Municipality Closing a Road Allowance Beside Your Land: Your Rights

A notice arrives, or a line appears on a council agenda, saying your municipality intends to close a road allowance beside or in front of your land. For many owners it is the first time they have thought about that strip at all. It can affect how you reach your property, your privacy, and who ends up owning the land.

This article explains what a road allowance is, what a municipality must do before closing one, how you can make your views known, and what generally follows. It is general information only. Your title, how you access your property and the history of the strip all matter, so get advice on your own situation.

What a road allowance is and who controls it

Road allowances are strips originally laid out for roads by a Crown surveyor, and they are generally 66 feet wide. A highway is owned by the municipality with jurisdiction over it, subject to any rights reserved by the person who dedicated it.

Road allowances within municipalities fall under municipal jurisdiction unless they have been stopped up and sold. Road allowances in unorganized territory, and all Crown shoreline reserves, fall under the Minister's jurisdiction instead. So the first question is who actually controls the strip beside you.

Many allowances were never built as roads. A municipality may assume an unopened Crown-surveyed road allowance for public use by by-law, and its duty to keep a highway in repair is tied to the highway being assumed or established. An unassumed, unopened allowance generally carries no municipal maintenance duty. Whether yours was ever assumed is something to find out early.

What the municipality must do before closing it

Before passing a by-law to permanently close a highway, a municipality must give public notice of its intention to pass the by-law, under section 34 of the Municipal Act, 2001. If a by-law established or assumed the highway, it can only be repealed by a closing by-law of that kind.

The exact notice period, how notice is delivered and whether there is a public meeting depend on the municipality's own notice by-law. Municipal notices commonly refer to section 34 and a public meeting, but the details differ from place to place. Check the date, time and method for submitting comments printed on your notice.

Closing is also a step toward disposal. A municipality can convey a road allowance only after it has been stopped up (closed). If any part is submerged, such as part of a shore road allowance, the municipality needs the Ministry's consent under section 43 of the Municipal Act before conveying that portion.

How to raise your objection

It helps to raise your concerns before council decides. In practice that usually means writing to the clerk, speaking at the meeting, or both. Be clear about why the closing affects you.

• Note the deadline and the meeting date on the notice, and calendar them.
• Ask the clerk for the staff report, any survey or plan, and the proposed by-law.
• Find out whether the strip was ever assumed by by-law or is an unopened allowance.
• Explain concretely how you use the strip: access, services, parking, drainage, emergency vehicle routes.
• Send your objection in writing and keep proof that it was received.
• Ask whether you will be told when the by-law is passed and who the proposed buyer is.
• Speak with a real estate lawyer before the meeting if your only or best access is involved.

Strong objections tend to be specific and factual. A general statement that you dislike the idea carries less weight than evidence that you rely on the strip to reach your home or your septic system.

What can happen if the closing goes ahead

Once a closing by-law is passed and the strip is stopped up, the municipality may be able to convey it, subject to the rules above. Whether you have a right to buy, or any claim connected to access you lose, depends on your title and the facts, and a lawyer can confirm.

If you have already built on, fenced or used the strip, tell your lawyer. Ontario notes that structures on road allowances have caused problems with land transfers, mortgages, insurance claims and estates. A closing can be a chance to sort that out, or a risk if you ignore it.

What to do next

• Read the notice today and mark every deadline.
• Gather your deed, survey, and any photos showing how you use the strip.
• Request the municipality's records on whether the allowance was ever assumed.
• Submit a written objection or comment before the deadline.
• Attend the meeting, or have a lawyer attend with you.
• Ask a lawyer about your options if the by-law is passed, including any chance to acquire the strip.

Frequently asked questions