For a house, almost certainly — with a municipal compliance stamp. Order it the week you decide to sell, not the week you get an offer.
A Real Property Report is a legal survey prepared by an Alberta Land Surveyor. It shows your lot boundaries and where every structure sits in relation to them — house, garage, deck, shed, fence.
The compliance stamp is a separate step: the municipality reviews the RPR and confirms the structures comply with its land use bylaw. An unstamped RPR says where things are; the stamp says whether the City is content with where they are. Alberta residential purchase contracts commonly require both, so treat them as one item.
Condominium apartment units generally do not need one, since the unit is defined by the condominium plan. Bare-land condominiums and freehold townhouses can differ — ask rather than assume.
Sometimes. An existing RPR is usable only if it is still an accurate picture of the property — nothing built, added, moved or removed since it was drawn, by you or by the owner before you. A deck, a shed, a new garage, a hot tub pad, a fence rebuilt in a different line: any of those makes it out of date.
Walk the old RPR around the actual yard before relying on it. Sellers find the deck that is not on the drawing at the worst possible moment — days before possession.
Common, usually solvable, never quick. A garage over a setback, a deck encroaching, a shed on the line, an addition built without a permit — the paths are to apply to the municipality for a relaxation or development permit, to modify or remove the structure, or to negotiate with the buyer. Each takes time.
Cost and turnaround vary with the property, so get a quote on your own lot. Sequencing is what matters: surveys and stamps run in weeks, and a possession date does not move because paperwork is slow. Title insurance is sometimes raised as a substitute, but it is not automatic — buyer, lawyer and lender all have to accept it, which is a question for your lawyer rather than an assumption.