Follow this link for a detailed discussion and useful information: “Navigating over Filled Lands”.

Straight lines and ninety-degree angles are extremely rare in nature. When one encounters them along the waterfront of real property in Ontario, this typically means that the original shoreline of the water body has been artificially altered.  Such alteration may have been done with legal permission or, more often than not, without any permission at all.  Sometimes the alteration involves the creation of land that was once covered by water, which is referred to as filled land.

Waterfront and cottage properties create unique legal and practical issues with respect to boundary lines and ownership that legal counsel must be aware of both before and after the purchase and sale.  It is essential that the purchaser is made aware of the possible legal implications of filled land that may be owned by the Crown or others and both the additional legal and financial implications that are triggered by this development.

Download the file below to find a short paper that provides a general overview of the legal and practical issues that can arise when one encounters filled land and what you can do about it.