Can your property lines change?
Most would think about this question in terms of subdivisions or larger developments where properties can be combined or split into two or more.
However, the question is focused on the untouched property you own over time.
Unknown to you can the dimensions of your property change over time?
The answer for most of us would be “Of course not, because I have a legal record or plan showing my lot is ___wide by____ long”.
However, if you put this question to any registered land surveyor, who earn their living by marking and establishing property lines, their answer would be yes.
Why do property lines change?
The vast majority of properties in BC are defined by some form of subdivision plan that shows property dimensions and markers set on the ground that define these boundaries.
See our article on legal markers to learn more about these marks set.
The importance of these markers being that they take precedent over the dimensions recorded on the legal plan.
This system ensures that the limits of properties can be easily identified on the ground by a homeowner and or the general public.
For example if you want to build a fence you would simply locate your existing property pins if visible and build within these markers.
The one issue that arises are that physical markers over time are subject to change.
There are myriad of reasons that these changes occur, but these are what we found to be the most common:
1.) Age of original survey.
Now the above isn’t to suggest older subdivision plans are of a poorer quality, however there were limitations to the accuracy of the equipment used by surveyors the further you go back.
Terrain and vegetation at the time of the survey are also contributors to the differences.
That along with the general understanding that nothing physically marked is fixed perfectly in place, especially with the passing of time.
2.) Lack of original evidence
This is the scenario land surveyors face all the time.
It was common practice to set wooden posts on older survey plans so considering most of BC gets quite a bit of rainfall, the vast majority of these marks have decayed.
Even newer property markers are often destroyed due to construction.
However, it should be noted that land surveyors do not have a magic wand to easily re-establish missing property pins.
They are bound by a set of legislated survey rules and best practices to ensure property lines are calculated as close to the original markers as possible.
With each property pin that is missing the land surveyor has to go from property to property looking for the next existing property pin.
Essentially they are in pursuit of evidence to prove where the missing property corner may have been.
The critical piece to the above practice of searching existing markers or evidence is that plan dimensions recorded on the original plan are one of the last items the surveyor will consider.
This means often the property lines are not exactly identical to the original plan
Why would this matter to you?
So you may ask why does it matter, especially when most of the of differences or changes are fairly small.
We want to provide a simple example to drive it home.
Recently we had a client purchase a property that was recorded as 66′ (feet) on the original subdivision plan.
The municipality would allow two 33′ lots so the client had the intention of doing a two lot subdivision.
After purchase the client had us do a topographic survey, and we found the lot was only 65.82′ wide.
Now the client is in a bind as he had relied on the original subdivision plan and the advise of the realtor on the purchase.
Current Legal property line & Area calculation
At Elevate we offer a service where we calculate your current property lines and area.
This means we ensure we find enough physical legal markers that define all sides of the property and not just rely on the original plan.
Often this calculation is used when we have assessed that property lines shown on our topographic survey need to be of the highest accuracy, and reflect the current dimensions of your property lines.
Conclusion
Whether your building a deck or planning a large subdivision we would encourage clients to reach out to a land surveyor whenever property lines are involved.
They can do a qualified assessment of your property lines and can provide consultation to help guide you to avoid common pitfalls that can occur.
At Elevate Land Surveying we have been serving clients all across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley since 2020.
Providing industry leading timelines along with high quality survey plans.
We have a unique office model where we have our land surveyors directly picking up all client calls and general enquires.
This allows us to provide immediate qualified assessment and advice on the unique needs of our clients and their properties.
Feel free to reach out to us for your next project.