The PYB Blog

The most common boundary evidence, at least in urban areas, is iron survey bars that surveyors put in the ground to mark the corners of a property boundary. These iron bars, usually 2 or 4 feet long are driven into the ground so that their tops are a couple of inches under the ground.

Over long periods of time these bars rust away or in some cases are moved or destroyed.

You can ask the seller for the condo plans, or you can get them yourself. All condominium buildings are registered with the local Land Registry Office where the survey plans are held.

These plans are public documents and can be purchased from the LRO for a fee.

Problems with shared driveways are pretty common. The obligations and rights of the shared driveway are governed by an easement over one or both of the properties.

It's likely that the easement straddles the property line giving both you and your neighbour free and clear access of that portion of the driveway so that you can both access the back of the property (usually to access garages at the back). In some cases the easement is on only one of the properties giving the other property access over your land to get to the back. 

Hi Cathy;

First, and most importantly, you and your neighbour must determine and agree upon the exact location of the boundary. This dispute is based on a disagreement as to where the boundary is located.

The best way to do that is to get a surveyor to stake the boundary out.

The beds of most lakes in Ontario are owned by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Fisheries. 

The Ministry's Free Use Policy provides guidance to waterfront owners and can be found below. The policy states, with respect to Waterfront and Waterway Uses:

Hi Richard;

Lots and Blocks are designations of land ownership that developers use to parcel land on a Plan of Subdivision. The other designation is Public Highways which includes roads, lane ways and even walkways.

Hi Bob.

The most reliable and safe way to do this is to hire a surveyor to stake the boundary out. If you are in Ontario, land surveyors are professionals with the right to provide a legal opinion on the location of the boundary. So hiring a surveyor is the best way to go.

Hi PWS. Tricky situation. Let's break it down.

First, if the chain link fence is on their property they are within their rights to take it down and replace it. The question is, how do they know it's on their property, and how do you know it's not?

Do either of you have a survey that supports your position? Did a surveyor stake the property line out? That will clarify the situation.

In Ontario surveyors are governed by the Association of Land Surveyors of Ontario which maintains and enforces rigorous standards upon the profession (www.aols.org). A cornerstone of an Ontario Land Surveyor's mandate is to protect the publics interest.

While we, as homeowners, hire surveyors to do work for us, their primary responsibility is to the integrity of our land fabric, something that they take quite seriously. 

It's great to see someone asking this question before spending months going about a claim in ineffective ways! Technically speaking you can make the claim yourself, or hire a lawyer to make it for you.

In our experience, making a title insurance claim yourself can be a frustrating and time consuming process, putting you and your legal expertise up against a large insurance company's legal department. Not only that, but you don't know if you're getting everything that you could or if the title insurance company is manipulating your lack of experience.