Officializing the new cadastral plan

Once the meetings have ended, the land surveying firm carries out new analyses in response to the requests for revision received from the property owners who attended them.

These analyses take several months. The land surveyor then submits the plan to the minister responsible for the cadastre, so that it can be made official, thereby ensuring a transition between the old and new cadastral plans.

The process leading to officialization of the cadastral renewal plan includes two periods during which the cadastral register cannot be changed, so that the minister responsible is able to update it.

This period covers 10 working days, during which no new applications for updates to the cadastre in the sector concerned can be submitted to the government.

Legal freeze

This period takes place over a period not exceeding 15 days, during which no property transactions are permitted in the sector concerned.

A legal freeze is confirmed six or seven weeks before it begins. It allows time for the land surveyor to finalize the work and for the Government to file the cadastral renewal plan in the register, to make it official.

During this period, the Government cannot accept any transactions affecting the lots concerned.

Once the plan has been officialized, the Government sends a copy of it to the clerk of the municipality concerned. Copies are not sent to property owners.

However, as a property owner, you may consult the plan online, using the interactive map of the cadastre of Québec, Infolot, or the Land Register of Québec.

For additional information, please contact the land information customer relations centre.

The coming into force of the new plan marks the end of the cadastral renewal work.

However, property owners who requested a revision of the work at the consultation meeting will receive a notice of amendment from the Government.

Once the cadastral renewal plan is official, a notice of amendment will automatically be sent to you if:

• you requested a new analysis at the meeting;
• your lot was affected by a change to a neighbouring lot;
• you purchased a lot in the sector covered by the work after the meeting was held. 

The notice of amendment includes a personalized document entitled Specific cadastral information on your property and an excerpt of the new plan (if amended). The land surveyor also explains the results of the additional analysis.

Please contact us if you have lost your notice of amendment or would like an English version of it.

By e-mail
cadastre@mrnf.gouv.qc.ca

By telephone
Toll-free: 1 888 733-3720

Please note that you will automatically receive an English version of the notice of amendment if you requested an English version of the notice of intention.

At any time after the coming into force of the plan resulting from the cadastral renewal work, a landowner who has reason to believe that his or her lot is not properly represented on the cadastre may, without charge, submit an application for a cadastral review.

To do this, you must complete the form entitled Application for a cadastral review (PDF 118 Kb) and enter the following information:

• The number of the lot to which your request applies.
• A detailed description of the presumed mistake, the supporting arguments and any supporting documents.

The duly completed form must be sent by e-mail or by regular mail to the address shown on the back.

For more information, refer to the Application for a cadastral review (PDF 383 Kb) leaflet.

The law provides that the cadastral plan is presumed accurate. However, it can be corrected as long as the arguments and documents presented justify it. Therefore, the application for a cadastral review must be supported by relevant explanations and documentation.

These documents may be, for example:

• A certificate of location
• A technical description
• A survey report
• Any other relevant document   

These documents may be forwarded to a government-mandated land surveyor for reference.

If your application is imprecise or insufficiently documented, the government may request additional information. Make sure you set out your arguments clearly.

For additional information, please contact the land information customer relations centre.

In the interest of fairness, the process put in place by the government is the same for all citizens. A copy of the application for a cadastral review is forwarded to the surveyor who carried out the renewal work, or to a surveyor mandated by the government, for further analysis.

The government’s role

The government’s role is to ensure that the mandated surveyor has taken the necessary steps, in the execution of his mandate, to carry out his land analysis, without judging or adhering to the outcome of his professional opinion.

Therefore, the government cannot impose on the mandated surveyor a professional opinion of any kind, including that of a surveyor hired by a landowner. Nor does it have the power to decide disputes about the existence or extent of a property right. That power lies with a court.

There are two possible outcomes to a request for review.

The cadastral plan is revised

The government ensures that the cadastral plan is updated to correct the situation, at no cost to the landowner. The revision will be motivated by a cadastral amendment report accompanied by an extract of the old and new cadastral plans. Any lot owner affected by this amendment will be notified in writing.

The cadastral plan is not revised

The cadastral plan will not be amended if the explanations and the documents presented do not provide sufficient justification. The landowner will receive a letter with an explanation and a description of the recourses available to him or her.

The issue may need to be resolved by boundary marking, prescription or other means recognized by law.

Additional recourses

If you are dissatisfied with the outcomes of your application for a cadastral plan review, you may make a second application, justifying the reasons for your disagreement. A new analysis will be performed.

Finally, if you are not satisfied with the conclusion of your second application, a last recourse is offered by the government. You can submit a request to the Cadastral Plan Review Committee. The mandate of this independent committee is to make a recommendation with respect to the property in question, based on the role of the cadastre and its scope. Refer to the Cadastral Plan Review Committee (PDF 392 Kb) leaflet for details.

Note

Depending on the fair exercise of its discretion, the government may, in certain cases, change the process for processing requests for review.

Other option

An owner may also commission, at his or her own expense, a land surveyor in private practice to amend the cadastre, with the agreement of neighbouring landowners.

The cadastre is a tool used to represent properties on a plan for the purpose of publishing rights. A dispute between neighbouring property owners concerning their respective property boundaries can generally not be resolved by an application for a cadastral review.

In circumstances such as these, the government can only recommend an amicable agreement with the assistance of qualified professionals. If an agreement cannot be reached, the courts must be asked to decide. 

Ask a professional in property-related matters, such as a land surveyor, a lawyer or a notary in your region, for advice.

The following tables present cumulative statistical data, from April 1, 1994, to March 31, 2024, on cadastral renewal contracts and homeowner interventions. It should be noted that the cadastral renewal work is nearing completion, with only two mandates (around 3,000 lots) to be completed in the coming months.