Land Surveying

The certificate of location

The certificate of location consists of a report and a property plan in which we find a wealth of valuable information when preparing to buy a property: cadastral identification of the building, sustained or exercised encroachments, compliance with municipal regulations – particularly with respect to zoning – and whether the property is subject to any right-of-way, and if so, where they are located. Only a land surveyor is authorized to make this document.

Certification of rental spaces

The land surveyor executes the measurements required to calculate the areas for spaces to be given or taken on lease in commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. The results are then presented in the form of a report (measurement certificate) that certifies their accuracy.

Divided or undivided co-ownership

The land surveyor plays an important role if an owner wishes to convert a building into a joint ownership. If converting into divided co-ownership, the description of the fractions contains the cadastral description of the private portions and the common portions of the immovable. It also contains a description of the real rights affecting or existing in favor of the immovable. If converting into undivided co-ownership, the land surveyor prepares a certificate of location that states the area and/or measurements for each room, that would be necessary or practical for the ownership agreement.
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Technical description

The technical description concerns among others the boundaries, the administrative borders, easements, the agricultural zoning limits, prior agreements to real estate transactions etc. It describes each right that limits the parcel of land by its length and direction, besides indicating the ins (neighboring lands widthwise) and outs (neighboring lands lengthwise). There is also the area. This description is accompanied by a plan showing those boundaries and the neighboring property owners.

Cadastral operations

The cadastre involves representing a property or lot on a plan and identifying it using a distinct lot number. The plan indicates the dimensions, the surface area, the shape and the location of the property relating to neighboring properties.

Staking

The staking out is a set of operations carried out by the land surveyor in order to indicate, by means of markers, a professional opinion regarding the boundaries of a land. It is valid for the only benefit of the person who has requested it. A land surveyor will not lay out markers if he notices that a boundary previously determined is creating confusion for the occupation of the premises. However, the staking out operation and the setting of the boundaries remain valid and the staking out certificate issued is then accompanied by a report which explains the situation.

Site plan

This plan is similar to the certificate of location. However, it is mainly used for personal and specific matters by a landlord. For example, to find out the positioning of a specific feature of the land or for a permit request.