OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada says a Toronto couple owns a portion of their backyard that became the subject of a lengthy dispute after they discovered the municipality was the title holder.
Pawel Kosicki and Megan Munro bought the residential property in 2017 and learned several years later that the City of Toronto held title to a part of their yard enclosed by a chain-link fence.
Kosicki and Munro asked the city about purchasing the portion in question, which they had maintained as their own and used as a play area for their children.
The city refused and the couple went to court seeking a declaration of adverse possession, more commonly known as squatter’s rights.
The Ontario Superior Court ruled against Kosicki and Munro, a decision upheld by the province’s Court of Appeal.
In its decision, the Supreme Court sided with the couple, saying that under the applicable statutory rules the city’s title to the land was extinguished over four decades ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.
