The Mission of the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) is to create confidence by delivering assured land title and land survey systems essential to the property market and economic foundation of British Columbia.
The Surveyor General has responsibilities under various BC statutes to address specified survey-related matters. Certain survey processes require an application to be made to the Office of the Surveyor General. The following information describes the main types of applications handled by the Office of the Surveyor General.
Land Surveyors: See the Application Checklist to help you prepare a complete application package for five common types of applications to the Surveyor General.
Land abutting a body of water may be subject to erosion and deposition (accretion). Waterfront property owners do not own land created by a sudden deposit of material by flood or by an artificial interference of natural processes, or by the addition of fill. However, the waterfront property owner does own land that has accreted to the upland through gradual and imperceptible natural deposition. This natural deposition must be an outward growth from the upland. This resultant outward growth can also be the result of the receding of the shoreline. Conversely, when the upland is eroded gradually and imperceptibly, the property lost becomes part of the foreshore or bed of the adjacent water body and becomes Crown-owned land.
Where erosion or accretion has occurred, the title to the upland will not reflect the actual extent of ownership until a new certificate of title is issued, based upon an up-to-date survey prepared by a BC land surveyor.
In order to legitimize accreted land into an upland title, an application must be made to the Surveyor General Division by a BC land surveyor in accordance with Circular Letter 395. Upon receipt of an application, the Surveyor General makes a referral to the local Integrated Land Management Bureau office and to any local jurisdiction that requests to be on the accretion application referral list. Once all the referral comments are received, the Surveyor General reviews the relevant facts of the application and then renders a statutory decision. If the application is approved, a BC land surveyor will conduct a field survey and prepare a plan consolidating the accretion with the upland property. The Surveyor General must endorse this plan to accept the accretion. Once the plan is deposited in the Land Title Office, a new certificate of title is raised based upon the extent of the land defined in the new plan.
Accretion application packages must include a completed Application Checklist.
Certain old plans of waterfront property improperly depict the location of the natural boundary. For a variety of reasons it is necessary, at times, to properly define the extent of the property. This is achieved by a BC land surveyor who prepares a new plan of the subject property, on which is shown the natural boundary in its correct location. The plan must be endorsed by the Surveyor General agreeing to the newly-defined location of the present natural boundary.
The plan is ultimately deposited in the Land Title Office. Upon deposit of this plan, a new certificate of title is raised, based upon the extent of the land defined by the new plan.
In order to obtain Surveyor General approval of the new plan, an application must be made to the Surveyor General by a BC land surveyor. The application must prove that the present natural boundary is in the same location today as it was at the time of the original survey.
Application packages for Natural Boundary Adjustments must include a completed Application Checklist.
c) Accretion or Natural Boundary Adjustments on Statutory Right of Way Plans
From time to time, when a right of way plan is being surveyed it is discovered that the true location of the present natural boundary of a property being crossed does not agree with the location of that boundary shown on the plan upon which title is based. If the difference in the location of the present natural boundary is attributable to either accretion or an incorrectly defined natural boundary on the plan upon which title is based, a land surveyor may proceed with an application under section 118 of the Land Title Act.
These applications to the Surveyor General are similar to applications made under section 94 of the Land Title Act. Should the application be successful, then the right- of-way plan may include the accreted land or may extend to the true natural boundary, whichever is the case.
See (a) above for more information about accretions and natural boundary adjustments.
Organizations and, in certain circumstances, individuals, need to hold statutory rights-of-way over land for purposes ancillary to their businesses. In order to hold a statutory right of way, a body must first be deemed able to hold a statutory right of way. The Surveyor General, on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Lands, has been entrusted with the role of deeming bodies able to hold statutory rights of way.
No fee is charged for this service.
For a list of bodies currently deemed able to hold statutory rights of way, click here.
The Land Title Act allows approved societies, as well as organizations and individuals in certain circumstances, to hold covenants over land for conservation purposes. In order to hold a conservation covenant, a body must first be deemed able to hold a covenant. The Surveyor General, on behalf of the Minister, has been entrusted with the role of deeming bodies able to hold covenants.
A conservation covenant is a voluntary agreement to conserve land or protect features relating to it. It is an agreement between a private land owner and a designated individual or organization registered on the land title and is legally binding on the future owners of the property. A covenant may include provisions that restrict the use of, or require that improvements be maintained on the property for the protection of natural, historical, cultural, architectural, environmental, heritage, scientific, wildlife or plant-life values.
Section 219 covenants are an inexpensive alternative to Crown acquisitions and provide the public with the means to preserve land or its special attributes.
Highlights of Conservation Covenants
Individuals and non-government organizations are able to register a covenant on private lands.
Covenants can be created for specific purposes, such as protection, preservation or enhancement, and may be of a positive or negative nature.
Responsibility for enforcing non-government covenants cannot be turned over to the Crown without consent, thus ensuring the government won't acquire unwanted costs and obligations.
Administration and paperwork has been kept simple. All that is needed for registration at the Land Title Office is a statement of designation by the Surveyor General on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture and Lands.
All existing covenants entered into under the Heritage Conservation Act are ensured of continuation under the amended Land Title Act.
The legislation clarifies the basis for evaluation of properties under the Assessment Act that are subject to a covenant under the amended Land Title Act.
Applying for Designation
Anyone interested in registering and holding a Section 219 covenant must first apply to the Surveyor General Division of the LTSA to receive approval for appropriate designation. Section 219 covenants may be reassigned through legal transfer, however, the individual or agency receiving the assignment must be designated prior to registration.
Applications should include:
A statement of whether the applicant is an individual, organization or society. If applying on behalf of a corporation or society, the applicant should indicate the date of incorporation, the incorporation registration number of record (available from the Registrar of Companies), and whether the corporation or society is non-profit in nature.
A description of the applicant's business and how it relates to holding covenant(s);
Detailed reasons for requesting designation or assignment.
A description of the nature of the covenant(s) which the applicant wishes to hold;
The legal description of the lands subject to the covenant (where application is not for a general designation or assignment . . . see below).
A statement of whether or not any of the lands subject to the covenant lie within an Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) designation under the Agricultural Land Commission Act, 2002.
Registered non-profit organizations or societies can apply for general designation or assignment so they may enter into covenants without requiring designation or approval of assignment for each covenant.
Individual Designations
Persons or organizations that are not of a non-profit nature may apply for individual designations or assignments in order to protect specific parcels of private land.
Designations within Agricultural Land Reserve
The designate must obtain the written consent of the Agricultural Land Commission prior to registering a covenant affecting title to lands that lie within an Agricultural Land Reserve as designated under the Agricultural Land Commission Act.
The onus of proof, that lands to be encumbered by a covenant lie within an Agricultural Land Reserve, must be verified and attested to by the designate.
Rather than initially posting every corner of every new parcel created on a subdivision plan, a surveyor may place only a small number of control monuments, if he or she elects to proceed under section 69 of the Land Title Act. Under this section, all parcel corners are given a mathematical relationship to the control monuments until servicing of the subdivision is complete, at which time the surveyor must post all the parcel corners.
The posting requirement is generally deferred for one year; however, extensions may be granted where development has been delayed.
The benefit of proceeding with a block outline survey is that a subdivision plan can be prepared and deposited in the Land Title Office and the subdivision can be developed. Once the subdivision is developed, the posts are placed at every parcel corner. Posting after development results in a far higher long-term survival rate for survey posts.
Approval to use section 69 of the Land Title Act must be obtained from the Surveyor General.
Application packages for Block Outline Surveys must include a completed Application Checklist.
Under section 108 of the Land Title Act, certain titled, submerged lands will automatically revert to the Crown, without the approval of the owner of the land, upon the deposit of a subdivision or reference plan which redefines that titled land. For example, if an owner of a waterfront parcel of land excavates a boat basin which is connected to the sea, and then has a land surveyor prepare a subdivision plan of his property, ownership of the boat basin may revert to the Crown upon deposit of the plan.
The actions of section 108 can be negated by a Minister's order prepared pursuant to section 108(3) of the Land Title Act.
The owner of the land or his land surveyor may make applications for an exemption order to the Surveyor General.
The easterly 20 miles of Vancouver Island between Goldstream Creek and near Campbell River was granted to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company in a series of land grants occurring between 1884 and 1925. This area is commonly referred to as the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) Railway Land Grant.
Current owners of land within the E&N grant area may wish to sell portions of their lands from time to time. In order to sell a portion of the E&N lands, that portion must have a certificate of title in the Land Title Office. Before a title to the relevant portion of the E&N lands can be raised, that portion must first be defined. The definition of the relevant portion may be done by an explanatory plan prepared in accordance with section 70 of the Land Title Act.
Approval to use section 70 of the Land Title Act must be obtained from the Surveyor General.
The province allocates Crown land to an individual or organization by issuing a Crown grant. Generally, attached to a Crown grant is a sketch plan of the subject land. These sketch plans often show features such as roads and creeks which, although they are within the subject property, are not alienated with the grant. From time to time, a creek dries up and disappears and roads become redundant.
In these cases, the land owner can apply, through their land surveyor, to the Surveyor General to have a former creek or a superfluous road placed within their title. The Surveyor General, on behalf of the Minister, has the ability to transfer these entities pursuant to section 58 of the Land Act.
When a land surveyor is undertaking a survey of untitled Crown land they must obtain from the Surveyor General a clear and unique legal description for the parcel i.e., a parcel designation. When assigning a parcel designation the Surveyor General may also establish special survey requirements in order to maintain or enhance the province's survey structure.
When land surveyors complete a survey of Crown land, they must submit the survey plan to the Surveyor General for confirmation and deposit in the province's Crown Land Registry.
k) Public Road Allowances
Section 79, Land Act (Road dedications on Crown land) Section 80, Land Act (Road dedications on Crown land to gain access to private land being subdivided)
From time to time, a municipality, the Crown, or an individual may need to dedicate a road over a portion of Crown land to enable access.
Before the Surveyor General can approve a plan dedicating a road, authorization to establish a road must be obtained from the Integrated Land Management Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Landsâ€"contact FrontCounter BC to make a roadway application.
l) Application Checklist
The Surveyor General Division has developed the following downloadable checklists to assist land surveyors in preparing complete application submissions for:
The checklists are available in either MS-Word or Adobe PDF formats (see below). The MS-Word format has embedded checkboxes for each item that the user can check off electronically if desired.
