Boundary Dispute With a Neighbour in Ontario: Next Steps

You and your neighbour disagree about where one lot ends and the other begins. Perhaps a new fence, a survey stake or a planned build has brought it to a head.

This article sets out a general step-by-step path in Ontario, from talking and surveying through the formal Boundaries Act application to court. Your own facts decide which steps you need, and a lawyer can help you choose.

Step 1: Gather facts and talk

Collect your deed, any earlier surveys, photos and notes of past conversations. Then speak with your neighbour calmly, ideally before positions harden. Many disputes end here once both sides see the same document.

Avoid moving, cutting or removing things in the meantime. For example, a tree whose trunk grows on the boundary is the common property of both owners, and injuring or destroying it without the landowners' consent is an offence.

Step 2: Get a survey

A current survey is usually the key piece of evidence. Cadastral surveying, which includes preparing plans and documents that determine or establish a boundary, may only be practised under a licence, or under the direction and supervision of a licensed member.

Share the result with your neighbour. If the survey differs from what you both assumed, that may resolve the issue, or it may start a conversation about an agreement.

Step 3: Choose the right formal tool

Which process fits depends on what the disagreement is really about.

The Boundaries Act application

Where there is doubt about the true location on the ground of a parcel's boundary, an application may be made to the Director of Titles to confirm it. An owner of an interest in the parcel may apply, or a surveyor may apply with that owner's consent.

• The application must include an up-to-date plan of survey signed by a surveyor and a copy of the survey's field notes.
• The Director gives notice, and anyone objecting must deliver a written objection within the time set in the notice.
• If an objection is received, the Director must offer a hearing and may deal with it as is just and equitable; if there is no objection, the Director may confirm the boundary without a hearing.
• A party aggrieved by the order may appeal to the Divisional Court, filing and serving the notice within thirty days after the order is mailed.
• Once confirmed and certified, the boundary is deemed the true boundary despite any other Act, and the Director must have the plan registered in the proper land registry office.

If a fence is part of the dispute

In most of Ontario, the Line Fences Act process applies only when the owners cannot agree and either there is no fence on the boundary and one owner wants one, or a line fence exists and one owner thinks it needs repair or rebuilding. The owner starts by notifying the clerk of the local municipality on Form 1, Request for Fence-Viewers. The clerk sets the arbitration day no more than 30 days after the notice is deemed received, though a municipality may stop arbitrations from being scheduled between November 1 and March 31.

Three fence-viewers examine the property and, if either neighbour asks, hear evidence. An owner unhappy with the award may appeal to the referee within fifteen days of receiving a copy, with the prescribed fee, which is $406.05 in 2026. The referee's decision is final.

Exceptions matter. The process does not apply if one owner, on their own initiative, has already built, rebuilt or repaired a line fence and then wants the neighbour to share the cost. A municipality may pass a by-law providing that the Line Fences Act does not apply to all or part of it, although the rules about former railway land next to farms still apply there. In unorganized territories, which have no municipality, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness handles fencing arbitration.

What to do next

• Gather your deed, past surveys and photos.
• Order a survey from a licensed surveyor.
• Share the survey and try to reach a written agreement.
• If the line is truly uncertain, ask a lawyer about a Boundaries Act application.
• If only the fence is in dispute, ask your municipal clerk whether the Line Fences Act applies in your area.
• Keep copies of every letter, notice and award.

Frequently asked questions