How can I tell where my property boundary is?

Hi Bob.

The most reliable and safe way to do this is to hire a surveyor to stake the boundary out. If you are in Ontario, land surveyors are professionals with the right to provide a legal opinion on the location of the boundary. So hiring a surveyor is the best way to go.

An alternative is to get an existing survey plan of your property - one that shows the current buildings - and use the measurements on the plan to measure out the location of the boundary yourself. This is not recommended other than for you and your neighbour to approximate the boundary's location.

If you don't have an existing survey ask your neighbours. They often do. Failing that search on the internet for online databases of survey plans for your area. Lastly, try calling local surveyors to see if they might have one.

The biggest mistake people make is assuming that the existing fence/hedge/wall marks the official boundary. In fact it is our experience that this is more often not the case.