Waterfront 101: what you are really buying

Two cottages can look the same in photos and be very different places to own. The building can be fixed, added to or replaced. The shoreline, the depth of the water, the direction it faces and the legal strip along the water's edge mostly cannot. This guide covers the parts of a waterfront purchase that sit outside the cottage walls.

Shoreline types

Most Ontario shorelines fall into one of four groups. Many lots have a mix.

• Sand. Easy walk-in entry and good for young children. Sandy bays are often shallow for a long way out, which can mean a long dock to reach boating depth.
• Rock. Common on the Canadian Shield in Muskoka, Parry Sound and Haliburton. Clean, clear and often deep off the dock. Entry can be steep or slippery, so check how you would get in and out.
• Weedy or natural. Soft bottom with aquatic plants. Good fish habitat. Swimming is often done off the end of the dock, not from shore.
• Wetland. Marsh or swamp at the water's edge. It protects water quality and wildlife, and it is usually tightly regulated. Do not assume you can clear, dredge or fill it.

Water depth and swimming

Ask how deep the water is at the end of the dock in late summer, not in May. Walk in if you can. Look at the bottom: sand, rock, muck or weeds.

Exposure and sunsets

Exposure is the direction the shoreline faces. West and southwest lots get afternoon sun and sunsets, and they often cost more. East lots get morning sun and a shaded dock by late afternoon. North-facing lots are cooler and darker. South-facing lots get sun most of the day.

Exposure also affects wind and waves. A lot facing a long stretch of open water gets a big view and more wave action on the dock. A sheltered bay is calmer and may have more weeds.

Frontage in feet

Frontage is the width of the lot along the water, usually given in feet. It matters for three reasons.

• Privacy. More frontage usually means more distance to the neighbours.
• Zoning. Township bylaws often tie dock size, boathouse size and the right to build or sever to the amount of frontage.
• Value. Buyers and appraisers compare waterfront sales by frontage and shoreline quality, not only by the size of the cottage.

Listings may give straight-line frontage or frontage measured along the curve of the shore. Ask which one, and check it against the survey.

Shore road allowances

When much of Ontario was first surveyed, a strip of land along many lakes and rivers was set aside as a public road allowance. It is commonly 66 feet wide, which is one surveyor's chain. Most of these roads were never built, but the strip still exists on paper. Unless it has been closed and sold, the township owns it, not the cottage owner.

Many townships will close the allowance and sell it to the owner of the abutting lot. The owner applies, pays for a survey and the legal work, and pays the township's price for the land. Policies and fees vary, and a council can say no.

It matters because a cottage, deck, sauna or boathouse may be sitting partly on land the seller does not own. Some townships will not issue a building permit for a structure on the allowance until the owner has bought it. In the Township of Muskoka Lakes, for example, the policy says the owner must first purchase the open allowance before applying for a permit to build or rebuild on it, with an exception for docks.

Ask early if the shore road allowance is owned (closed and added to the lot) or unowned (still open). Your lawyer can confirm this from the title and survey.

The water's edge and the lake bed

Your deed and survey decide where your land ends. It may be the water's edge, a high water mark, or the inside edge of a shore road allowance. Beyond that line, the bed of most navigable lakes and rivers in Ontario belongs to the Crown. On the Trent-Severn Waterway, Parks Canada owns the bed of the waterway and its lakes and rivers.

In plain terms, you own the lot. You do not own the lake in front of it. That is why docks and boathouses need permission from more than one office.

Docks and boathouse permits

Several bodies can have a say. Which ones apply depends on the lake.

• The township. Zoning sets the size, height, location and number of docks and boathouses. Many townships limit or ban new boathouses with living space.
• The Ministry of Natural Resources. On provincial shore lands, you may need a work permit for a structure, or group of structures, in physical contact with more than 15 square metres of the lake bed. A floating structure is not counted as being in contact with the bed. Dredging, filling and shoreline walls can also need a permit.
• Conservation authorities. Where one exists, it regulates work in or near water, wetlands and flood-prone land.
• Parks Canada. On the Trent-Severn Waterway and the Rideau Canal, which include many Kawartha Lakes, you need a Parks Canada permit for in-water and shoreline work. That covers docks, boathouses, boat lifts, dredging and shoreline stabilization.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Work that could harm fish habitat can need federal review.

Ask the seller for the permits for the existing dock and boathouse. An older structure built without one may be allowed to stay but not to grow or be rebuilt in the same spot.

Water levels on dam-controlled lakes

Many cottage lakes are held up by dams. On the reservoir lakes that feed the Trent-Severn Waterway, including many in Haliburton and northern Peterborough County, Parks Canada draws water down through the summer to supply the canal system. On a gently sloped shore, the same drop exposes far more lake bottom than on a steep one.

Ask neighbours how far the water drops by September.

Lake associations and water quality

A lake association is a volunteer group of property owners. Many test water clarity and phosphorus, track algae blooms and invasive species, and publish a lake plan. Their reports are one of the best free sources on the health of a lake.

What to ask before an offer

1. Ask for the survey, and for the frontage measured the same way as the listing.
2. Ask if the shore road allowance is owned, and for proof.
3. Ask for permits for the dock, boathouse and any shoreline work.
4. Ask for the water depth at the dock in late summer and how much the level changes.
5. Ask who controls the water level and if the lake is part of a federal waterway.
6. Ask about algae blooms, weeds and any invasive species on the lake.

You can browse by lake to start comparing, and our guide to septic systems, wells and lake water covers the other half of a waterfront inspection.

This is general information, not legal advice. Have a real estate lawyer review title, the survey and the shore road allowance before you firm up an offer.