Neighbour Boundary Disputes in Alberta: Fences, Surveys and Remedies

Disagreements about where a property line sits often start with something small, such as a new fence, a hedge, a shed or a driveway. They can become expensive quickly, so it helps to know which tools actually decide a boundary and which only settle a fence.

This article covers the main Alberta routes: talking and sharing a fence, surveys under the Surveys Act, encroachment applications to the Court, and the fact that you can no longer gain land by occupying it for years.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Start with the paperwork and a conversation

A certificate of title is conclusive proof in all courts of ownership, with exceptions for fraud in which the owner participated or colluded, and for land included by wrong description of boundaries. So your title and its legal description are the starting point, not where a fence happens to stand.

Many disputes are solved by a calm conversation, sharing documents and, if needed, a neutral mediator. Keep records of what is said, and avoid removing or moving anything until you know where the line is.

Fences and the Line Fence Act

If neighbours disagree on the proper location of a line or boundary fence, each appoints an arbitrator to decide. The decision does not affect title to the land on either side and binds only while the fence exists as a lawful fence.

There is an important limit. Sections 2 and 3 of the Line Fence Act apply only to the extent that a fence is designed to keep the livestock of an owner or occupier out of a neighbour's land. Where neighbours want a shared fence, they bear the cost of erecting, maintaining and repairing it in equal shares. For an ordinary city or suburban fence dispute, this Act may not be the right tool, and a lawyer can tell you.

Surveys and the Surveys Act

A survey is the usual way to find out where the line is. Surveys are made under an Alberta land surveyor's supervision. If a survey monument cannot be found, the surveyor works from the best available evidence of its position, and if that fails, re-establishes the corner so as to carry out the evident intention of the original survey.

If you believe an earlier survey was wrong, there is a formal route. The Director of Surveys investigates where written notice states that the position of a corner or boundary is in question as the result of an alleged error in a survey. What happens after that, and any appeal rights, depend on your situation, so it is worth confirming the steps and deadlines with a lawyer.

• Ask what survey evidence exists already, such as a past survey plan.
• Share a new survey with your neighbour before anything is built or removed.
• Confirm with a lawyer what a survey does and does not prove for your title.

Encroachments and the Court

Sometimes a house, garage or other building has been built partly on the neighbour's land. Where a building encroaches on adjoining land, the Court may order the encroachment removed or abandoned, an easement given, or the building owner to acquire the encroached land.

For improvements made on wrong land, the Court may order removal, an easement, acquisition of the land, or compensation by the registered owner for the added value, having regard to what is just in all the circumstances. The Court may find the claimant does not have to prove their belief that the land was their own, when it considers it just.

Why years of use do not create ownership

Many people have heard that using a neighbour's strip for long enough earns it. In Alberta, no right or title in or to land may be acquired or deemed to be acquired by adverse possession. An implied licence cannot be acquired by use or adverse possession, and easements or profits a prendre cannot be acquired by prescription.

There is no limitation period for a claim for recovery of possession of real property, and a defendant does not have a defence based on adverse possession. One exception is that remedial actions commenced under the former section 69 and not concluded before the 2022 amendments came into force continue as if section 69.1 were not in force.

What to do next

• Pull your certificate of title and any survey plan or real property report you have.
• Photograph the fence, markers and any structures near the line.
• Write down when things were built and who paid for them.
• Do not move, remove or build on the disputed strip until the line is confirmed.
• Talk to a lawyer before you start formal steps, since the right tool depends on the facts.

Frequently asked questions