Certificate of Location: Everything You Should Know

Governed by the Land Surveyors Act, a certificate of location consists of a report and a plan prepared by a land surveyor. Together they describe the current state of a property in relation to its titles, its cadastre, how it is actually occupied, and the laws and regulations that may affect it.

In a real estate transaction, the document is mandatory. It serves as an assurance that the property is compliant, or that any irregularities are on the table for every party to see.

In preparing it, the land surveyor accounts for:

– The description of the land;

– Servitudes (rights-of-way and easements);

– Encroachments;

– Constraints such as agricultural, flood, or protected zones;

– Compliance with municipal by-laws and government legislation.

Only professionals who are members of the Ordre des arpenteurs-géomètres du Québec (OAGQ) are authorized to produce one.

A certificate of location costs roughly $1,600, in line with the OAGQ suggested fee guide. The cost varies from one land surveyor to another.

The cost generally falls to the selling owner. If a valid certificate already exists and the buyer demands a new one in their promise to purchase despite no changes to the property, the buyer will have to cover the cost.

A certificate of location is valid for 10 years.

Even when no visible change has been made to the property, other developments can affect it: a new servitude, a right-of-way, a Hydro line, a change to a designated risk zone, and so on.

No law or regulation formally declares a certificate expired. That said, both the Chambre des notaires du Québec (CNQ) and the Organisme d’autoréglementation du courtage immobilier du Québec (OACIQ) require their members to insist on a certificate less than 10 years old, to ensure its information reflects the property as it rightfully stands at the time of the transaction.

Producing a certificate of location takes roughly 4 to 6 weeks. That timeline stretches when the market runs hot: during the 2021–2022 surge across Greater Montreal, some took as long as 10 weeks.

Worth noting: the notary handling your transaction needs access to the certificate of location at least 20 days before the signing of the deed of sale.

Since these delays are outside your control, don’t wait until the last minute to commission a land surveyor for a new certificate when you sell your home.

Homeowners and sellers are responsible for keeping the certificate of location obtained at the time of purchase, along with every earlier version and the associated titles.

At the point of sale, that means the seller is responsible for ordering a new certificate of location if the existing one is more than 10 years old, and for ensure to provide a copy to the buyer.

This is one of the documents to have in hand, current and ready, when you put your property on the market.

To get a copy, contact the land surveyor who produced it. If this land surveyor is no longer practicing, has retired, or has passed away, you’ll need to find out who holds their records.

This is a confidential document that they will share only with property owners, their clients, or designated parties, such as your real estate agent.

An experienced real estate broker or a general contractor can point you to references they trust.

Otherwise, the Ordre des arpenteurs-géomètres du Québec offers a directory to help you search.