The PYB Blog

Thank you for your question. Your mutual driveway is technically called an easement.  This easement gives your property access rights over a portion of your neighbour’s property, and your neighbour’s property over a portion of yours.  When put together the two strips of land create a “driveway” that you each can use all of.  

The key to easements is that you cannot block or obstruct them.  This includes parking your vehicle on them for any prolonged period of time, building fences or, as in your example, potentially building onto them.

The first thing I would ask is how do you know the carport is encroaching?  Did you have a survey or boundary stakeout done?  Or are you assuming, as most people do, that you know precicely where the boundary is?  The only way to be completely sure is too have a surveyor take a look at it for you.

Assuming you are correct, then you have to be prepared for the eventuality that you will have to comply with your neighbour’s request.  Having said that, there are some measures you can take to avoid a tear-down...

There are dozens of moving pieces that need to align when dealing with a house sale. A lot of time and money goes into finding people the place they call home. Protect Your Boundaries offers products and services that aid in these transactions to ensure both the agent and buyer/seller are protected. Although we are surveyors at heart, we offer a group of comprehensive products that showcase our expertise from the ground up

The ownership of a tree that is located on or near the property boundary can be complex: trees with a portion of the trunk straddling the boundary line are considered co-owned, belonging to both property owners.

A: Unfortunately, the original survey can only be updated by the land surveying firm that created it and owns the copyright to the plan.

A: A survey plan is a snapshot of a property that is current as of the date the fieldwork was done and the title information researched by the surveyor. To be considered up-to-date, a survey plan must comply with current professional standards and legislation.

Requirements for siting structures or pools vary from municipality to municipality, each having zoning by-laws that deal with structures (pools, sheds, additions, etc.) Check with your municipality’s building department to know what is permitted.

Building projects generally require a site plan that includes information from a Topographic Plan that typically shows the locations and measured diameters of deciduous and coniferous trees growing on the property.

Property boundaries that are not well known and well demarcated can lead to confusion about boundary locations—especially when an existing survey plan is unavailable.

In situations like this, it is recommended that you and your neighbour engage a licensed land surveyor.

A: Don’t assume the boundary issue won’t be your problem.

If a potential buyer reviews a survey as part of their due diligence, this boundary issue could delay or even terminate the closing, and possibly lead to a substantially reduced sale price.