Condominiums may only be registered on lands which have absolute title under the Land Titles Act. If title to the land is not absolute, the title must be converted. This is a public procedure where the survey plan (created by AOV) is circulated to all parties that may have an interest in the land with the notice of application prepared by a lawyer. The circulated parties need to sign off that they do not have interest in the property to be converted. Once all circulated parties have signed off, the title to the property can be converted to absolute. AOV will research the subject property in the local land registry office, establish boundaries, define existence of any easements whether registered apparent on the ground, rights-of-way or encroachments, monumentation to current standards, compute accurate areas, and prepare the plan for the above noted circulation.

A topographic survey illustrates elevation details, property building structures, easements etc. and provides the basis for the draft plan of condominium. AOV will prepare the plan for circulation to the architect and engineers for building and site design.

The draft plan of condominium is prepared based on architectural plans, client objectives and legislative criteria. The plan is attached to the application form prepared by the developer and submitted to the local planning authority for approval.

Often the development of a condominium will require the vertical separation of various rights and ownership. These configurations must be thought of and established prior to the registration of the condominium. To facilitate these rights, stratified reference plans need to be created to describe condominium boundaries, easement rights-of-way and, if necessary, various phases of the project.

AOV has a long history in the development industry in Ottawa. We are able to offer the calculation and establishment of building corners, grid lines and offset lines as required to ensure conformation with all setback requirements as prescribed by the architectural site plan, and to locate the buildings for construction. AOV can prepare a surveyors real property report of the foundation at an appropriate stage of construction.

Surveyors prepare the description for the condominium. This consists of a series of plans and sections depicting the condominium property boundary, the appurtenant and servient rights, and the units and the exclusive use areas on all building levels as prescribed by the Condominium Act 1998. The dimensions and boundaries of all units and exclusive use areas must be illustrated on the plans. AOV will also prepare Schedule C, and review other schedules required to complete the declaration.