Understanding Canadian Fence Building Regulations (Part 2):

Our neighbour’s fence could grant them permission to have rights over your property! Understanding fence building regulations will help prevent any unwanted intrusions onto your property and/or disputes you may have among your neighbours!



In British Columbia, Canada, the Land Titles system governs ownership of land. Under the Land Titles system, if your neighbour placed his fence onto your property, you are legally entitled to have your neighbour remove the fence. However, if you do not object or grant permission, your act of doing nothing after 10 years will grant your neighbour the right to obtain Court Order confirming his ownership of that strip of property. For example, your neighbour has built a fence one foot onto your property. You did not bother to tell him or object to this action. After 10 years, you decided to sell your home and you begin to dispute about the fence. Legally, your neighbour will be granted the right to obtain Court Order and the ownership of the land that was underneath the fence.

Now, lets say you were building a fence, how would you avoid the problem your neighbour had faced in the previous scenario? The solution is to call the property surveyor to pinpoint the boundary line between your property and your neighbour’s. Calling the surveyor will save you money in the long run and minimize dispute. Keep in mind that the validity of the survey lasts between 10 to 14 days, which is why we recommend having everything ready prior to calling. If you and your neighbour are sharing the fence, then building the fence right on the boundary line is accurate. If you were to own the fence yourself, then build the fence towards your side of the property and not over the boundary line.



Understanding these rules will help you reduce unwanted surprises! Remember to work with your neighbours and not against them. After all, whether you decide to share the fence with your neighbour or not, a fence will always have two sides to look at!



*Disclaimer* – 

“While Natural Art Concrete Fence strives to make the information on this website as timely and accurate as possible, Natural Art makes no claims, promises, or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of this site, and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of this site.”

Reference:

Madigan Brian. Good Fence Makes Good Neighbors. Retrieved from
http://www.ontariorealestatesource.com/articles/goodfence.pdf

The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia. (2008). About the Land Title System in British Columbia. Retrieved Jan 26, 2015 from
www.notaries.bc.ca/resources/scrivener/spring2008/PDF/spring-2008-About%20the%20Land%20Title%20System%20in%20British%20Columbia-18.pdf

Originally Publish Articles:  Fence Vancouver

Understanding Canadian Fence Building Regulations (Part 1)

When building a fence, some of the common legal questions that arise are: who owns the fence? Where can you build the fence? Who pays for the fence and maintenance?

“Good Fences Make Good Neighbours” written by Brian Madigan is a useful article to read, if you are interested in understanding Canadian rules and regulations of building fences.

To answer the previous questions, The Line Fences Act provides something of a solution. The Act provides a solution to resolve disputes, as follows:


1) One party will be given authority to construct the fence,

2) The fence will be located along the boundary of the two properties,

3) The fence will be jointly owned,

4) Each owner will have to pay a certain percentage of the cost (not necessarily 50%), and

5) Both owners will have to share in the maintenance.

Madigan brings up an interesting point, what happens if your neighbour wants a 3ft fence and you want a 6ft fence? What happens? Well, the Act are likely to conclude that if you want a 6ft fence, then your neighbour only need to contribute half the cost of the cheaper fence at 3ft. Therefore, you will need to pay majority of your 6ft fence. However, another solution is to pay the entire cost of the fence and build it on your property (not on the property line), maintain it, and preserve your rights to the fence.



Keep in mind that, although fences mark boundaries, they do not mark property boundaries between neighbours. If your fence is built on your neighbour’s property, by law, it can be taken down with proof of property line.

Original Published content: Fence Vancouver