Deed Restriction
Understand deed restrictions in Canadian real estate — what they are, how they affect property use, and their role in land control.
July 27, 2025
What is a Deed Restriction?
A deed restriction is a condition written into a property’s deed that limits or prescribes how the property can be used, binding future owners until legally changed.
Why Deed Restrictions Matter in Real Estate
In Canadian property law, deed restrictions help preserve neighbourhood character, control land use, or uphold community standards.
Examples:
- Prohibiting commercial use of residential property
- Limiting building height
- Restricting types of exterior finishes
Understanding deed restrictions helps buyers assess property limitations before purchase.
Example of Deed Restrictions in Action
The deed restriction prevented the owner from adding a second storey to the house.
Key Takeaways
- Limits or prescribes property use
- Written into the deed
- Binds current and future owners
- Helps preserve community standards
- Requires legal action to change
An overview of Hedge Road Landing. (Alliance Homes)
6525 Mississauga Road and its surrounding context. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
Property details for 6525 Mississauga Road. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
National average resale-price growth and housing-starts growth, smoothed over three months. The comparison illustrates the cycle; it does not establish how much a price change causes construction to change.
Trailing 12-month starts in centres of 50,000 or more remove the usual monthly seasonality. Ownership combines the homeowner and condominium categories; rental is shown separately.
Six-month averages of provincial starts, expressed at annual rates. The smoothing reduces the influence of individual apartment projects.
The same August benchmark compared with two different starting points. Three-month changes are not annualized.
Average sale prices show the difference in purchase costs across markets. They do not measure affordability relative to local incomes or construction costs.
Newfoundland and Labrador remains above its pre-pandemic sales pattern, but August activity was below last year. Historical lines retain their original release vintages.
Average and median describe different aspects of the same month’s transactions. Both are affected by the mix of homes sold.
Category averages compare different homes and locations; the gaps are not estimates of the cost to upgrade an otherwise identical property.
The five categories shown account for 5,000 of the board’s 5,057 sales. The remaining 57 transactions were in other housing categories.
Monthly observations are not seasonally adjusted. Active listings count properties available at month-end; they are not construction inventory.
Average and median prices share one dollar axis. These unadjusted transaction measures do not control for changes in the homes sold.
TRREB’s 416/905 categories compare the apartments sold in each area. The difference does not isolate a location premium for equivalent units.
Highlights from the Delta Golf & Country Club listing brochure. (Colliers)