What happened to my ''For Sale'' signs?

Real estate brokers who had put up “For Sale” signs were surprised to find their signs gone a short time later. The reason was simple: they had erected their signs within a Ministère des Transports right-of-way.

No signs in rights-of-way

Impinging on or erecting signs within Ministère des Transports road rights-of-way is strictly prohibited, except when such signs are placed in accordance with the Highway Safety Code (CQLR, c. C-24.2). ''For Sale'' signs found on rights-of-way will be removed by the Ministère’s crews during maintenance operations in order to ensure the safety of all road users and maintain the integrity of public property.

What is the road right-of-way?

A road right-of-way is defined in the Roadside Advertising Act (CQLR c. P-44) as “the surface of a highway and of its borders up to the line separating it from the adjacent land.” It includes, among other things:

• traffic lanes and shoulders;
• ditches;
• divider strips;
• rest areas;
• lookouts
• additional strips of land of varying size enabling the road manager to carry out maintenance operations

In most cases, lighting and utility poles are located within the right-of-way. Consequently, erecting signs on these poles is prohibited.

Where can I put up my signs?

You may erect signs on properties for sale or erect directional signs under certain conditions:

Sign on the property for sale
You may erect a sign on the property for sale strictly for that property with no other condition. Take care not to impinge on the road right-of-way, otherwise your sign could be removed. However, the owner of the sign would receive a 48-hour notice prior to removal. To find out the area occupied by the right-of-way on a given property, check the certificate of location.

Directional or advertising sign
In some cases, it is important to direct people to a property located in the woods or far from the main thoroughfares. These directional signs are considered to be advertising under the two laws that govern signage in Québec, i.e. the Act to prohibit commercial advertising along certain thoroughfares and the Roadside Advertising Act. Both pieces of legislation have provisions pertaining to the positioning of advertising relative to the shoreline, the type of advertising, the type of media used and the distance from other signs. Signage is also subject to certain size limits.

• The Act to prohibit commercial advertising along certain thoroughfares (CQLR, c. A-7.0001) has rules concerning municipalities designated as ''cities'', e.g. Montréal or Baie-Comeau, etc. This Act deals with advertising that is erected within 200 metres from the edge of the roadway and that is visible from bridges, as well as from public roads where the speed limit is 70 km/h or more. Advertising is prohibited less than 300 metres from a bridge, less than 200 metres from an intersection, a highway entrance or exit ramp or an interchange, and less than 100 metres from a school zone or sharp curve.
• The Roadside Advertising Act (CQLR, c. P-44) applies within a 300 metre corridor on either side of roads maintained by the Ministère des Transports as well as within and near rest areas and lookouts. It applies on the territory of a municipality governed by the Municipal Code, including parishes, villages, municipalities, townships and unorganized territories. This Act prohibits the erecting of advertising in a school zone, pedestrian crosswalk zone, school crosswalk zone, children’s playground crosswalk zone, narrow crossing zone and reduced speed curves. It also prohibits the displaying of advertising within 180 metres of an intersection and within 600 metres of highway entrance and exit ramps. 

In short

As soon as you erect a ''For Sale'' sign outside the limits of the property, you must make sure you comply with signage legislation. This is only a brief summary of the many provisions contained in the legislation on this matter. Make sure you always check the laws with the authorities concerned before erecting directional or advertising signs in order to validate your site with the Ministère des Transports and the municipalities concerned. For additional information, visit the Ministère’s website.