Are you thinking about buying a property with a shoreline road allowance? Here’s a brief survey of the topic to help you make your decision.
What is a shoreline road allowance?
A shoreline road allowance is a 66-foot strip of land between a cottage and the banks of a lake or river. When surveyors of Crown land first created these road allowances in Ontario in the late 19th century, they were originally designated for commercial activities like transportation of goods and logging.
The commercial purposes are gone now, but often the municipality still owns the road allowances. Currently, the Municipal Act says you have exclusive use of the road allowance on your shores. However, if you don’t own it, you can’t control any rules that may change in the future, and members of the public may consider it public property that they can use.
Today, most municipalities require land developers to purchase road allowances as a condition of approval of severance or subdivision. If you are buying a waterfront cottage, ask your realtor to confirm which properties include the shoreline road allowance.
What if there are structures built on the road allowance?
Your boathouse, dock, or even your cottage itself may be built on a shore road allowance. If you do not buy the roadway or sign a licence agreement to pay an annual rental, those structures are effectively illegal. If you are planning to buy a waterfront cottage, obtain a land survey to ensure all the structures are on owned land.
How can I buy the shoreline road allowance?
Contact your local municipality to find out if the shoreline road allowance is for sale. If it’s not, it will be called an area of retention.
If the road allowance can be purchased, the process is governed by a road closing bylaw. Your application to purchase will be circulated to neighbouring property owners and advertised locally. Once approval is given, there are municipal fees, legal fees to transfer title, and a land survey.
