This past Winter our Neighors Son bought the Property on our Right, while our Neighor already owns 47 acres behind us... With the Snow melted and all the Paperwork Notorized.. With the Existing Survey Pegs visible a New Survey Peg has popped up on our side of a row of mature Spruce Trees.. That could present a problem legally speaking 8 yrs after we Bought our piece of property?

But what my Query is , Assuming this New Peg could be Accurate? There is a Ditch running along the Front (Roadside) Taking in the Road / Township Allowance which I believe is 18ft in from the Centre of the Road covers the Ditch.. Eyeballing the New Peg our Laneway entrance , one side (Retaining Wall) is on Their Side.. If Push Came to Shove from the Neighbor would we be Held Responsible to move the Retaining Wall??

Location is Eastern Ontario, Canada

It is interesting that you somehow wrote most of that in title case instead of sentence case. Either you wrote it in Word with the case set to title case, or the rules are different in Ontario (joke).

Seriously, I would first check with a surveyor to see if the peg is accurate.

Assuming that it is, were you aware of the newly-discovered peg before the sale occurred? If not, I would check to see what the statute of limitations for adverse possession is in Ontario (You suggest that it might be 8 years).

In any event, I don't expect that you could be required to move the retaining wall; if it is determined that it is on your new neighbor's property it would be for him to move if he so chooses.

I would check to see what the statute of limitations for adverse possession is in Ontario (You suggest that it might be 8 years).

In any event, I don't expect that you could be required to move the retaining wall; if it is determined that it is on your new neighbor's property it would be for him to move if he so chooses.

The Reference to 8yrs , We bought our Home in Sept / 07.. Upon Purchase there was an Existing Cedar Hedge between Properties (Backyards) fall of /08 we erected a ready made Home Depot Fence along our side of the Cedar Hedge T-Shaped dividing our Front & Backyard...

Our HD Fence and the New Peg by Eyeball line up.. My Reference to a possible problem in the future come as We are Planning to put our Son down on the Ownership Papers.. My Concern was the Laneway Entrance which is in the Area of Road Allowance thereby a Township Issue if need be ie: Culvert Pipe.. The Retaining Wall does have a Bit of a Lean to it.. It's one less Job for the Annual To Do List if We can avoid it until it falls over... lol...

This (http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_time_line_for_adverse_possession_in_On tario) link suggests that the equivalent period to what American lawyers would call an adverse possession SOL is 10 years. If the law in your province is similar to the law here, however, you could "tack" your period of possession on to that of your predecessors, to make the full required period.

As I said before, first you should contact a surveyor to advise you as to whether the pin you recently found is accurate. You should also contact an attorney in your jurisdiction regarding how good a case you might have. The attorney can probably tell the township whether there is an "issue" there.

As AK has said, the first thing you need to do is get a surveyor to establish the property line.

As AK has said, the first thing you need to do is get a surveyor to establish the property line.

Thanks for the Comeback.. We will be Questioning the Neighbor Tonight.. We're Curious as the Survey for the Property behind us and Ours shows Feet & Inches , Whereas the Son's Survey (I'm Told) shows Degrees??

You need perhaps, just to get a new survey done, on your own, to help settle issues, unless they decide to make an issue of the properly line.
It may not be anything, except they did this upon buying the property, something I always do.

Thanks for the Comeback.. We will be Questioning the Neighbor Tonight.. We're Curious as the Survey for the Property behind us and Ours shows Feet & Inches , Whereas the Son's Survey (I'm Told) shows Degrees??

A "metes and bounds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metes_and_bounds)" description of property will typically show both:

"metes" in distance, such as feet & inches;
also used in property descriptions is the direction (north, south, east, west) each "leg" of the survey goes, typically in degrees, minutes, seconds, etc. West, for example would be 270 degrees, 0 minutes, 0 seconds. In the survey you are looking at, it might be slightly off: 270 degrees, 3 minutes, 12 seconds, for example.

Or, they could use decimal fractions of both: 93.16 degrees, 560.26 feet, for example.

You need perhaps, just to get a new survey done, on your own, to help settle issues, unless they decide to make an issue of the properly line.
It may not be anything, except they did this upon buying the property, something I always do.


@ AK Lawyer). Thanks for The Comebacks... We Compared Surveys, All is Good.. My Concern was the Retaining Wall on one side of the Laneway Entrance to our Property, looking at it with Naked Eye from the Property Line.. It is over the Line, but I'm told my Query falls in the Area known as Road Allowance therefore it's up to the Township to Question?

@ AK Lawyer). Thanks for The Comebacks...

You are welcome.


... We Compared Surveys, All is Good.. My Concern was the Retaining Wall on one side of the Laneway Entrance to our Property, looking at it with Naked Eye from the Property Line.. It is over the Line, but I'm told my Query falls in the Area known as Road Allowance therefore it's up to the Township to Question?

So you are saying that a part of the laneway entrance, and the retaining wall, are on your new neighbor's property? If the recently discovered monument ("peg") is consistent with all surveys, it suggests to me that the laneway and retaining wall were built without much caring whether they were on your side of the property line or not.

If it's within the road allowance (i.e.: public right-of-way), it may not be either your or your neighbor's property anyway. That would depend upon whether the road allowance is considered to be a dedicated easement or owned by the township in fee simple.

So the township probably won't care; because it shouldn't make any difference either way. And thus your neighbor probably doesn't have any good reason to object if you go ahead and maintain the retaining wall.

You are welcome.

So the township probably won't care; because it shouldn't make any difference either way. And thus your neighbor probably doesn't have any good reason to object if you go ahead and maintain the retaining wall.


Back who knows how many exact years @ Least 3 previous owners on both sides , the original Property Line was a row of Cedars Spread out in the Front and Tighter in the Back to look like a neat hedge.. lol.. The previous Survey Marker was A Painted Wood Stick.. Soooo Nature of the Beast through time and weather the stick had wobbled a couple inches this way & that way... lol... @ AK Lawyer, in keeping with the old saying we'll "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie".. When the Piggy Bank is Busting at the Seams we'll Straighten Up the Retaining Wall, Cheers Thanks