How do I consolidate two lots or move a lot line in BC?
Adjoining lots one owner holds can become one title by a plan the land title office accepts; moving a line between lots is a subdivision the approving officer must approve.
Opens the report at this answer. A PID always finds the lot; an address needs an exact match.
What the answer means
Two lots side by side can be sold as one place and still be two titles, and a house, fence or septic field can sit across the line between them. Joining them into one title, or moving the line, is done by a plan registered at the land title office, and moving a line needs the approving officer.
- Joining two lots into one
- The land title office may accept a reference or explanatory plan that creates one new parcel by consolidating adjoining surveyed parcels (Land Title Act s. 100 (1) (b)). The owner signs the application, each holder of a registered charge consents (s. 100 (4)), and a mortgage whose holder consents then covers the new parcel (s. 100 (5)). The subdivision rules on road access don't apply to it (s. 100 (3)). Both lots are first put in the same name (our reading; ask your lawyer).
- Moving a line
- A strip moved from one lot to the next is a subdivision. The land title office may accept a description or reference plan for a new parcel created to add to an adjoining parcel in the same subdivision plan, which then becomes part of it (s. 99 (1) (d)), but only once the approving officer has approved it (s. 99 (2)). Otherwise a BC land surveyor draws a subdivision plan and the approving officer approves it (see subdividing a lot).
- Why a council asks for it
- A building across a lot line, or a lot too small for what's planned, is often settled by consolidation before a permit is issued (our reading; ask the building department). Crown land the Province sells to the lot next door is consolidated with that lot or tied to it by covenant (see Crown land next door).
- In the ALR
- Agricultural land may be subdivided only as the Agricultural Land Commission Act or its regulations permit (s. 21 (1)). The approving officer may approve, with a certificate the commission gets a copy of, a plan that consolidates parcels by removing the lines between them, sets a lot line on the reserve's boundary, or resolves a building over a lot line without a new parcel (ALR General Regulation s. 3 (2) (a)), and boundary adjustments among up to 4 parcels of 1 ha or more, with no new parcel or one under 1 ha, that the officer finds enhance farming (s. 3 (2) (b)). Anything else is an application to the commission (Act s. 21 (2); see applying to the ALC).
- Charges and tax
- Mortgages, easements and covenants on either lot come along: every charge holder has to consent, and a lender may set terms (our reading). Transferring a strip to the neighbour is a transfer of land, so property transfer tax can apply on its value (our reading; ask your lawyer).
- What it means for a buyer
- Two titles can be sold apart again; one title can be split only by a subdivision that meets the zone's smallest lot (our reading). A house across a line on two titles is a question for your lawyer before you buy, not after.
Our summary of the Land Title Act (RSBC 1996, c. 250, ss. 1, 99, 100), the Agricultural Land Commission Act (SBC 2002, c. 36, s. 21) and the Agricultural Land Reserve General Regulation (B.C. Reg. 57/2020, s. 3) on BC Laws, read 2026-10-21. Why a council asks for a consolidation and the tax on a strip are our reading; the approving officer decides each plan.
Sources, read 2026-10-21 and summarised in our words unless marked otherwise: Land Title Act, RSBC 1996, c. 250 (ss. 1, 99, 100); Agricultural Land Commission Act, SBC 2002, c. 36 (s. 21); Agricultural Land Reserve General Regulation, B.C. Reg. 57/2020 (s. 3).
Before you buy: who to ask
- The seller or their agent
- Is the place one title or several? Does any building, well, septic field or driveway cross a line between them?
- Your lawyer or notary
- Which charges are on each title, and would every holder consent to a consolidation? Would moving a line bring property transfer tax?
- The local government
- Would the approving officer approve joining the lots or moving the line, and would a permit for what you plan need it first?
- A BC land surveyor
- Where do the lines run on the ground, and what plan would the change need?
Look up the lot above: its report draws the lot lines and the lots around it, and says whether the lot is in the ALR.
See also subdividing a lot, encroachments, where the property lines run, Crown land next door, applying to the ALC and property transfer tax.