The PYB Blog

I Have My Property Survey. Why Would I Need to Hire a Land Surveyor?

Why owning an existing land survey is a smart first step, and when an Ontario homeowner might need additional surveying services....

Roncesvalles: The Soldier, the Survey and the Story Behind the Name

There are certain street names in Toronto that you stop noticing after a while, and Roncesvalles is probably one of them....

The Toronto Belt Line Railway

Many people in Toronto today recognize the name Belt Line Trail as a route for walkers, runners and cyclists, but this path is actually the remains of a more ambitious idea that was brought to life, albeit briefly, more than a century ago....

When Residential Projects Go Wrong in Ontario

Your Contractor Built Over the Property Line in Ontario....

A Few Inches Over the Property Line, and a $150,000 Legal Bill

A few inches of concrete may not seem like much, but in Waterloo, Ontario, a dispute over a small driveway encroachment reportedly led to years of conflict, two lawsuits, a four-day trial and legal fees estimated at close to $150,000....

Your Building Permit Is Not Proof of Your Property Line: The Step Toronto Homeowners Miss Before Building

For many Toronto homeowners, a building permit feels like the final step before moving forward with a building project....

When Permission Is Mistaken for Property Rights

A real Ontario dispute shows why using a laneway for years does not always mean you have a legal right to keep using it....

5 Property Issues Ontario Buyers Don’t Notice Until It’s Too Late

Buying a home in Ontario is exciting but it can be easy to focus on the visible parts of the property....

A Survey of Berlin C.W.: The Layers Beneath Modern Kitchener, Ontario

One of the most fascinating aspects of historic survey plans is their ability to capture communities at very specific moments in time, often just before everything is about to change....

How a Backyard Dispute Became a Supreme Court Case

In Toronto, a quiet backyard dispute between the City and homeowners escalated all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, highlighting the risks of assuming that existing fences accurately represent legal boundary lines....