EXPROPRIATION
LAW FAQ

Expropriation is the legal process by which a government authority, municipality, or other statutory body takes private property without the owner's consent for a public purpose — such as highways, transit, utilities, or other infrastructure projects. In Ontario, the process is governed by the Expropriations Act, which provides procedural protections and compensation rights for affected property owners.

Registered landowners in Ontario have the right to receive notices through the expropriation process, including the right (where available) to request a Hearing of Necessity. All land owners, registered or not, including tenants, have rights to seek full and fair compensation. The expropriations act has generous cost protections to ensure that in most cases an owner’s legal, appraisal, and other expert costs are fully reimbursed by the expropriating authority.

A Hearing of Necessity is a process that allows a property owner to challenge whether a proposed expropriation is fair, sound, and reasonably necessary to achieve the authority's objectives. An inquiry officer hears evidence and provides recommendations before the expropriation proceeds.

Compensation may include the market value of the land taken, disturbance damages, business losses, relocation expenses, and damages for injurious affection where the remaining property is negatively affected. The purpose of compensation is to place the owner in the same financial position they would have been in had the expropriation not occurred.

Injurious affection refers to damage suffered by a property owner when only part of the property is taken, or when no land is taken but the owner's property is negatively affected by the construction or use of a public project. This can include a reduction in the value of an owner’s remaining lands, resulting from reduced access, loss of visibility, noise, dust, vibration and other measurable impacts. Claimants must exercise caution as the expropriations act imposes a one-year limitation period to claim such losses.

Provided that certain low threshold requirements are met, the expropriating authority is required to reimburse a claimant’s reasonable legal, appraisal, and other expert costs incurred to advance a compensation claim.

The value of expropriated land is typically determined through appraisal evidence. Relevant factors may include the property's highest and best use, comparable sales, zoning, location, development potential, and market conditions as of the relevant valuation date.

Yes. Businesses may be entitled to compensation for losses resulting from expropriation, including business interruption, relocation costs, loss of profits in appropriate cases, and other damages arising from the taking or from impacts associated with the public project.

If a property owner does not agree with the compensation offered, the matter may proceed through further negotiation, mediation, or adjudication before the Ontario Land Tribunal or another decision-making body with jurisdiction, depending on the nature of the dispute.

Given the generous cost protections in the expropriations act, owners and tenants should speak with an experienced expropriation lawyer as early as possible, ideally the moment that they become aware that their land may be required for a public project. Early legal advice can help protect rights, preserve limitation periods, develop evidence and ensure the compensation claim is properly advanced from the outset.