Fences, Property Lines and Neighbours in BC

Fences, hedges and retaining walls don't always sit on the legal property line, and when they don't, neighbours can end up in a dispute. Here is how to find your line in BC, what cities allow, who pays for a shared fence and how to settle a disagreement.

The short version

Finding your property line

LTSA says a survey plan shows the legal boundaries and dimensions of a parcel, and the type and location of the survey posts set in the ground to define them. People's Law School, a BC non-profit, cautions that a fence or hedge may not be an accurate marker, and that it is the owner's responsibility to locate the line.

• Get the plan. Scanned copies of most registered plans are available through LTSA, or through a land surveyor, lawyer, notary or registry agent.
• Look for the posts. Survey posts, often iron pins, mark the boundaries in the ground. Under the Criminal Code, deliberately pulling down, altering or removing a boundary mark lawfully placed by a land surveyor is an offence that can carry up to five years in prison.
• Hire a BC land surveyor. LTSA can't help locate boundaries and refers owners to a surveyor, who can find the posts and mark the line.
• Check your building records. Coquitlam says a forms survey, showing your lines relative to your foundation, may be in your property records or on file with its Building Division.

Skipping the survey can cost you: in a 2024 decision, the Civil Resolution Tribunal ordered an owner who built a fence on his neighbours' land without a survey, and refused to remove it, to pay their $2,467.50 survey fee.

How high a fence can be

Each municipality sets its own fence rules, usually in its zoning bylaw:

• Vancouver. Fences up to 1.2 m are allowed in the front yard. A taller front fence or gate needs a conditional development permit.
• Coquitlam. 1.3 m in front of the house, 1.8 m in residential side and rear yards, and 1 m within 6 m of a street corner. A fence needs no permit, and barbed and razor wire are banned in residential zones.
• Port Coquitlam. 1.2 m in the front yard and up to 2.5 m in the rear yard, measured from finished grade, and 1 m within 5 m of the intersection on a corner lot.

Hedges are treated differently: Vancouver's fence rules don't apply to hedges, and Coquitlam doesn't limit hedges except near corners. In a strata, including a bare land strata, the bylaws may add rules. Before you dig post holes, submit a free locate request to BC 1 Call at least three business days ahead.

Who pays for a shared fence

BC has no general fence-sharing statute. The closest is section 10 of the Trespass Act: unless they agree otherwise, owners of adjoining land in a rural area must make, keep up and repair the lawful fence between them, and each is liable to the other for half of any cost reasonably incurred. The Act doesn't define a rural area, so on an acreage, ask a lawyer whether it applies.

On a typical city or suburban lot, it comes down to ownership and agreement:

• On the line. People's Law School says a fence on the property line belongs to both owners, neither can take it down without the other's permission, and the cost of building or repairing it is generally split evenly.
• On one side. A fence entirely on your land is yours, and so is the bill.
• Without consent. If you go ahead without your neighbour's agreement, you will likely pay the full cost yourself.
• An agreement counts. In a 2024 decision, the tribunal found that a neighbour had agreed to pay her share of a fence, even without a signed document, and ordered her to pay $1,760 plus tax.

Before work starts, get written quotes and both sign a copy of the chosen quote showing what each of you will pay.

When a fence or building is over the line

An encroachment is a structure that crosses onto a neighbour's land, and in BC, time doesn't fix it. Under the Limitation Act, no right or title to land can generally be acquired by adverse possession, apart from rights acquired before July 1, 1975.

If a survey shows that a building encroaches, or that a fence was put in the wrong place so it encloses a neighbour's land, section 36 of the Property Law Act lets the BC Supreme Court:

• declare an easement over that land for a period it sets, with compensation;
• transfer the land to the owner of the building or fence, with compensation; or
• order the encroachment or fence removed.

Don't tear a neighbour's fence down yourself: in a 2024 decision, the tribunal made a neighbour who destroyed the fence next door pay for it, finding that removing it wasn't a lawful self-help remedy.

When you buy, your lawyer or notary may suggest a survey certificate or title insurance, which I compare in Title Insurance in BC.

Trees and hedges on the line

• Boundary trees. People's Law School says a tree whose trunk or visible roots grow across the line belongs to both neighbours, and each needs the other's agreement before doing anything to it.
• Branches and roots. You can generally cut back a neighbour's branches or roots that cross onto your land, without permission, as long as you stay on your side and avoid unnecessary damage to the tree. A 2022 tribunal decision applied this rule to branches, citing the BC Court of Appeal.
• Tree bylaws. Many BC municipalities require a permit to cut down a tree above a set size, typically a trunk 10 to 20 cm across measured 1.4 m above the ground, and may require replacement trees, so check yours before you prune or remove one.

Retaining walls

Cities regulate retaining walls more closely than fences:

• Coquitlam. A wall over 1.2 m needs a building permit and a professional engineer's design, no retaining wall may exceed 2.4 m, and a wall over 0.6 m should have a guard or fence on top. A wall and fence together are capped at 3 m.
• Abbotsford. A wall 1.2 m or taller, or a series totalling more than 1.2 m, needs a permit and an engineer, and walls between properties should generally be no higher than 1.2 m. The owner of the land under the wall is responsible for it.
• Fences on walls. In Vancouver, a front-yard fence on or within 1 m of a retaining wall on a shared boundary loses half the wall's height from its allowance, and Abbotsford counts the wall's height when a fence is within 1 m of it.

If a home you are buying has a tall wall near the line, ask whether it had a permit.

Settling a dispute

• Talk, write, mediate. Start with a conversation, then a letter setting out the problem and a fix, then mediation, which People's Law School notes is quicker and much less expensive than legal action.
• The city. For an over-height fence or a tree cut without a permit, contact your municipality's bylaw office.
• Civil Resolution Tribunal. The CRT decides most small claims up to $5,000 online, such as an agreed share of a fence or damage from a neighbour's tree. It has said orders to remove a fence are outside its small claims jurisdiction.
• The courts. Small Claims Court in the Provincial Court hears claims up to $35,000, and orders under the Property Law Act come from the BC Supreme Court, so talk to a lawyer.

In a strata, the CRT can decide most disputes with no dollar limit, as I explain in Strata Disputes in BC.

Questions owners often ask me

Does my neighbour have to pay half of a new fence?

No statute says so for a city lot: the Trespass Act splits fence costs only between adjoining owners in a rural area. Owners of a fence on the line generally share its cost, but if you go ahead without your neighbour's agreement you will likely pay it all, so agree in writing first.

Is the old fence my property line?

Not necessarily. The line is shown on the registered survey plan and marked by survey posts, and a fence or hedge may be in the wrong place, so ask a BC land surveyor to find the survey posts before you build.

How tall can my fence be?

It depends on your city and the yard. Vancouver, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam limit front-yard fences to 1.2 to 1.3 m, while Coquitlam allows 1.8 m in side and rear yards.

Can I cut my neighbour's branches that hang over my yard?

Generally yes, back to the property line and without permission, as long as you stay on your side and avoid unnecessary damage to the tree. Don't touch a boundary tree without your neighbour's agreement.

Can my neighbour claim my land because their fence has been there for years?

Generally no. BC's Limitation Act says title to land can't be acquired by adverse possession, apart from rights acquired before July 1, 1975, though the BC Supreme Court can grant an easement or transfer land, with compensation, when a fence or building encroaches.

Buying a home with a fence or wall near the line? See what sellers disclose, including encroachments, in The Property Disclosure Statement, or read Bare Land Stratas if the home is in one.

This article is general information, not legal advice. The details come from BC statutes, the Criminal Code, Civil Resolution Tribunal decisions, LTSA, People's Law School and city guides, and were current at the time of writing, so confirm fence and wall rules with your city. For People's Law School's guide, see fences and neighbours.