Property Rights Advocate Office

This advocate office listens to Albertans’ concerns about property rights, and communicates these concerns to government.

Our office can’t give you legal advice or represent you in court.

For legal assistance, consult a lawyer.

Overview

You can contact us to voice your concerns about property rights. We will then bring those concerns to our colleagues in government ministries, as well as the elected MLAs on the committee. From there, government lawmakers make decisions on what actions should be taken in government in order to make life better when it comes to property rights.

Our office advocates for fairness and equity in regards to property rights that involve ‘real property,’ such as:

  • land and house rights
  • abandoned or operating oil and gas infrastructure
  • neighbour-to-neighbour disputes
  • municipal planning and zoning decisions
  • mineral surface rights
  • grazing leases
  • environmental contamination

When you call us, you can expect us to:

  • listen to and document your concerns
  • make recommendations, based on your concerns, in our annual report for Alberta’s legislators
  • raise awareness about your property rights concerns and share them with:
    • non-government organizations
    • Alberta government ministries
    • an all-party committee of the Alberta legislature
  • relay information on the progress of the government’s recommended actions, based on our initial recommendations

Direct assistance

While we don’t provide direct assistance involving property rights disputes, we do listen to your concerns and bring them before government.

For direct assistance, you can contact the service that best fits your situation:

Laws governing property rights

Alberta laws that govern your property rights include these examples:

Property Rights Advocate Act (PDF, 350 KB)
Alberta Land Stewardship Act (PDF, 380 KB)
Condominium Property Amendment Act, 2014 (not proclaimed)
Expropriation Act (PDF, 420 KB)
Municipal Government Act (2.1 MB)
Responsible Energy Development Act
Surface Rights Act

Publications

Property Rights Advocate Office: At-a-glance
A Guide to Property Rights in Alberta (PDF, 787 KB)
Review of the Alberta Property Rights Advocate Office 2016 Annual Report (PDF, 436 KB)
Review of the Alberta Property Rights Advocate Office 2015 Annual Report (PDF, 257 KB)
Final Report - Review of the Alberta Property Rights Advocate Office 2014 Annual Report (PDF, 3.2 MB)
Review of the Alberta Property Rights Advocate Office 2012 and 2013 Annual Reports (PDF, 379 KB)

Annual report

Each year, we submit our annual report to the Alberta legislature so that:

  • our legislators can discuss the recommendations made by the Property Rights Advocate
  • the legislature can recommend actions government should take to make property rights better

Read the legislative committee’s latest report (PDF, 436 KB)
View our reports to the Alberta legislature

Book a presentation

We’re happy to speak about the work of the Property Rights Advocate Office at your event.

Contact our office to book a presentation.

Contact us

Hours: 8:15 am - 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)

Toll free: 780-638-3265 (in Alberta)
Fax: 780-427-2789
Email: propertyrights@gov.ab.ca
Connect on Twitter

Mailing Address:
Property Rights Advocate Office
Alberta Justice and Solicitor General
1st Floor, Bowker Building
9833 - 109 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta  T5K 2E8