Can I Build or Put a Dock on the Shore Road Allowance in Front of My Cottage in Ontario?

It depends on who owns the strip and what the municipality allows. A shore road allowance inside a municipality is a highway unless it has been closed, and a highway, including an unopened road allowance, is owned by the municipality that has jurisdiction over it. If the strip in front of your cottage is a shore road allowance inside a municipality, it is generally owned by the municipality rather than you, and whether it is one depends on your lot, so confirm with the municipality or a lawyer.

A municipality closes a road allowance by by-law, which must happen before it can be sold to an abutting owner, and the by-law takes effect only when a certified copy is registered in the land registry office. Separate municipal by-laws can also regulate fill, topsoil removal and changes to the grade of land, and can require permits.

Whether a particular allowance can be closed, sold or used by you depends on local policy, where the water's edge sits and other issues that vary from place to place. Other approvals may also apply to work at the water. Before you build a dock, shed or stairs, ask the municipality in writing what it permits and speak with a lawyer about your specific lot.