Neighbour Building on Your Land in BC: Your Legal Options

Finding a neighbour's foundation, garage wall or fence over your property line is upsetting, and the instinct is to act at once. The most useful early moves are calm ones: stop the problem from growing, prove where the line is, and put your position in writing.

This article explains how encroachment disputes generally work in British Columbia, from the survey and demand letter to the court's powers. Every dispute turns on its own facts, so treat this as a map and not as advice for your lot.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Act quickly, but start with evidence

If construction is still underway, each day can add cost and make removal harder. Speak to your neighbour only if it is safe to do so, and keep any conversation factual. Do not damage or tear down what they have built. How this applies depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer before you take any step of that kind.

• Photograph and date the work from your side of the line, including any stakes, forms or fencing.
• Collect your title documents, any existing survey or plan, and your purchase paperwork.
• Note who is doing the work, including the contractor's name on any sign or vehicle.
• Keep a written log of what you saw and what was said, and when.
• If the structure is a fence, look up your municipality's bylaws, since height, setback and permit rules for a fence come from each municipality's bylaws and not from a provincial fence statute.

Why a survey comes first

The Property Law Act power to deal with encroachments is triggered by a survey showing that a building encroaches on adjoining land, or that a fence is improperly placed so that it encloses adjoining land. For that reason, survey evidence is the foundation of the claim.

A survey also answers a question people often skip: whether the neighbour is actually over the line. Sometimes the dispute is really about a wrong description of boundaries or parcels, and the Land Title Act has specific provisions for land improperly included in a title by wrong description. A survey and a title search help sort out which situation you are in.

The demand letter and going to court

A demand letter sets out the facts, attaches the survey, says what you want done and gives a reasonable deadline. Many disputes settle at this stage, and the letter becomes useful evidence if they do not. A lawyer can draft it so that it protects your position without escalating needlessly.

If the work continues or the neighbour refuses to act, what you can do next depends on the facts, so get legal advice early if work is ongoing. Once a survey shows the encroachment, the Supreme Court can be asked to declare an easement, vest title with compensation, or order removal.

The Civil Resolution Tribunal is not the place for this. A claim to remove an encroachment or vest title under Property Law Act s. 36 is for the Supreme Court.

What remedies exist afterward

Where a survey shows the encroachment, the Supreme Court may, on application, choose among three outcomes:

• Declare an easement over your land for a period the court sets, with compensation to you.
• Vest title to the encroached or enclosed land in the encroaching owner, on payment of compensation.
• Order the owner to remove the encroachment or fence.

For this section, "owner" includes a person with an interest in or right to possession of the land, so a tenant or other possessor can apply or be affected. The court chooses among these options, so removal is not guaranteed and neither is a transfer of title.

Time passing does not generally hand your neighbour your land. No right or title in land may be acquired by adverse possession except as specifically provided by law, with a saving for rights acquired before July 1, 1975. After an indefeasible title is registered, an adverse title is not acquired by length of possession, and long use does not create a prescriptive easement. Time limits for going to court still matter. In general, a court proceeding must not be commenced more than 2 years after the day the claim is discovered, and not more than 15 years after the act or omission it is based on. There are exceptions: the Limitation Act does not apply to a claim for possession of land by a person dispossessed in circumstances amounting to trespass, or to a proceeding seeking only a declaration, and another statute may set its own period. Wilful concealment or a written, signed acknowledgment of liability can also change when time starts to run. Because the right time limit depends on what you are claiming, confirm it with a lawyer and do not wait.

What to do next

• Document the work and stop any urgent harm without confrontation.
• Order a survey from a qualified surveyor and get a current title search.
• Speak with a lawyer before sending a demand letter, especially if construction is ongoing.
• Do not sign anything that grants permission, such as an agreement to let the structure stay, until you understand the effect.
• Tell your title insurer or home insurer if you have one, and ask what it covers.

Frequently asked questions