Many Alberta landowners are facing the problem of unpaid surface lease payments. It’s a problem that won’t be going away any time soon.
Added to the burden of delinquent payments farmers and ranchers are also dealing with neglected lease sites leaving them no option, but to fork over the money to cover the costs of weed control, snow removal and more. There is also loss of land use and additional wear-and-tear on equipment to factor into their expenses. It’s a lose-lose situation for Alberta ag-producers.
It is estimated that in 2022 there will be over 30,000 unpaid leases by oil and gas operators in the province.
While the majority of lease operators do pay their lease payments. The ones who don’t have created a significant impact. It is estimated that in 2022 there will be over 30,000 unpaid leases by oil and gas operators in the province. According to data collected by the Narwhal the Alberta Government’s Land & Property Rights Tribunal (LPRT) paid over $22 million to landowners on behalf of oil and gas companies last year. This represents an increase of 8% over 2020 and 62% over 2019. The problem is growing.
The “red-tape” is astounding.
It is true that Alberta landowners are able to collect lease payments when a company becomes insolvent or refuses to pay by applying to the LPRT’s Rental Recovery Program. That said, the process is tedious, requires technical ability and is administratively heavy especially for those who have a number of lease payments to claim. The “red-tape” is astounding.
Claims must be made annually for each location and include detailed information about each lease. If there is an error or missing information, files go on hold. Claims made online won’t get lost in the email shuffle and may be processed faster, but in order to make an online claim, you must apply for access to the E-Filing Portal and obtain a Government MADI account.
The processing of claims is months behind and landowners are waiting well-over a year to be compensated.
Emailed claims from January and February of 2022 are just being opened. They have not yet been assigned case workers. The processing of claims is months behind and landowners are waiting well-over a year to be compensated. Due to lack of knowledge of the existence of the Rental Recovery Program and the time it takes to submit a claim, only a fraction of the total unpaid leases are applied for each year.
Agri-Energy Partners Ltd. has developed a Surface Lease Rental Recovery Partner division...
Agri-Energy Partners Ltd. has developed a Surface Lease Rental Recovery Partner division that focuses strictly on working with landowners to send claims to the LPRT and advocate on their behalf. We have designed a database to track the status of all applications and ensure that amendments and repeat applications are sent in on-time. We have built relationships with LPRT staff and do regular follow-ups to keep applications moving and ensure they haven’t gotten stuck somewhere in the system (it happens regularly). Agri-Energy Partner Ltd. owners, Todd and Wendy Plandowski met with MLA, Garth Rowswell to discuss extreme delays in payments and expressed their concern for the affects this has on Alberta landowners.
It is our goal to cut through the “red tape” and make the process as simple and hands-off as possible for landowners to get the compensation they are owed.
Using our services is easy. Landowners call (780-871-0306) or email (admin@agrienergy.ca) our office. We set up a FREE consultation to discuss missed payments. Then we start collecting documents and signatures so we can complete the applications and submit them online to the LPRT. Once applications have been submitted, landowners are provided with a payment tracking form to track when payments are received.
Please reach out if you are missing payments. It is our goal to cut through the “red tape” and make the process as simple and hands-off as possible for landowners to get the compensation they are owed.
Heidi Burzinski
Manager, Operations