Tree Removal Reports in Toronto

Chapter 813 covers private trees on standard residential and commercial properties. Chapter 658, the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection bylaw, applies to trees inside the mapped RNFP limit along ravines, valleys and natural features, not to the whole lot. A tree inside the limit needs a Chapter 658 permit only and goes to the citywide RNFP team. A tree outside it goes to the district Tree Protection and Plan Review office. Toronto sets no review time. A planner decides whether to visit the site and can visit at any stage.

You can check using the city's interactive map on toronto.ca or by calling 311. Lots along the Don and Humber valleys and other ravines are the usual cases. Our arborist checks the map at the site visit.

Any tree on private property with a trunk diameter of 30 cm or more at breast height (1.4 m above ground) is protected under Chapter 813. That is a trunk about 94 cm around. Smaller private trees need no permit unless the property is in an RNFP area, where trees of any size are protected.

Fines run from $500 to $100,000 per tree. The City investigates complaints and uses aerial imagery to find removals done without a permit. It can also order you to plant replacement trees.

No. Boulevard trees are City property. For a problem tree with no construction involved, such as roots damaging infrastructure or limbs over your house, request an inspection through Toronto 311. The City handles any removal or pruning of its own trees at no cost to residents. A City tree affected by construction goes through a Tree Protection and Plan Review permit instead. Staff do not approve removing a healthy street tree for a driveway or another element the zoning does not already allow. Injuring a City tree for construction needs a refundable guarantee deposit set from the tree's appraised value, and the arborist doing the work signs the City's contractor agreement and shows insurance and WSIB coverage.

Our site visit happens within 48 hours of your call, and the report follows within 2 business days of the visit. The City's part comes after that, and Toronto publishes no review time. Once staff review the file, the permit waits on the items they list: payments, the signed Undertaking and Release, hoarding photos and, for a boundary tree, the neighbour notice period. For a boundary tree, the permit issues at least 14 days after the second neighbour letter.