Land Severance
Could one property become two? For the right property, severance can create significant additional value. The process, however, involves considerably more than drawing a new property line.
Three different questions lead people here.
Can my property be severed?
Start with frontage, depth, zoning, neighbourhood precedent and whether two useful lots could actually be created.
I’m already pursuing a severance.
Understand the professional team, application process, municipal review, conditions and registration.
I may want to sell the opportunity.
Understand what the potential may be worth, how much work should be done first and how to reach the buyers who care about it.
What makes a property worth investigating?
There is no single measurement that tells us a property can be severed. We start by looking at the characteristics that make the site unusual, then compare those possibilities with the planning rules and what has already happened nearby.
Frontage
Is the lot materially wider than surrounding properties, and would the resulting lots have workable frontage?
Depth
Enough depth can matter just as much as width when it comes to usable building envelopes and yards.
Lot shape
Rectangular lots are easier to understand, but irregular sites can create opportunities that are less obvious.
Nearby precedent
What has already been severed, redeveloped or rebuilt nearby can be extremely useful context.
Zoning
Lot width, area, setbacks and other zoning standards may determine whether variances are required.
Servicing
Water, sewer, drainage, access and utilities can materially affect both feasibility and cost.
Trees & constraints
Protected trees, easements, conservation issues and grading can change what works on paper.
Economics
A severance can be possible without being worthwhile. The resulting value still has to justify the work and risk.
From one property to two legal parcels.
The exact process varies by municipality and property, but most residential severances follow a recognizable path.
Initial review
Zoning, lot dimensions, precedent and economics.
Survey & concept
Existing conditions and proposed lot configuration.
Application
Consent application and any required variances.
Review
Municipal departments, agencies and public notice.
Decision
Approval, conditional approval or refusal.
Conditions
Survey, servicing, trees, legal work and other requirements.
Registration
Certificate and registration of the resulting parcels.
Who may be involved?
Not every property requires every professional, but a severance can quickly become a team project.
There is no single “cost of a severance.”
Municipal fees vary significantly, and the amount of professional and site work depends on the property. The ranges below are useful for understanding the categories, not for budgeting a particular property.
Typical cost layers
Illustrative working ranges only. Surveying, planning, arborist, engineering, design, legal, servicing and municipal-condition costs depend on the property and municipality.
Sample 2026 consent application fees
These are examples of base/new-lot consent application fees only. Minor variance, certificate, recirculation, conservation authority and other fees may also apply.
Toronto Committee of Adjustment · Mississauga Consent Application · Vaughan 2026 Fee Schedule
Start with the rules where the property is located.
The Ontario Planning Act provides the framework, but local application requirements, fees and planning rules vary. Choose a TRREB market area below to reach the relevant municipal information.
Municipal pages change from time to time. These links are intended as starting points to official municipal information.
148 Colonel Danforth Trail
Our current exclusive listing at 148 Colonel Danforth Trail is a useful example of what a more developed severance opportunity can look like.
A survey has been completed, a draft reference plan has been prepared and conceptual plans have been created for two replacement detached homes. The severance process remains at an early stage, so the property is not being represented as two approved building lots.
What it does have is a specific proposal and enough work behind it for a buyer to understand what is being contemplated, rather than simply being told that a large lot “may be severable.”
Getting the approval is only part of the opportunity.
Once severance or redevelopment potential becomes part of a property's value, the marketing has to change too.
Over the years, we have built a list of more than 50 smaller developers and custom home builders who may be interested in opportunities of this type. We also identify agents who have recently represented buyers or sellers in comparable severance, teardown and redevelopment transactions, then direct them to the detailed workup prepared for the property.
The point is not simply to advertise that a lot is large. It is to make the opportunity understandable and put it directly in front of people who are more likely to value it.
Think your property might have severance potential?
We can look at the property as it exists today, what the land may reasonably support, what comparable development opportunities have sold for and whether the potential is worth pursuing.