A dead tree comes down in a fall windstorm, and where it lands is luck. Remove it before October, but in Toronto the City has to confirm the tree is dead first.
Toronto Confirms a Dead Tree Before It Comes Down
Toronto’s Private Tree By-law, Chapter 813, exempts a dead tree from the permit only when it is “certified as such by the Executive Director” (the General Manager before September 1, 2026). In practice, the owner sends the City a permit exception request with the tree’s size, species, condition, photos, and location. The City’s confirmation must be in hand before removal, and cutting a dead tree ahead of it counts as an unauthorized removal. The one carve-out is immediate work to eliminate a dangerous situation, which can go ahead first.
A tree that is not completely dead gets no exception. Staff offer a regular removal permit instead, with the fee and a replanting plan. On a ravine (RNFP) lot, the exception request goes to the RNFP team, which confirms an exception in writing for a dead or imminently hazardous tree. That tree has to come down within three calendar days of the confirmation, with no extension, and RNFP wants photos once it is gone.
A dead tree and an imminently hazardous tree sit in the same exception clause, and both need the City’s confirmation. Only a dangerous situation that needs immediate work lets the cutting start first. Treating an ordinary dead tree as an emergency is how a straightforward removal turns into an enforcement question later.
The Exemption Depends on Which City You’re In
Some nearby municipalities waive the application fee for a dead tree, some exempt a dead or hazardous tree from the permit requirement outright, and some keep the full permit process but accept lighter documentation. Our comparison of dead tree permit rules across the GTA breaks out what each of the 21 municipalities we serve requires.
Document the Tree Before the Storm
An arborist letter prepared calmly, on your schedule, moves through a municipal review process faster than one assembled under pressure once branches are already on the ground. The paperwork itself doesn’t change whether it’s August or November. After a storm, a bylaw officer and an insurance adjuster set the timeline instead of you.
Municipalities with a dead tree exception do not take a homeowner’s word that a tree is dead. A city reviewer acts on dated photographs, a condition letter or a full written assessment. Getting that in hand before the first real windstorm means the tree can come down on your schedule, not whenever a contractor has an opening after every other dead tree in the neighbourhood got knocked over the same week.
A Dated Report Also Backs Up an Insurance Claim
If the tree does come down in a storm and causes damage, either yours or a neighbour’s, an insurer’s first question is going to be whether you had reason to know the tree was hazardous before it fell. A tree risk assessment completed weeks or months earlier answers that question.
If the report rated the tree as healthy and it failed anyway in a windstorm that took down trees across the block, that’s a documented, unpredictable event, not something a homeowner should have caught. If the report flagged a problem and nothing was done about it, the insurer will see that too. The record still shows what was known and when.
A Thin Canopy Is Not Automatically a Hazard
Thin foliage or a few bare branches doesn’t by itself tell you whether a tree is dead or hazardous, and only a closer look tells you which. Canopy dieback concentrated at the top, fungal growth at the base, a new or worsening lean and cracked limb unions all need that closer look. Our self-triage guide for assessing tree risk walks through what each sign means and whether to monitor it or get it looked at soon.
We don’t do removals. As ISA Certified consulting arborists, our work is the report and the risk assessment. Removal does not fill our schedule, so the report reflects the tree’s condition. A formal tree risk assessment follows the ISA’s TRAQ methodology and rates the likelihood of failure, the likelihood something gets struck, and the consequences if it did, combined into one documented rating.
If a Storm Beats You to It
If a tree is already resting on power lines, stay back and call the utility, not a tree company. In Toronto, call Toronto Hydro at 416-542-8000 and press 1, and keep at least 10 metres back. If a tree has come down on a house, a garage, or a vehicle with someone inside, or anyone is trapped, call 911 first and stay clear of any damaged structure until emergency services confirm it’s safe. Once people are safe and the immediate danger is handled, photograph the damage from multiple angles, including the base and any exposed roots, before any cleanup starts. Insurers want that record, and it can’t be recreated once debris is cleared.
After a storm, a debris crew that also does removals is paid for the removal, so its read on the tree is not neutral. Our guide on getting a second opinion before removal covers why that independent check is worth the extra day, even when the pressure is on to just get the yard cleared.