What does Toronto's tree by-law cover on a private lot?
The City's Tree Protection By-law (Municipal Code Chapter 813) and the Ravine and Natural Feature Protection By-law (Chapter 658): which trees need a permit before injury or removal.
Sources checked October 16, 2026
The rule in Toronto
30 cm across: the trunk size the rule names
Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 813: a City permit is needed to injure or remove a private tree 30 cm or more in diameter at 1.4 m above ground; permits require replacement planting or cash-in-lieu ($583 per tree), and since 1 Sept 2026 trees over 61 cm are a separate distinctive tree category.
From Toronto by-law Municipal Code Chapter 813, checked 6 Oct 2026
- The recordTree removal
- Where to read itWhen to apply for a tree or ravine permit
- The free check reads itPick “Tree and ravine limits”
What the record shows
The City's page says a permit is needed to injure or remove a tree on private property with a trunk 30 centimetres or more in diameter, measured at 1.4 metres above the ground; for a multi-stemmed tree the largest stem decides. Trees on City streets are protected at any size under the same chapter, and in a ravine or natural feature area trees of any size fall under Chapter 658.
Pruning to good practice needs no permit, nor does removing a tree that is fully dead; hazardous or terminally diseased trees need the City's confirmation before they come down. A rule summary says what the by-law covers; it doesn't say who owns a given tree, how wide its trunk is, or whether a lot sits inside the ravine protection area, which the City's map shows.
Where to read it yourself
- When to apply for a tree or ravine permit: the City's summary of protected trees, exemptions and permits
What OfferDue covers in Toronto
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.