Shore Road Allowance

Picture the cottage: the deck, the dock, the boathouse, the strip of granite where you watch the sunset. Now imagine discovering that you don’t own any of it, because the land between your lot line and the water belongs to the township.

For many Ontario cottage owners, that’s not hypothetical. It’s the shore road allowance, and it’s one of the most common and least understood surprises in cottage country.

What is a shore road allowance?

When much of Ontario was surveyed and granted in the 1800s, a strip of land along many lakes and rivers was reserved for public use, to keep waterways accessible. This strip is usually 66 feet wide, or one surveyor’s chain, and runs along the shoreline. Over time, ownership of most of these strips passed to the local municipality.

The result is that on many Ontario lakes, the land between a cottage lot and the water belongs to the township, not the cottage owner. That’s true even when the cottage, deck, dock or boathouse sits on it, and even when the owner has used it for decades.

Not every waterfront lot has a shore road allowance. Some never did, some have been closed and sold to the owner, and some allowances belong to the province (the Crown) rather than the township. That’s why each property needs to be checked.

Why it matters

• You may not own the land under your cottage, dock or boathouse. Older cottages were often built close to the water, right on the allowance.
• Renovations can stall. You may not be able to get a building permit to renovate, expand or replace a structure that sits on land you don’t own.
• Insurance and financing can be affected once an insurer or lender learns that structures sit on someone else’s land.
• The public may have a right to use the strip, at least in theory.
• It affects value. Buyers, and their lawyers, increasingly check for it. An unresolved shore road allowance can complicate or reduce a sale.

A cautionary case

Toronto real estate lawyer Bob Aaron has written about a buyer who closed on a cottage without getting an up-to-date survey. She later discovered that nearly all of the cottage sat on the township’s shore road allowance. The township wouldn’t sell the land, and the court held that the problem was hers to have caught before closing. A current survey would have revealed it.

How to find out if your property has one

1. Look at a current survey. A survey shows where your lot line actually is and whether an allowance lies between it and the water. If your survey is decades old, consider a new one.
2. Ask your real estate lawyer to check title. If the allowance was closed and bought by a previous owner, it will show on title as part of your property.
3. Ask the township. The planning or clerk’s office can tell you whether the allowance in front of your property is still municipal land, and what its policy is.

If you’re buying a cottage

Make the shore road allowance part of your due diligence before your conditions expire:

• Make your offer conditional on a satisfactory survey and your lawyer’s review of title.
• Compare the survey with what’s actually on the ground. Does the cottage, deck, dock or boathouse sit on the allowance?
• If the allowance hasn’t been purchased, ask the township about its policy and likely costs.
• Treat it as a negotiating point. An unpurchased allowance with structures on it is a real cost and a real risk.

Title insurance can protect against some title and survey problems, but it is not a substitute for a survey, and policies have exclusions. Ask your lawyer exactly what the policy covers for the property you’re buying.

Can you buy the shore road allowance?

Often, yes, but it depends on the township. Some municipalities sell shore road allowances to the adjoining owner; others won’t sell, and some offer a lease instead. Where sales are allowed, the process usually involves an application to the township, a survey, legal work, a council decision and a purchase price, and it can take many months.

Costs vary widely between municipalities. Ask your township for its current policy, fees and timelines before you plan any work near the water.

Questions to ask your township

• Is there an unopened shore road allowance in front of my property, and who owns it?
• Does the township sell shore road allowances to adjoining owners? What does the process involve, and what does it cost?
• If not, does the township offer leases or other agreements?
• Can I get a building permit for work on a structure that sits partly on the allowance?

The bottom line

If you own a waterfront cottage in Ontario, find out whether you really own your shoreline. If you’re buying one, check before you close, not after. A current survey and a good real estate lawyer are the cheapest insurance against one of cottage country’s most expensive surprises.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the situation for any specific property with a surveyor, a real estate lawyer and your municipality.