The PYB Blog

It is common in older urban areas to have a shared driveway between houses to access garages located in the backyard. In some instances "mutual" driveways have been used this way but have never been registered as an explicit right of way.

If your rights regarding a shared driveway are not expressly stated in your property deed (or that of your neighbour), you may need to take action to ensure that you have a legal right of way into your back garage or parking area.

Interesting situation. First of all the boundary is not just on the ground but extends upwards into the sky. Therefore the eves and downspouts of your neighbour's rear addition are in fact encroaching on your property.

You have the right to ask for those to be removed. The question though is how to go about it? 

Just as municipal zoning by-laws and land-use plans regulate what can be built and where, municipalities also regulate how and when portions of your land can be sold.

Most Ontario municipalities today require land severance approval with regard to any change to existing property boundaries, and a “consent to sever” is required if you intend to sell, mortgage, charge or enter into any agreement regarding the severed property for at least 21 years.

A: Local governments do provide services to aid in boundary protection, including zoning by-laws and fence viewers. Zoning by-laws cover issues such as how close to a property line a house or other structure may be built.

Fence viewers have prescribed procedures for assessing the costs and aesthetics of new fences when neighbours are in dispute.

Beyond this owners must resolve their differences privately. Also note that the police will not get involved unless your property or belongings are damaged or destroyed in a criminal act.

Hi. Just head over to our home page at www.protectyourboundaries.ca and type your GTA address in the box on the left. If you are outside the GTA we can still find a plan for you manually. Just click the "Can't Find My Plan" link on the left hand side and follow the process.

Canada’s municipalities have strict limitations on what you can build on your property. Zoning by-laws are intended to regulate land usage for the benefit of the entire community. Every piece of land in the Greater Toronto Area is subject to zoning regulations that reflect how the property fits into the municipality's official plan.

These regulations specify, among other things, the distance that buildings are located from the property boundaries (setbacks), building height, maximum floor space, lot coverage, required parking and an array of other requirements enforceable by law.

In today’s crowded urban landscape, people will often landscape with little regard for the location of their property boundaries. Regardless of their innocent intent, it is important for you to politely inform your neighbours of these encroachments and request that they adhere to the boundaries.

It's up to you to protect your boundaries. Before communicating with your neighbours, you should first confirm your boundary locations by commissioning a new survey or obtaining an existing survey plan.

I'm assuming you're in Toronto or the Greater Toronto area, however if not the suggestions below should still help.

With regards to your neighbour's ability to rebuild a structure in the current building location which encroaches on your property: you will need to consult a lawyer who specializes in boundary disputes and land-related matters.

Bob Aaron and Brian Madigan are two highly reputable lawyers in this field. The question is whether or not the grandfathered encroachment would survive a rebuild or whether the City would look to that opportunity ...

The Alberta Land Surveyors Association is your best bet for an answer on this. They can be reached at http://www.alsa.ab.ca/.

In Ontario the builder would not be permitted to traverse or use your property unless there was a registered easement on title that permitted that use.

New developments will often have time-limited easements across homeowner's lands that permit the builder to traverse so that they can move their equipment, materials and people in the most efficient manner to and from the sites they are working on.

Great question and one that gets neighbours into hot water quite often.

Without your neighbour's consent you can build a fence up to the property line on your side. However when we say "fence" we mean posts and cement footing as well. Often people build the fence portion on the property line not realizing that the fence posts or the footings are encroaching several inches onto the neighbour's property.

A litigious neighbour could take you to task (lawyers) on the fact that that while your fence is on the property line, your posts and/or footings encroach onto their property