Trees on Private Property

While the majority of Toronto’s trees grow on private property, they are an important part of the urban forest that is nurtured and protected by Urban Forestry Services. In some cases, trees on private property are protected and regulated under the provisions of municipal by-laws.
Urban Forestry Services encourages property owners to work with us to keep Toronto’s trees green and healthy and to protect healthy trees on private property that are not subject to the provisions of municipal by-laws.
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Private Tree By-law

Effective September 30, 2004, Toronto City Council enacted a City-wide By-law to protect trees situated on private property. This by-law is known as City of Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 813, Article III, 'Tree Protection'(PDF) and is commonly referred to as the City's "Private Tree By-law". This by-law regulates injury or removal of privately owned trees which measure 30 cm in diameter or more as measured at 1.4 m above ground level.

Urban Forestry Services' regular business hours are Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you have a question during regular business hours regarding a contravention of the City's Private Tree By-law, or if you are inquiring about the status of an application please contact Urban Forestry Services at (416) 392-0972.

If you would like to report a suspected illegal tree removal in progress after regular business hours, please call one of the following emergency dispatch telephone numbers for the area of the City from which you are calling North District: 395-6333, South District: 392-7737, East District 396-4808, West District 338-8888. These phone numbers are only in service after regular business hours.

In order to obtain a permit from the City of Toronto to injure or destroy a protected tree, you must submit a completed permit application and the required application fee to Urban Forestry Services at 18 Dyas Road, 1st Floor, Toronto Ontario M3B 1V5. The application fee for development related tree permit applications is $200/tree with no maximum fee. The application fee for non-development related tree permit applications is $100/tree to a maximum fee of $300.

A permit is not required to remove trees which are dead, terminally diseased or hazardous. However, to confirm that a tree is exempt from the by-law due to its condition, a detailed arborist report must be faxed to Urban Forestry Services at 416-392-0963. You also do not require a permit to prune a tree in accordance with good arboricultural standards. For any tree work, we encourage you to retain the services of a Certified or Registered Consulting Arborist, a Registered Professional Forester or others with similar qualifications.

Download a PDF of the Private Tree By-law click here.