Unregistered Easement Inquiries

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Unregistered Easement Inquiries Self Search

Owners of land or individuals intending to acquire an interest in land may conduct a self search of the unregistered easements held by Hydro One Networks Inc. across the province of Ontario.

You can search for a property using the street address or a keyword. The application will identify the underlying Geographic Township, Lot and Concession and present the relevant unregistered easements available in Hydro One’s database. You can also locate the property on a map to confirm its location.

Watch the tutorial video to learn more about how to view, filter, sort your search results, download a report and export to Excel.

Self Search Fee

The fee for using the Unregistered Easement Inquiries online portal is $25 CAN plus HST for a total of $28.25 per single lot search (i.e. only one property description).

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What is an Unregistered Easement?

An unregistered easement is a legal right that is not registered on title to a property, granted from property owners to Hydro One or one of its predecessor companies to construct, operate access and maintain its facilities.

  • The Electricity Act, 1998, legislated that all easements granted to Hydro One Networks Inc. must be registered on title.
  • Unregistered easement rights are maintained by the Electricity Act and all land in Ontario is still subject to any unregistered rights taken prior to April 1, 1998, in favour of Hydro One Networks Inc. or its predecessors.

What is an Unregistered Easement Search and why do I need to conduct one?

Hydro One Networks Inc. has an obligation to provide certain information with respect to unregistered easements rights on request of any interested parties. The Unregistered Easement Inquiries Self Search was developed to provide owners of land or individuals intending to acquire an interest in land with the ability to conduct a self-search of the unregistered easements held by Hydro One Networks Inc. across the province of Ontario.

Before you start your search, please ensure you have the following information:

  • Municipal street address or
  • Legal description of the property including the original Geographic Township, Lot and Concession
  • You can also use the “Map it” function of the application to confirm the Geographic Township, Concession and Lot values of your address and then input into the search fields
  • An email address
  • A valid credit card or PayPal account.

Hydro One Conducted Search Fees

If you are not able to access the online Unregistered Easement Self Search Tool, please follow the instructions below to request Hydro One Staff perform the search on your behalf.

The fee for requesting a Hydro One conducted Unregistered Easement search is $92.51 CAN + HST for a total of $104.54* per property search (i.e. only one property description). A valid credit card or PayPal account is required for payment. Have your credit card number and expiry date ready.

Please complete the Unregistered Easement Form with the required information.

A email reply confirming the existence of Hydro One Networks Inc.’s rights, if any, will be sent within 21 days.

*Hydro One Networks Inc.’s Rate Application (2023 to 2027) was approved by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) on November 29, 2022. The OEB approved $92.51 + tax as the rate for Easement Letter searches, i.e., Hydro One-conducted easement searches, effective January 1, 2023.

Glossary of Terms

Your Unregistered Easement search results may include a reference to features of our electricity distribution system which are defined below.

Assigned - Unregistered easement rights that were granted to the old Ontario Hydro have been assigned to the local municipal electrical utility and are not held by Hydro One Networks Inc.

Anchor - A steel rod embedded in the ground attached to an above surface ring securing a guy wire that in turn supports a pole

Bell Joint Use - A pole or other piece of hardware shared jointly by Bell Canada and Hydro One Networks Inc. Common Service

Tap - Electrical wires from a transformer that branch off feeding more than one user

Conductor - An electrical wire or wires

Hardware - Any solid piece of equipment or structure including; wires, poles, insulators, transformers, anchors, etc.

Line - An electrical wire or wires

Occupation - Any piece of Hydro One Networks Inc. hardware residing on a piece of property, above or below ground or the right to access and/or place hardware on that property even if there currently isn't any equipment there.

Overhang - Any piece of Hydro One Networks Inc. hardware hanging over a property but not necessarily in contact with it

P Number - P number stands for Property Transaction Number, a unique Hydro One Networks Inc. number assigned to a single transaction or agreement relating to a single property. One property can have multiple P numbers

Pole - A wood, steel or concrete pole supporting electrical system hardware or wires

Right of Way - Legal access to travel across or along private property whether or not there is currently any Hydro One Networks Inc. hardware on the property

Right to Cut - Rights were granted to access the property and cut or trim the trees to (& Trim) protect the electrical system wires.

Transformer - A piece of electrical equipment that steps down (""slows down"") electricity for customer use (e.g. household voltage)

Transformer Pad -A poured concrete pad that supports a ground level transformer

Property Search

In the Unregistered Easement Search, you can search a property using the street address or a keyword and the application will identify the original Geographic Township (or Upper Tier Municipality if a Geographic Township does not exist) and the associated records held by Hydro One. You can also locate the property on a map to confirm its location.

The application allows you to view, filter and sort your search results, download a report and export to excel. The Support page provides the application manual, quick tips, videos, Frequently Asked Questions, and a glossary of terms.

Begin Self-Search

Contact Us

Hydro One Real Estate

phone

1-800-387-1946

Please call and leave a message. We will return your
call in 48 hours.

mailing-service-email

UnregisteredEasements@hydroone.com

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