The Tree Between Your Lawn and the Sidewalk: Who Controls Toronto’s Street Trees

The tree on the boulevard answers to the City from the day it is planted to the day it comes down. Here is what Toronto’s Chapter 813 lets you do, and what it doesn’t.

I’m Arthur Zhao, a real estate broker with AZ Real Estate Partners in Toronto. The notice that prompts most homeowners to look up the street tree rules is not a fine or a fallen branch. It is a sheet hand-delivered to the door: a Notice of Planned Tree Planting. It tells you the City intends to plant a tree on the strip of grass you have been mowing, names the species, marks the spot and gives a rough timeframe.

That piece of paper is the clearest sign of who is in charge of that strip. You may look after that strip, but the land between your property line and the curb is usually City road allowance, and any tree growing there falls under Article II of Toronto’s tree by-law, Chapter 813. The easiest way to see what that means for you is to follow one street tree through its life, from the notice in your mailbox to the day it comes down.

Stage 1: The tree arrives

A street tree reaches your frontage in one of two ways. You can ask for one: the City accepts tree planting requests through 311 or online for the City-owned road allowance in front of a home or business. Or the City plans the planting itself and hand-delivers a Notice of Planned Tree Planting that sets out the reason for the planting, the proposed location, the proposed species, an approximate timeframe and the date the notice was delivered.

Either way, the choice of tree is not yours. City staff assess each location to pick the species and the exact spot, and Chapter 813 (s.813-5R) requires that any tree planted on a City street be approved by the Executive Director, with approval covering the location, species, size and condition.

Two practical points for planting day. The City asks residents to keep a 1.5-metre by 1.5-metre clearance around the proposed site. And anything of yours that sits on the road allowance is at your own risk: according to the City of Toronto’s Tree Planting on City Property page (2026), “The City of Toronto is not responsible for damages to any private property located on the City-owned road allowance.”

Stage 2: The first two to three years

A new street tree is most vulnerable in its first two to three years while it becomes established. During that period the City says it will water, mulch, prune, fertilize or stake newly planted trees when needed, and it asks residents to help by watering regularly.

The City also lists things not to do, each because it injures a young tree:

• adding soil or piling mulch against the trunk
• mowing carelessly around the base, where young bark is easily damaged
• planting flowers around the base, which damages the roots
• tying rope, string or other objects around the trunk or branches

None of these is trivial in by-law terms either. Chapter 813 defines “injure” as any act that will harm a tree’s health in any manner.

Stage 3: A mature tree, and whose it actually is

By the time a tree is large, the question that matters is whether it is the City’s at all. The City’s rule is to look at the base of the trunk, where the tree grows out of the ground; burls and swelling are left out of the measurement. The width of the road allowance differs from property to property and is generally measured from the curb line toward your property line, so you can’t judge from the sidewalk alone where the City’s land ends.

For trees close to the line, the City applies a 50% test. If more than 50% of the base is on private property, the owner maintains it; if more than 50% is on the road allowance, the City does. Chapter 813 (s.813-5U) says the same thing in by-law language: the City assumes maintenance of trees with 50 percent or more of their main stem on a City street. Where ownership is unclear, the City may ask for a certified survey of your property; if you don’t have one, 311 can determine ownership. With the owner’s consent, the City may also maintain a tree whose base touches the street line but sits mostly on private property.

Once a tree is the City’s, the City’s page is blunt: “All work performed on City-owned trees must be authorized by the City of Toronto.” City pruning is done to good arboricultural standards and only if the City deems it necessary. The reasons it will and won’t prune are listed below.

What the City will prune a street tree for, and what it won’t

Two more rules apply to a mature tree. First, nothing goes on it without permission: under s.813-6C, no one may attach any object or thing to a street tree, “including decorative lights,” without the Executive Director’s prior written approval, and that approval can come with conditions.

Second, if the City agrees the work is needed but you don’t want to wait, there is a paid route. For non-emergency work on the City tree in front of your residence, you can apply to hire a contractor at your own expense using the Application for Arborists Retained by Private Property Owners to Undertake Work on City Trees. The package includes a Schedule A Owner’s Authorization Form (not needed if the applicant is the owner), a Certificate of Insurance and the Agreement for Arborists to Perform Arboricultural Services on City-Owned Street Trees. The City may approve it if the proposed work complies with its pruning standards. Paying for the arborist does not make the tree yours.

Stage 4: Construction next to the tree

A new driveway, a widened walkway, a water service upgrade or a trench for a gas line all happen in the tree’s root zone. Chapter 813 speaks to this directly. Under s.813-6A, every person carrying out work on City streets, or work that may affect trees on City streets, must do it in accordance with Article II, the City’s Tree Protection Policy and Specifications for Construction Near Trees, the terms of any permit, and any approved tree protection plan or arborist report.

Section 813-6D then lists what no one may do to any part of the tree: bury the roots, mark, cut, break, peel or deface it. Roots are part of the tree. That does not mean root work is impossible. Under s.813-5I the Executive Director may allow tree roots to be pruned in accordance with good arboricultural practice, causing minimal damage to the tree, and may attach conditions such as payment of the tree’s value, removal and replacement costs, a letter of credit, or planting a tree. The Executive Director can also stop any work that is causing unauthorized injury, removal or destruction of a tree (s.813-5J).

For completeness on the numbers: s.813-29 applies to anyone convicted of an offence under Chapter 813, whatever the contravention. The range is a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $100,000 per tree, and the chapter also provides for a special fine of $100,000 under s.370(1)(d) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006. The same range covers cutting roots, removing a tree and attaching something without approval; the by-law does not set a separate scale for each. Where the offender is a corporation, s.813-28C makes every director or officer who knowingly concurs in the contravention guilty of an offence as well.

Stage 5: Decline and removal

The City removes its own trees only when a tree is dead, structurally hazardous, or no longer viable to keep in a healthy or safe condition (consistent with s.813-5G). If the City does not consider removal necessary and you still want the tree gone, you can submit an Application to Injure or Destroy Trees. The City reviews it against the criteria in the tree by-law and denies it if those criteria aren’t met. There are fees for this application, and the by-law makes the application fee non-refundable (s.813-7A(2)).

Removal is not the end of the site’s story. Section 813-5S requires replacement planting for every tree removed unless the Executive Director decides otherwise, and the City’s maintenance page says every City-owned tree that is removed is to be replaced where site conditions allow, with replanting scheduled in the next appropriate season depending on the species chosen and its availability. The City collects the debris; crews cannot leave the wood for the property owner.

Stage 6: When the tree or a limb comes down

A City tree or limb that has fallen, or that is an imminent hazard to pedestrians or traffic, is reported to 311 or through an online request for emergency clean-up.

If it damaged your property, you can file a claim against the City. According to the City of Toronto’s City-Owned Tree Maintenance page (2026), the realistic expectation is this: “The City of Toronto is not automatically responsible for damage,” claims depend on many factors, and there may be no liability on the City’s part. The City recommends contacting your insurance company for advice at the same time, which is sensible regardless of how the claim goes.

Who to contact about the street tree in front of your house

Sorted by who handles what, so you start with the right office.

This article explains the rules as written; it is not legal advice on a specific property. If you are facing a charge, a disputed ownership line or a claim, speak with a lawyer, and confirm the current requirements with the City through 311 before you start any work.