What's a Real Property Report, and Will You Need One to Sell Your North Shore Home?
An RPR shows exactly where your home's structures sit relative to your property lines. Here's when a buyer or lender might ask for one, and when you can skip it entirely.
“• A Real Property Report (RPR) is a legal survey document showing the location of a home’s structures relative to the property’s boundaries, prepared by a BC land surveyor.
• It’s not mandatory to sell, but buyers or their lenders sometimes request one, especially if there’s uncertainty about fences, additions, or setbacks.
• A strata property generally won’t need one at all, since the strata plan already defines the boundaries.
• If you don’t have a recent RPR and one gets requested, budget both time and cost for a surveyor before your completion date approaches.”
A Survey Document That Only Sometimes Comes Up
A Real Property Report is one of those documents that most homeowners never think about until a buyer, or their lender, specifically asks for one. It's worth understanding what it actually is and when it's likely to matter, so it doesn't become a last-minute scramble during your sale.
What an RPR actually shows
An RPR is a legal survey document, prepared by a licensed BC land surveyor, that shows exactly where a home's structures and improvements sit relative to the property's legal boundaries. That includes the house itself, but also things like fences, decks, sheds, additions, and driveways, anything physically on the property that could potentially encroach on a boundary line or violate a municipal setback requirement.
When it actually gets requested
It's not a mandatory document to sell a home in BC. Plenty of sales close without one ever being requested. But it does come up in specific situations:
A buyer's lender may require a current RPR as a condition of financing, particularly if there's any indication of an addition, a fence that seems close to a property line, or other features that raise a boundary question.
A buyer themselves might request one directly if they're planning renovations that require knowing the exact buildable area, or if something about the property's layout looks like it could be encroaching on a neighbour's lot.
Older North Shore properties are more likely to trigger this than newer ones, simply because additions, fences, and landscaping done years or decades ago, sometimes without a formal permit or survey update, are more likely to have drifted from the original lot lines than something built more recently under current permitting standards.
Strata properties are the exception
Strata properties generally don't need an RPR at all. Because the strata plan itself already legally defines the boundaries of common property and individual strata lots, the kind of boundary uncertainty an RPR resolves for a detached home simply doesn't apply the same way to a condo or townhome within a strata.
Get ahead of it if you might need one
If you're selling a detached home and don't currently have a recent RPR, and you suspect one might get requested (an older property, a known addition, a fence that might be close to a line), it's worth getting ahead of it. Getting a surveyor out takes real time, sometimes several weeks depending on availability, so if this comes up as a late request during your sale, it can genuinely delay your closing if you're starting from scratch at that point.
What This Means for You
If you're selling an older detached home, especially one with additions, a shed, or fencing you're not 100% certain sits within your legal lines, I'd rather check whether you already have a recent RPR before we list, so we're not scrambling to arrange one mid-transaction if a buyer's lender requests it.
Your Next Step.
An RPR isn't always needed, but when it is, the timeline matters. If you're preparing to sell and want to check whether this is likely to come up for your property, send me a message.
Related Reading
Is Any North Shore Real Estate Leasehold Instead of Freehold?
What's the Difference Between Completion, Adjustment, and Possession Dates When You Sell?
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Matt@RossettiRealty.ca
About Matt Council
Matt Council is a top-performing North Vancouver Realtor and West Van specialist with a background in finance. He moves beyond the sales hype to offer clients a data-driven, pressure-free approach to buying and selling real estate on the North Shore. Whether you are evaluating a presale in Lower Lonsdale or a detached home in Lynn Valley, Matt helps you understand the numbers behind the move.
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