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.

Most Ontario homeowners think of property boundaries in a simple way.

There is your lot, and then there is your neighbour’s lot, and somewhere between them is a property line. If you want to build a fence, widen a driveway, add a shed, or renovate, the first question is usually, “Where is the line?”

Unfortunately, not every property is that simple.

A recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision tells the story of a property dispute that started with access, a fence, and a disagreement between neighbours. The case highlights how confusing property rights can become for homeowners when older documents, private arrangements, and long-standing habits all collide.

The Story Starts with a Fence

The owners of one lot, Lot 52, believed they had the right to access their property over a neighbouring lot, Lot 46. When a fence was built by the owner of Lot 46, the owners of Lot 52 said the fence interfered with their access.

From the homeowner’s point of view, they had been using this route to get to their property for years, and suddenly that access was removed. It was likely the most obvious or easiest way in, and it is possible that previous owners had used the same route as well.

When a fence goes up and the route you are used to taking is no longer an option, it would likely feel personal or unfair and it would be natural to ask, “Can they really do that?”

That is the basis of what happened in this case.

The court, however, had to answer a different question. Not “What route was most convenient?” but “What legal rights actually existed?”

Documentation Matters More Than the Habits

The homeowners at Lot 52 argued that an agreement from 1974 supported their right to cross Lot 46. But the court looked closely at the older documents and found that the right-of-way came from a 1961 shareholder resolution.

That 1961 resolution referred to access using a roadway over Lot 45 and Lot 46. The court found that the later 1974 agreement did not clearly create a new route, and it did not clearly replace the earlier access arrangement. In other words, there was no right-of-way granting access strictly over Lot 46. The owners of Lot 52 were using a preferred route, but the court found that it was not the legal route created by the earlier documents.

Using a driveway, path, lane, or access route for a long time does not automatically mean you own that right forever. Sometimes the route people are used to taking is not a route described in the legal documents. Without legal documentation the route is may just be permission. Once that permission is taken away, the user may no longer have the right to use that route to access their property.

This can be difficult for some homeowners to grasp as most people are not thinking about historical resolutions or private agreements when they are looking at a fence or driveway.

What this does mean is that homeowners should be careful before assuming rights over another property.

Could a Survey Have Solved This?

In many Ontario property situations, having a copy of your land survey is incredibly useful. A survey can show the physical features of a property, as well as boundary lines, structures, and in some cases, easements such as a right-of-way. In other words, it helps homeowners better understand the physical layout of their property and raises important questions about their rights.

This case was unusual because the property was part of a private community, rather than a typical neighbourhood subdivision. But the lesson still applies to many Ontario homeowners.

At Protect Your Boundaries, we often see situations where a land survey can help reveal lot lines, structures, and possible easements or rights-of-way affecting a property. Having this information in hand gives homeowners a clearer understanding of their property before they build, renovate, fence, buy, sell, or challenge a neighbour’s use of land.

The Real Homeowner Lesson

The lesson is simple: homeowners should not rely on assumptions.

Do not assume:

• a fence is on the property line just because it looks straight;
• a driveway belongs entirely to one property because it has always been used that way; or
• a route is a permanent right-of-way because you have used it for years.

Most importantly, do not wait until there is a dispute to start looking for your property documents.

Before you build, fence, renovate, buy, sell, or challenge a neighbour’s use of land, take the time to understand what records exist. The easiest place to start is with a copy of your land survey. A survey is the foundation of your property research, showing your property lines and structures in relation to them. Your survey plan may also include your property’s legal description and title information, which can be useful when locating instruments or agreements tied to the property.

Cases like this are a good reminder that property ownership is not always obvious from what you see on the ground. Sometimes the driveway tells one story, the fence tells another, and the documents tell the story that matters most.

Avoid surprises by starting with the right property documents. Protect Your Boundaries helps Ontario homeowners access existing land survey plans, parcel registers, and easement or instrument information quickly and easily.

Looking for Your Property Documents?

Visit ProtectYourBoundaries.ca to see what property documents and products are available for your address, including existing survey plans and BoundaryPLUS Property Reports.

Our BoundaryPLUS reports can help homeowners, buyers, and sellers better understand important property information, including registered easements, rights-of-way, and other title-related details.

Not sure what you are looking for, or have questions about a property? Contact our team for more information.

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Source: This article was inspired by the Ontario Court of Appeal decision Bennett v. Chadwick, 2026 ONCA 468, available on CanLII:
https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2026/2026onca468/2026onca468.html