Can someone claim ownership of my land through adverse possession in Ontario?

Adverse possession — sometimes called squatter's rights — is a legal doctrine that allowed a person who openly occupied someone else's land for a long period without the owner's permission to eventually claim title. In the old Registry system in Ontario, adverse possession was a real risk to landowners who did not monitor their boundaries.

Under Ontario's Land Titles Act, which now governs most Ontario properties, adverse possession claims are significantly restricted. The Land Titles system protects the registered owner, and a person generally cannot obtain title through adverse possession against a Land Titles property. There are narrow transitional provisions that grandfathered possessory rights that were already well-established before properties were converted to Land Titles, but new claims are essentially unavailable under that system.

If your property is still in the older Registry system — less common but still exists for some rural and older properties — adverse possession could still be a concern if a neighbour or other party has been openly occupying a strip of your land for a lengthy period. A lawyer can check which system your property is registered under and advise whether any possessory risk exists. For most Ontario homebuyers, Land Titles registration makes this issue largely theoretical.