Can a neighbour claim part of my land by using it for years in BC?

Question

Accepted Answer

No: once land has a registered title, nobody gains it by using or fencing it, however long; a building or fence over the line is settled by agreement or, failing that, by the court. What's left to settle is the encroachment itself, a fence, shed, driveway or building over the line, and that is done by agreement, by an easement or a transfer of the strip, or by the court. Look up the address or PID on PlaceDossier to see the record for that lot. No squatter's rights on titled land: After an indefeasible title is registered, no one acquires title against the registered owner by length of possession (Land Title Act s. 23 (3)), and no right or title to land may be acquired by adverse possession except as an Act provides (Limitation Act s. 28 (1)). A right acquired before July 1, 1975 is kept (s. 28 (2)), and the first title registered on land can yield to someone already in possession and rightly entitled when it was applied for (Land Title Act s. 23 (4)). No easement by long use either: A right of way or other easement can't be gained by long use: prescription and the lost modern grant are abolished (Land Title Act s. 24). An action to recover titled land can't be brought against the registered owner except in a few listed cases (s. 25). A building or fence over the line: Where a survey finds a building encroaching on the neighbour's land, or a fence enclosing it, the Supreme Court may give the encroaching owner an easement for a period it sets, or vest the land itself in them, each on paying compensation it decides, or order the building or fence removed (Property Law Act s. 36 (2)). Who gets which depends on the facts; the Act doesn't rank them (our reading). Settling it by agreement: Neighbours can agree instead: a registered easement lets the building or driveway stay where it is, and a lot line adjustment moves the strip from one title to the other, which is a subdivision needing the approving officer and a new plan (see subdividing a lot). An agreement that isn't registered doesn't bind a later owner (our reading; ask your lawyer). What a survey shows: The legal line is the registered survey plan and its posts, not a fence, hedge or the open map. A BC Land Surveyor's certificate or a new survey shows what stands over the line on either side; an old one won't show what was built since. A wrong boundary on the title: A title is subject to a person's right to show that land was wrongly included in it by a misdescribed boundary (Land Title Act s. 23 (2) (h)), and the assurance fund doesn't pay for that loss (see title insurance). What it means for a buyer: A fence a metre off the line is common on rural land and can be lived with; a house, garage or septic field over it is worth settling before completion. Ask the seller what they know, and raise anything the survey shows with your lawyer before you remove subjects.

Can a neighbour claim part of my land by using it for years in BC?

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