by Nathalie Tinti, Associate
Further to my last blog post on this topic, I would like to thank all of you who contacted me with your questions and comments.
Now, for all of you just tuning in, we are speaking about Original Shore Road Allowances (“OSRA”) and the process by which you purchase them. OSRAs are public highways that exist at the water’s edge. There are many reasons why you may want to purchase an OSRA, but usually the issue rears its head when you go and apply for a building permit from your local municipality because you want to build a dock or a boat house and quickly find out that you do not own the land on which you wish to build. By virtue of the Municipal Act, municipalities must have by-laws in place for road closures and disposition of land. This blog gives a cursory overview of the process, however, the intricacies of each municipality can usually be found on their websites or in person at their offices.
Common requirements from municipalities in order to purchase an OSRA are such things as:
- you must own an abutting property;
- your property taxes must be paid in full; and,
- you will be responsible for your own lawyer fees as well as the municipality’s.
In many circumstances, if the purchase is not contentious, you may retain the services of the municipality’s lawyers, thereby saving you the costs of 2 lawyers.
The process starts by the submission of an application, which can be obtained from your local municipal offices, or in many instances, on their website. Application fees vary, but are usually between $500.00 and & $750.00, depending on the municipally. Once your application is submitted and you receive word that approval of your application has been given, you will need to retain the services of a surveyor. The OSRA will need to be surveyed in order to be transferred. It is worth noting that most municipalities do not transfer flooded portions of the OSRA. Unflooded portions are usually sold and those portions of the OSRA that are under water are retained.
Watch out for your timelines!!! Most municipalities have strict timelines in place in order to process the sale. The timelines are very reasonable and, in most circumstances, if there is a valid reason for short delays, extensions will be granted.
After the survey is approved and deposited at your local registry office, a by-law is passed by the municipality stopping up and closing the road and authorizing the sale of land to the abutting property owner. Costs are based on the square footage of the OSRA and vary from lake to lake and from municipality to municipality.
Once the compensation is paid, the transfer of land occurs and viola, you now own your OSRA! Build away!!