Easements and Rights-of-Way on Ontario Property

You have found a property you love, the home inspection came back clean, and you are ready to firm up the deal. Then your real estate lawyer calls to mention that the title search turned up an easement — a registered right-of-way running along the rear of the lot. Should you be concerned?

An easement on Ontario property is not automatically a problem, but it is something every buyer needs to understand before closing. Some easements are minor background items that affect nothing you care about. Others can meaningfully restrict how you use your land. Knowing the difference requires reading the registered instrument and understanding what it actually says.

What Is an Easement?

An easement is a right that one party holds to use a specific part of someone else's land for a defined purpose. The land that carries the burden of the easement — the property being used — is called the servient tenement. The land or party that benefits from the easement is called the dominant tenement (for easements that benefit a neighbouring property) or simply the holder (for utility or other easements held by corporations or public bodies).

An easement does not transfer ownership of the land. The property owner still owns every inch of their lot — but they cannot use the burdened area in a way that unreasonably interferes with the easement holder's rights.

Common Types of Easements in Ontario

Utility Easements

The most common easements on Ontario properties are held by utility companies — hydro, natural gas, telecom, or municipal water and sewer. These typically run along the rear or side of a lot and allow the utility to access, maintain, and upgrade their infrastructure. You may never see any activity under a utility easement for years, but when the utility needs access, they have a registered right to it. Building a permanent structure — a deck, garage, or addition — within a utility easement area is usually prohibited by the easement terms and can trigger a requirement to remove it at your expense.

Right-of-Way Easements

A right-of-way (ROW) is an easement that grants a right of passage — the right to travel over a defined strip of land. Rights-of-way are common in rural Ontario where a landlocked parcel needs access across a neighbouring property to reach a public road. They also appear in older urban subdivisions where pedestrian or vehicle access was granted across rear lots. The width, purpose (foot traffic only, or vehicle access?), and maintenance obligations are all defined in the registered document.

Easements Appurtenant vs. Easements in Gross

An easement appurtenant benefits another specific parcel of land. When that benefitting land is sold, the easement travels with it automatically — the new owner of the dominant property retains the benefit without anything extra needing to be done. This type of easement also runs with the servient land; a buyer of the burdened property takes it subject to the easement.

An easement in gross benefits a specific person or corporation (like a utility company) rather than a neighbouring parcel. It is personal to the holder rather than tied to land ownership.

Conservation and Environmental Easements

Some properties in Ontario are subject to conservation easements, registered by conservation authorities or land trusts. These restrict development, vegetation removal, or alterations to natural features on the burdened land. A conservation easement may significantly limit what you can build or how you can alter the landscape.

Restrictive Covenants (Related but Distinct)

A restrictive covenant is sometimes confused with an easement but operates differently. A restrictive covenant limits what a landowner can do with their property — for example, prohibiting certain types of structures, or requiring that the land be used only for residential purposes. Like easements, restrictive covenants can be registered on title and run with the land.

How Easements Are Discovered

Easements and rights-of-way are found through the title search that your real estate lawyer conducts before closing. In Ontario, registered easements appear in the land registry office records — either on title in the Land Titles system or in linked instruments in the Registry system.

The title search will identify each registered interest and your lawyer will pull the actual registered document (the easement instrument) to read its terms. A reference to a "hydro easement" in the title abstract tells you one exists, but it is the instrument itself that tells you how wide the easement is, where it runs, what it permits, and what conditions attach to it.

A survey — particularly a current survey or a reference plan — will show where on the lot the easement physically sits. If you are buying a property where you plan to build, add structures, or landscape extensively, having a current survey is especially valuable.

How Easements Affect Use and Value

The practical impact of an easement depends entirely on its terms and location:

• Rear utility easement, five metres wide, no structures: For most buyers, this is a minor restriction. You cannot build a permanent structure over it, but gardens, grass, and fencing usually remain possible (subject to utility company policies).
• Right-of-way across the driveway used by a neighbour: More significant. You share access. Maintenance obligations matter. How many vehicles? What hours?
• Conservation easement restricting development over 60% of the lot: This can substantially reduce the land's value and limit future use significantly.

Easements do not automatically reduce a property's value — a utility easement on most lots is priced in by the market and barely noticed. But an easement that restricts a specific intended use can matter a great deal. If you are buying with the intent to build a workshop in the backyard, and there is a utility easement exactly where you planned to build, that is material information.

Purchasing a Property With an Easement: Practical Steps

1. Have your lawyer pull and review the registered instrument — not just the abstract reference. Read what it actually says.
2. Locate the easement on a survey or reference plan so you know exactly where it sits on the lot.
3. Consider your intended use — does the easement affect what you want to do with the property?
4. Ask whether the easement is still active — easements can sometimes be extinguished, but do not assume one is inactive just because there has been no recent use.
5. Flag it in your requisitions if appropriate — if the easement was not disclosed in the agreement and materially affects your use, your lawyer may raise it before the requisition date.

Frequently asked questions