Selling Commercial Property: Accessibility and Occupancy Records in Alberta

1. Inventory premises, uses and decision dates

List every building, suite, floor, common area and exterior route included in the sale or lease-up. Record current and former uses, vacancy, known layout changes, tenant work, public access and the effective date of the disclosure package.

A multi-tenant building can contain different approval histories and occupancy evidence. Do not apply one tenant's record to the whole property.

• Premises index
• Use chronology
• Permit register
• Plan register
• Fire and inspection record
• Missing-information schedule

2. Assemble source records

Collect available development and building permits, trade permits, approved plans, professional schedules, inspections, final records, occupancy permits, occupant-load records, fire-safety plans, accessibility decisions and material correspondence.

Index the authority, number, scope, premises, issue date, status and conditions. Preserve source files and identify which requested records were not located.

3. Compare documents with known changes

Create a dated chronology for additions, demising walls, mezzanines, washrooms, doors, exits, ramps, lifts, tenant improvements, seating, patios, equipment and changes in operation. Ask the appropriate professional to investigate material differences.

Do not assume work was unauthorized because a file is missing or approved because it exists physically. State the unresolved fact and the search or review completed.

4. Separate current evidence from buyer suitability

Describe the current or last documented occupancy accurately and require buyers or tenants to assess their own use, layout, load, accessibility, fire, health, licensing and construction path.

A seller can organize evidence but cannot promise that an incoming operator will receive a permit, relaxation, occupant load, licence or permission to open.

5. Control marketing claims and corrections

Tie any accessibility, capacity, approval or occupancy statement to the exact source and scope. Prefer precise document descriptions over conclusions, and make confidential records available only through an authorized data-room process.

Maintain a correction log. If later evidence changes a material statement, update the controlled package and notify transaction participants through the agreed process.

6. Allocate tenant and owner responsibilities

Reconcile leases, amendments and work agreements for accessibility, code upgrades, repairs, maintenance, snow and obstruction control, permits, fire systems, inspections and restoration. Identify disputed or unallocated items.

Historical payment does not necessarily establish the legal allocation. Counsel should interpret the lease and disclosure obligations.

7. Prepare the buyer question pathway

Give qualified recipients a property index, source register, known-change chronology, missing-information schedule and route for written questions. Preserve what was shared, when, under which confidentiality terms and which version applied.

Keep accommodation requests and identifiable medical information outside the ordinary transaction data room. Share only authorized property evidence needed for the decision.

8. Convert readiness into a launch decision

Classify each issue as source record received, requested, gap, qualified review or not applicable. Assign action, owner, cost and timing, then decide what must be resolved before launch, disclosed during marketing or left to buyer-specific diligence.

Commercially coordinates licensed commercial real estate search, disclosure and transaction evidence. It does not determine code compliance, calculate occupant load, approve a use, issue a permit, provide permission to occupy, decide a human-rights accommodation request or replace legal, architectural, engineering, fire, municipal or accessibility advice. Commercially can coordinate a source-controlled listing and inquiry process without certifying accessibility, capacity or regulatory status.