Pickering: questions buyers ask
What does Pickering's tree by-law cover on a private lot?
The City's Tree Protection By-law 8073/24 and its Schedule A map of tree protection areas, as summarised on its trees page.
Sources checked October 29, 2026
The rule in Pickering
Pickering by-law 8073/24: a City permit ($155) is needed to remove any tree in the tree protection areas mapped on Schedule A, which mostly follow watercourses and green spaces, including dead or dangerous trees (no charge with a certified arborist's report); trees outside those areas need no permit.
From Pickering by-law 8073/24, checked 29 Oct 2026
- The recordTree removal
- Where to read itTrees; Schedule A to By-law 8073/24
- The free check reads itPick “Tree and ravine limits”
What the record shows
The City's page says a permit is needed to remove any tree in a tree protection area, and that these areas usually run through and next to watercourses and green spaces, as drawn on the by-law's Schedule A map. A standard removal permit costs $155. Dead, dangerous, diseased or severely injured trees also need a permit, processed at no charge with a certified arborist's report, or for $50 where the City's arborist inspects. No permit is needed for a tree outside the protection areas, or for one under 2.5 centimetres in diameter at 1.5 metres above grade.
The page says the by-law is enforced by the City's Municipal Law Enforcement Services and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, and that a homeowner who cuts down a protected tree faces a first-offence fine of $50,000 or $2,000 a tree, whichever is greater. A rule summary says what the by-law covers; whether a given lot lies inside a protection area is on the Schedule A map.
Where to read it yourself
- Trees: the City's page on Tree Protection By-law 8073/24, permits, fees and fines
- Schedule A to By-law 8073/24: the map of tree protection areas (PDF)
What OfferDue covers in Pickering
Tree and ravine limits is in the free check as a summary of the City's rule, from our hand-kept table, with a link to the City's page. It is a rule for the city, not a survey of the trees on a lot.
Free check: pick “Tree and ravine limits” See the sample report
Public-record information, not legal, financial, insurance or inspection advice. Records change and can be incomplete, and this page describes the records, not any particular home. What we cover, city by city.