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Staking And Boundary Determination in the West Island
Benoît Péloquin Arpenteur-géomètre inc.
Installing a Bench-mark as Part of a Staking Operation
Staking
Staking is a way of physically marking the boundaries of a property. This is a set of operations done by a land surveyor using bench-marks to indicate his opinion on the exact location of a property line. If you are interested in staking on the West Island, contact our team today.
When you hire a land surveyor to stake your property line, you are asking him to indicate his or her opinion of where exactly your land ends, but the place where your land ends is necessarily the place where your neighbour’s land begins. You are therefore unilaterally asking for a professional opinion on a line that is of very great concern to your neighbour. You must understand that this is an extremely delicate act. Luckily, in order to protect you and your neighbour, there is a regulated procedure in place that all land surveyors who carry out such operations must follow, making it possible to quickly resolve clear situations and to identify situations that may or may not become subject to dispute.
Frequently, marks of occupation such as fences or hedges are not installed precisely on property lines. This is not necessarily a problem in itself if the neighbours are aware of the situation and tolerate it for the sake of good relations. On the other hand, this difference between marks of occupation and bench-marks can become problematic if one of the owners remains convinced that the fence, according to him, should be the boundary line. It is for this reason that the land surveyor must systematically investigate to see if either party is likely to be disturbed by the bench-marks. The land surveyor must then communicate with that person to ensure that the situation is not contentious. If the land surveyor concludes that the situation is not contentious, he continues his operations and installs the bench-marks. On the other hand, if the situation is undeniably contentious, the only way to solve the problem is to proceed to a boundary determination.
Boundary Determination
Boundary determination reflects an agreement, proposed by the land surveyor, between two owners concerning the demarcation of their respective land. We speak of amicable demarcation when the neighbours accept the proposal submitted by the land surveyor. If one of the neighbours refuses the conclusion of the land surveyor, the case can then be brought before the courts. We then refer to a demarcation of a boundary by judicial decision. If you require a boundary determination service on the West Island, call on our team of land surveyors!
In Quebec, article 977 of the Civil Code dictates the manner in which land surveyors must go about establishing a boundary. This article reads as follows: “The limits of land are determined by the titles, the cadastral plan and the boundary lines of the land, and by any other useful indication or document, if need be.” The work of the land surveyor therefore consists in drawing up a plan showing all the elements mentioned in this article of the Act and comparing them to each other. In theory, the distance between your fences should match the width of your lot on the cadastral which, in turn, should match the dimensions mentioned on your title deed. In practice, there are often differences. The land surveyor must then measure a larger area in order to find as many elements as possible that match each other. Thereafter, some elements will be rejected, others accepted, all according to the rules established by the courts. Knowledge of the territory coupled with solid experience become important assets for a high-quality expertise.
Boundary determination may be requested to rectify the property line between an owner and their neighbour, in order to establish boundaries or to restore boundaries that have disappeared or have been displaced, or to recognize old boundaries.
Whether it is for a demarcation of a boundary by private agreement or a demarcation of a boundary by judicial decision on the West Island of Montreal as elsewhere, the boundary determination is irrevocable. It definitively settles the boundaries on a piece of land. The land surveyor who will do this work must be chosen jointly by the owners concerned, and the latter share the costs of the services.