My neighbour built a fence on my side in Alta Vista?

If your neighbour has built a fence that crosses onto your property, the first step is to confirm exactly where your property line sits, because that question has to be answered before anything else can move forward.

geoOttawa shows approximate property lines, but approximate is the key word. Only an Ontario Land Surveyor, as required under the Surveyors Act and administered through the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors, can establish a boundary with legal certainty. A fence installer cannot certify where the line is. If you do not already have a recent survey, getting one is the clearest way to document that the fence is on your land rather than your neighbour's.

Once you have confirmed the line, talk to your neighbour directly and show them what the survey shows.

If a direct conversation does not resolve it, Ontario's Line Fences Act gives you a formal path. You can notify the municipal clerk to have fence-viewers appointed. Three fence-viewers examine the site, and their award sets the location of the fence and how costs are shared. The award does not affect title to the land, only the fence's placement and cost. One important limit: the AMCTO's guide to the Line Fences Act says arbitration does not apply where one owner has already built or rebuilt a fence on their own initiative and then wants to make the neighbour pay after the fact. Ask the City of Ottawa whether the process applies to your situation and what it costs, because we could not confirm which parts of Ottawa the process covers or the current fee.

If the fence is on City property rather than yours, that is a separate matter. The City of Ottawa Fence By-law No. 2003-462 prohibits fences on City property, including any road allowance, and the road allowance can be wider than it appears. geoOttawa shows approximate lines; for exact lines, a surveyor is the right call.

Check your deed or title documents for any easements across that part of your property, and if anything is unclear, a real estate lawyer can advise on your options before you take a formal step.

The request form on this site sends your details to local Ottawa fence installers who can look at the situation and give you a written assessment of what a correction or replacement would involve.