FAQ
ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE IMMOPROOF REPORT, DIFFERENT PROCESSES, CONTAMINATION, AND MORE.
Can the IMMOPROOF report give a 100% guarantee that a site is not contaminated?
No. This report cannot give a 100% guarantee that a site is contaminant- free. Only a sample taken during a Phase 2 environmental site assessment can determine this.
If the IMMOPROOF report shows that there are entries in the government inventories for the location provided or nearby sites, we strongly encourage you to consult the public files on these entries filed with the competent authorities.IMMOPROOF.CAMC will provide you with file numbers to make your search easier.
How long is my IMMOPROOF report valid?
Our search tool used to produce the IMMOPROOF report queries databases from different public inventories once per week. Your IMMOPROOF report automatically comes with a 90-day alert. This means that, as soon as a new entry appears in one of the inventories queried by IMMOPROOF, you will receive an email with an update to your report. It is therefore your responsibility to review every update sent to you. However, we have no control over the number of times that each of the competent authorities (such as government ministries, the Ville de Montréal, and the National Energy Board) updates their own inventories.
Once the 90-day timeframe has expired, you will not receive any more alerts and you must order a new report to be notified of new entries in the inventories.
Does the IMMOPROOF report replace Phase 1?
No. IMMOPROOF is not a substitute for a Phase 1 environmental assessment. The IMMOPROOF report is completed ahead of Phase 1 because it is the very first step in the environmental assessment process.
The content from Phase 1 is based on the standards established by the Canadian Standards Association and includes both past searches and an inspection of the site under study.
In addition to the databases queried for the IMMOPROOF report, a Phase 1 assessment includes a history of the chain of property titles, aerial photographs from map collections, entries in the Urgence-Environnement inventory, the hydrogeologic information system, the Régie du bâtiment’s list of oilfield equipment permit holders, fire insurance plans from the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, permits and non-compliance notices issued by municipalities, and more.
A Phase 1 environmental site assessment generally takes two to three weeks and the price ranges from ],500 to [,000.
If my IMMOPROOF report shows entries in public inventories, should I order a Phase 1 assessment?
Our first recommendation is to first consult the file for each of the entries. The IMMOPROOF report provides you with the file numbers which you can then use to request access from the competent authorities.
All of the files are public.
For properties sitting near or atop a former landfill, we encourage you to contact an environmental consulting firm that can recommend specific tests to be carried out. We know that some owners face problems related to load-bearing capacity, biogas emissions inside the home, and soil contamination when their home is located on a former landfill (also read the section “What types of environmental tests are available on the market?”).
Is it the responsibility of the buyer or the seller to order an IMMOPROOF report?
You have undoubtedly heard the saying, “Everything in life is negotiable.” If the seller doesn’t want to provide an updated IMMOPROOF report during the transaction, you can, as the buyer, include it as a condition in your promise to purchase.
If the seller STILL doesn’t want to order a report, we suggest you order one yourself, so that you have all the facts before buying and thereby protect the investment that you are preparing to make. It is now standard to get an inspection done before purchasing a property so that you are fully aware of the building’s condition. We recommend doing the same for the land by ordering an IMMOPROOF report.
Isn't it the building inspector's responsibility to check the public databases on contaminated sites?
No. It is clearly stated in the inspector’s mandate that he or she will complete a visual inspection of the property. The property inspection serves to identify visible defects that could affect it. Furthermore, in the first pages of your inspector’s report, you’ll find a note to the effect that the inspection is limited to what can be visually observed.
Isn't it the notary's responsibility to check the public databases on contaminated sites?
The notary only checks the land register and does not check other databases. Unfortunately, there is limited information about contaminated sites in the land register. For example, the land register will not tell you if a property has been built on top of a former landfill on the Island of Montreal.
To get an overall picture your property’s contamination risk, you must query multiple databases to find out, for example, if any cases or incidents have been reported to the Ministère about your property or neighbouring properties, since contaminants can migrate from one property to another.
In addition, it is not the responsibility of the executing notary to consult the Island of Montreal’s map of former quarries and landfills (Carte de localisation des anciennes carrières et dépôts de surfaces) or to provide you with the relevant information.
The IMMOPROOF report solves this problem.