a registered right

An encroachment is when a structure, fence or other improvement sits over a boundary or into an area covered by someone else's right. These situations are fact-specific, and a lawyer can tell you which options fit.

In encroachment cases the court may grant an easement under section 36 of the Property Law Act. Separately, a person interested in land may apply to the Supreme Court to modify or cancel an easement, a statutory right of way, or a restrictive or other covenant burdening the land.

The court may make that order if the application is not premature and a listed ground applies. Examples are that the charge is obsolete because of changes to the land or neighbourhood, that the benefited parties agreed, or that the change will not injure the person entitled to the benefit. The court may also require the applicant to pay compensation to anyone damaged by the order.

A s. 219 covenant can be modified by the holder and the landowner together, or discharged by the holder alone. The landowner cannot discharge it alone.

What to do next

• Order the current title and read every registered charge, then get copies of the documents behind them.
• Ask your lawyer or notary whether your lender or contract calls for a survey or building location certificate.
• If you are selling, check whether an existing certificate is still accurate after any renovations, additions or new fences.
• Walk the property and note anything near the boundary that looks uncertain, such as sheds, fences, driveways or hedges.
• Raise any boundary, right of way or covenant concern before you remove conditions, while you still have room to negotiate.

A lawyer or a surveyor can look at your specific property and explain what a certificate would show and what to do about anything it turns up.

Frequently asked questions