Every detached house purchase raises two questions. Where exactly are the edges of the lot? And do the house, garage, fence and deck sit inside them? A title search answers who owns the parcel. A survey shows where the garage stands on the ground. Title insurance is a separate product that may pay for some losses connected to title, based on its policy wording.
This chapter is part of the property checks guide and follows the title search chapter, which explains the charges a survey may help you locate. The journal article comparing a survey certificate and title insurance looks at the choice between the two in shorter form.
Three kinds of evidence about boundaries
Keep what you see, what a document proves, and what a professional certifies in separate columns.
What you can observe: a fence, a hedge, a paved strip, a shed near a corner, a neighbour's eave hanging over the side yard. These features show where people built things. The legal boundary may run somewhere else, and only the plan and a survey can place it.
What a document proves: the registered plan shows the legal shape and dimensions of the lot. The title shows the charges, such as a right of way for a sewer. A right of way document may describe the area it covers.
What a professional certifies: a BC land surveyor can find the boundaries on the ground and certify where each building sits in relation to them. That certified drawing is the survey certificate.
What a survey certificate establishes
The Land Surveyors Act defines the practice of land surveying. The definition includes determining, locating and establishing boundaries. It also includes determining the location of a natural or built feature relative to a boundary for the purpose of certifying that location in writing. The Act says a person must not engage in that practice, or present themselves as a land surveyor, unless the Act authorises them.
So a survey certificate is a land surveyor's written statement of where the buildings and other features were on the day of the survey, measured against the legal boundaries. It can show how far the house sits from each line, whether a structure crosses a line, and whether a structure sits within a registered right of way area.
A survey certificate records the site on one date. Anything built or moved afterwards will not appear. If the seller offers an older certificate, check its date against the work you can see on the lot today. A deck, a shed or a garage added later needs a new survey to place it.
Records the City of Coquitlam may hold
The City of Coquitlam's building permits FAQ says that, depending on the age of the house, a site survey showing where the forms or foundation were placed on the lot may be available at the permits counter. Homeowners must show proof of ownership. Realtors and prospective buyers must show the purchase agreement. The FAQ also says survey certificates can be purchased for a fee at the Building Permits Division counter.
The same FAQ answers a question owners ask often: how to find the property line pegs. It points to the legal plans. If you cannot find the pegs that way, it says you will need to hire a private land surveyor to resurvey the property and place new pegs.
Coquitlam's building and construction page adds that legal lot plans, documents on title and encumbrances such as rights of way and easements can be viewed at the Engineering and Public Works counter at City Hall. You cannot copy plans there. Duplicates come from LTSA, which sells registered plans through its document and plan ordering service.
A form survey from the city file is a useful starting point. It shows where the foundation was placed during construction. A later addition, a garage built without a permit, or a fence moved by a neighbour needs a current survey to place it. Compare the form survey with what stands on the lot today, then decide whether to order one.
When a structure crosses a boundary
Section 36 of the Property Law Act deals with encroachments found on a survey. If a building encroaches on adjoining land, or a fence encloses adjoining land, the Supreme Court may, on application:
- declare that the encroaching owner has an easement over the land for a period the court sets, with compensation to the neighbour;
- transfer title to the encroached land to the encroaching owner, with compensation; or
- order the owner to remove the encroachment or the fence.
The court chooses the remedy. For a buyer, the practical point is that an encroachment found on a survey is a legal question with more than one possible outcome. Your lawyer can explain which outcome is likely to be argued and what it could cost to resolve.
The boundary stays where it was registered, however long a fence has stood. Section 23 of the Land Title Act says that once an indefeasible title is registered, a title adverse to the registered owner is not acquired by length of possession. Section 24 abolishes all existing ways of acquiring a right over land by prescription. A fence that has stood for 30 years still sits wherever it sits. The boundary stays where the registered plan puts it.
Section 23 also lists, among the exceptions to a registered title, the right of a person to show that land was wrongly included in a title through a wrong description of boundaries or parcels. Boundary errors can be raised through that route. Your lawyer can say whether it applies.
When a structure sits over a right of way
A right of way gives a public body or utility the right to use part of your lot for its works. Section 218 of the Land Title Act says registration of the right of way confers on the holder the right to use the land in line with the terms of the registered document, and that those terms bind later owners.
That means the answer to "can the garage stay over the sewer line?" sits in the document. The document may set rules about building within the right of way area. A survey certificate can show whether a structure sits inside that area. Your lawyer reads the terms and tells you what the holder can require. The drainage and services chapter explains how to find where the service pipes run.
What title insurance does, based on its wording
British Columbia's land title system already protects registered owners. LTSA's page on title security says an Assurance Fund compensates owners who suffer a loss from a title registration error or who become innocent victims of title fraud. On title insurance, LTSA says the level of coverage from either source depends on the specific facts, and that your title insurer can explain how its coverage interacts with the Assurance Fund.
Title insurance is a private insurance contract. Its coverage is whatever its policy wording covers, minus whatever the same wording excludes. The policy document is the source to rely on, ahead of any summary from a website or a conversation. Ask your lawyer or notary for the policy wording before completion, and read these parts:
- The insured risks, especially anything about boundaries, encroachments and survey matters.
- Anything about work done without permits or about orders from the city.
- The exclusions, especially for matters you knew about before completion.
- Who the policy protects: you as the owner, or your lender.
A title insurance policy may pay for a covered loss. Where your garage sits, and whether a fence can go on the line, are physical facts that a survey records.
| Question | Source that answers it | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Where are the legal boundaries? | Registered plan and a survey | LTSA and a BC land surveyor |
| Where do the buildings sit today? | A current survey certificate | A BC land surveyor |
| Where was the foundation placed when built? | A form or site survey in the city file | City of Coquitlam permits counter |
| What happens if a building crosses a line? | Property Law Act, section 36 | Your lawyer, and the court if needed |
| Which losses are insured? | The title insurance policy wording | The insurer, through your lawyer or notary |
Putting the survey into the timeline
A survey takes time to order and complete. If you want one before removing subjects, raise it at the offer stage so your subject period allows for it. Ask the seller early whether a survey certificate or a city form survey already exists.
If a survey shows a problem, list it in plain words: which structure, which line, by how much, and whether it sits in a right of way. Send that list to your lawyer and your real estate professional before the subject deadline. The options depend on your contract and on what the parties agree. For plans to build on the lot later, the land and zoning guide covers setbacks and what the zoning allows.