Sale of Municipal Land

Many waterfront properties have a shore road allowance because Crown surveyors originally reserved a 66 foot wide road allowance around the edges of most Ontario lakes. Many were not opened as roads but are still owned by the municipality.

Waterfront property owners often do not own their lots right up to the water's edge. In many cases, property owners have encroached onto these allowances and occupied them with buildings, structures, landscaping, etc.

Road allowances (66 feet in width) were originally laid out for roads by Crown surveyors. Many were never developed into travelable roads and they remain unopened and in public ownership.

Some property owners have encountered problems with land transfers, mortgages, insurance claims and the settling of estates because their buildings or structures are located on, or partly on, land they do not own. Under the Limitations Act, it is not possible to obtain prescriptive or "squatter's rights" against road allowances, even those that are unopened.