On September 1, 2026, Toronto's tree rules change. If you own property in the city, especially with a large tree on it or a project that involves planting one, a few of these changes land directly on you.
Here's the reassuring part first: the headline number most people have heard about isn't changing. The 30 cm threshold that decides whether a private tree is protected is staying exactly where it is. The widely covered proposal to drop it to 20 cm is not part of what takes effect this September. More on that below, because it's the thing we're getting the most questions about.
What is changing is worth understanding before you book any tree work or close out a build. Here's the plain-language version.
The 30-second version. Starting September 1, 2026:
- Toronto gets a formal "Distinctive Tree" category for very large trees (one stem more than 61 cm across), and the City can refuse permits to remove or injure them.
- Newly planted trees tied to a permit or development condition are protected the moment they go in the ground: no size threshold, no grace period.
- New ravine permit fees kick in, separate from and on top of the existing private-tree fees.
- The penalty for illegal removal gets steeper for large trees, and there's a new stump-measurement rule that makes it harder to claim a cut tree "wasn't protected."
- The 30 cm rule stays. The 20 cm proposal is not law and has no start date.
Where these changes come from
So you know this is solid and not internet rumour: City Council adopted these amendments on March 25 and 26, 2026 (agenda item 2026.IE27.8), and By-law 402-2026 was enacted on April 23, 2026. The amendments to Municipal Code Chapters 813 (Trees) and 658 (Ravine and Natural Feature Protection) come into force September 1, 2026.
1. The "Distinctive Tree" category becomes law
If you have a large, healthy tree on your property, the City will now have a formal name, and formal protections, for it.
Beginning September 1, a tree with at least one stem measuring more than 61 cm DBH (diameter at breast height, measured 1.4 m above the ground) is eligible to be designated a Distinctive Tree under the new §813-11 and §658-1. The by-law defines it as a healthy tree, not already designated a Heritage Tree, with at least one stem over 61 cm. The threshold is greater than 61 cm: a tree sitting at exactly 61.0 cm doesn't qualify.
How to know if your tree is in that range: the tape-measure trick we use. You can't eyeball 61 cm reliably, so don't try. Wrap a tape (or a piece of string) around the trunk at about 1.4 m up and measure the circumference, then divide by 3.14. The shortcut: about 192 cm around (call it 1.9 metres) is the line. If the trunk is roughly that big around at chest height, assume it's in Distinctive Tree territory and worth a professional look before you plan anything. And remember the multi-stem rule from the private-tree bylaw still applies: the City goes off the largest single stem, so a wide multi-trunk tree can qualify even when no single stem looks huge.
The designation isn't automatic. The City's Executive Director decides whether the tree is healthy and meets the definition. Once a tree qualifies, two things change:
- It becomes a mandatory review criterion. New §813-16.L requires the Executive Director to consider whether any tree named in a permit application is a Distinctive Tree before deciding on the application. This applies to both private-tree (Chapter 813) and ravine (Chapter 658, §658-5.1) applications.
- The City can say no. The Executive Director now has discretion to refuse a permit to injure or destroy a Distinctive Tree. Council also directed staff to advise applicants, where appropriate, to meet with Urban Forestry and consider design amendments that keep the tree standing, though that meeting isn't a mandatory step in every application.
What this means for you: if you've got a tree in this size range and any construction in the pipeline, get a certified arborist to assess and document the tree's condition and diameter before you file. Understanding the difference between a permit to remove and a permit to injure matters here, especially if work is planned near the root zone. A well-documented condition report is what any application involving a Distinctive Tree will need. Here's what goes into an arborist report.
What we see in the field. The trees most likely to get caught by this are the big mature ones people barely think about: a broad silver maple or Norway maple near the back corner of a lot, a large oak a homeowner assumed was "just always there." The problem usually isn't the tree itself; it's the addition, pool, or garage going in near it. When a build gets designed first and the tree gets assessed second, we often find the footprint sits right inside the root zone of a tree the City now has extra reason to protect, and that's an expensive redesign to discover late. Under the new rules, our standard advice gets firmer: if you have a tree in this range and any project on the horizon, book the arborist assessment before the drawings are final, not after. A condition report that's already on file is far cheaper than a permit refusal that sends your architect back to the drawing board.
There's an upside worth flagging, too. The City announced a 2026 pilot, the Distinctive Tree Maintenance Incentive, to help private owners with the cost of caring for large, healthy trees above the 61 cm threshold. Eligibility and application details weren't available as of publishing, with an outcomes report expected at the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in 2027. If you own a big, healthy tree, this is one to watch.
2. Newly planted trees are protected from day one
This one catches people by surprise, and it matters most if you're finishing a project.
Right now, a private tree generally becomes protected once it reaches 30 cm DBH. Starting September 1, that gap closes for a specific group of trees: any tree planted through specified enforcement actions or development approvals is protected the moment it's planted, with no size threshold and no grace period.
That includes planting tied to a variance, consent, site plan agreement or approval, an Order to Comply, or a permit condition. In plain terms: if you're a contractor or property owner wrapping up a project with a replanting obligation on or after September 1, treat those young trees as protected the day they go in the ground.
Because permit conditions usually require protection fencing during active construction, the same close-out rules apply to these condition-planted trees. Protection conditions don't expire on their own; you can't quietly remove a struggling replacement tree and assume no one's counting.
The 30 cm threshold still applies to other private trees. The September changes restructure the framework; they don't replace that general rule.
What we see in the field. This is the change most likely to trip up good, well-meaning contractors. On plenty of sites, the replacement saplings planted to satisfy a permit get treated as landscaping: moved, swapped, or quietly pulled if they don't take. After September 1, that's a bylaw problem, because those trees are protected from day one even at pencil-thickness. If you're the property owner, this liability is yours, not the landscaper's, the same way it works for removals. Our practical rule: photograph and note every condition-planted tree the day it goes in, keep the protection fencing up until the City signs off, and if a replacement dies, don't just replace it on your own; check whether the permit conditions require the City to be told first.
3. New ravine permit fees take effect the same day
By-law 402-2026 also amends Chapter 441 (Fees and Charges) to add a new fee schedule for Chapter 658 ravine permits, effective September 1. These are separate from, and in addition to, the existing Chapter 813 private-tree fees.
Per the amended Chapter 441, Appendix C, Schedule 20:
| Ravine (RNFP) permit application | Fee per tree / application |
| Ravine tree, non-construction | $87.57 |
| Ravine boundary / neighbour tree, non-construction | $183.03 |
| Ravine tree, construction | $262.72 |
| Ravine boundary / neighbour tree, construction | $549.08 |
| Alteration of grade, no trees involved | $632.51 |
The key thing to budget for: if your project involves ravine work and a standard tree removal, you may be paying both fee schedules. The ravine fee applies to the Chapter 658 application; it doesn't replace the Chapter 813 fee when a tree removal is also involved. If your property backs onto a ravine or sits in a protected natural area, factor this in early.
What we see in the field. More GTA lots fall inside a protected ravine or natural-feature area than owners expect, and it's rarely obvious from the backyard. We regularly meet homeowners in ravine-adjacent pockets who had no idea their property was covered until we checked the mapping. If that's you, a routine tree removal can quietly become a two-permit job under these new fees, and the ravine rules also cover things beyond trees: changing the grade, moving fill, building structures. We confirm whether a property sits in a ravine or natural-feature area as part of the estimate, so the fee stack and the timeline don't surprise you halfway through.
4. Illegal removal gets more expensive, and harder to hide
Two changes here make cutting a protected tree without a permit a worse bet than ever.
First, replacement obligations for unauthorized removal are moving from a flat 5:1 ratio to a diameter-based system: the bigger the tree you took down, the more trees you owe. The City hasn't yet published the specific diameter tiers, and this operational update isn't tied to the September 1 date on the City's review page, but the direction is clear: contravention replacement gets steeper for large trees.
Second, a new stump-measurement rule (§813-25.B.(5)) takes effect September 1. If a trunk can't be measured at the usual 1.4 m (because the tree is already gone), a stump diameter of 40 cm or more, measured at 0.3 m above the ground, is enough to establish that the tree was protected. In other words, cutting first and measuring never no longer works.
If you're buying or developing a property where an unpermitted removal has already happened, that replacement liability can follow the property. It's worth checking before you close. (Our companion article covers how Toronto's fines and replacement rules work for permitted removals; contravention ratios apply separately, and they're steeper.)
What we see in the field. Every so often a buyer inherits a problem they never made: a fresh stump or a suspiciously bare corner from a seller who "tidied up" before listing. Under the new stump-diameter rule, a 40 cm stump at ankle height is enough for the City to establish the tree was protected, so "it was already gone when I bought it" isn't the shield people hope. If you're buying a property with recent tree work, or a conspicuously empty spot where a big tree clearly used to be, have it looked at during due diligence, not after you've taken on someone else's replacement bill. And if a crew ever tells you a large tree doesn't need a permit, treat that as a red flag: the fine, and the replacement obligation, land on the property owner, not the person holding the saw.
The 20 cm rumour: what's actually true
Here's the one we keep getting asked about. You may have seen coverage of a proposal to drop the private-tree protection threshold from 30 cm to 20 cm DBH. As of September 1, 2026, that is not law.
City Council endorsed the idea in principle, subject to a detailed analysis and implementation strategy to be reported back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in 2027. There's no effective date. The amendments taking effect this September keep the 30 cm threshold in place for private trees.
The practical takeaway: plan against what's in force, not what might follow a 2027 report. Today's baseline is unchanged: private trees at 30 cm DBH or larger generally need a permit before you injure or remove them. If the threshold does drop later, we'll update this article.
Quick reference: what changes September 1, 2026
| Change | What it does | Who it affects most |
| Distinctive Tree category (§813-11, §658-1) | Formal designation for trees with a stem >61 cm DBH; City can refuse removal/injury permits | Owners of large healthy trees; anyone building near one |
| Day-one protection for planted trees | Condition-planted trees protected the moment they go in, with no 30 cm wait | Contractors and owners closing out builds with replanting obligations |
| New RNFP (ravine) fees | Chapter 658 fee schedule, on top of Chapter 813 fees | Properties in or near ravines / natural areas |
| Diameter-based contravention replacement | Illegal-removal replacement scales up with tree size | Anyone who removes without a permit; buyers of properties where it happened |
| Stump-diameter rule (§813-25.B.(5)) | 40 cm stump at 0.3 m proves a tree was protected | Anyone tempted to "cut first" |
| 30 cm threshold | Unchanged. 20 cm proposal is not law, no start date | Everyone; the baseline still holds |
What to do before September 1: our practical checklist
If you want to get ahead of these changes rather than react to them, here's the short list we're giving our own clients this month:
- Have a big tree? Measure it. If any trunk is roughly 1.9 m or more around at chest height, it may fall into the new Distinctive Tree category. Worth an assessment before you plan anything near it.
- Planning a build, addition, pool, or garage this year? Get the tree assessed before the design is locked, not after. A footprint that clears the root zone is far cheaper than a redesign forced by a permit refusal.
- Finishing a project with a replanting condition? Treat every planted tree as protected the day it goes in. Photograph them, keep protection fencing up, and confirm the conditions before touching any replacement.
- Near a ravine? Confirm whether your lot sits in a protected ravine or natural-feature area; it changes both the fees and the process. We check this for you as part of any estimate.
- Buying a property with recent tree work, or an obviously empty spot? Add a tree check to your due diligence, before you close.
- Heard the "20 cm" news? Ignore it for now. Plan against the 30 cm rule that's actually in force.
When you're not sure which of these applies to you, that's exactly the kind of thing a five-minute call sorts out. We'd rather tell you "you're fine, no permit needed" than see you find out the hard way.
FAQ
Is Toronto lowering the tree permit threshold to 20 cm on September 1? No. The 30 cm DBH threshold stays in place. Council endorsed the 20 cm idea in principle, but it's subject to further analysis and a 2027 report, with no effective date. Plan around 30 cm.
What is a "Distinctive Tree"? Starting September 1, 2026, it's a formal designation for a healthy tree with at least one stem measuring more than 61 cm across at chest height (1.4 m up). The City must consider whether a tree is distinctive before ruling on a permit, and can refuse a permit to remove or injure one.
I'm finishing a build with a replanting condition. Are those new trees protected? Yes, from the moment they're planted, if the planting is tied to a permit condition or development approval (variance, consent, site plan, Order to Comply). There's no size threshold or grace period, and protection fencing conditions don't expire on their own.
My property is near a ravine. Do the new fees apply to me? If your work involves a Chapter 658 ravine or natural-feature permit, yes. The new RNFP fees apply, and they're in addition to the standard private-tree fees, not instead of them. Budget for both if a tree removal is also involved.
What happens if a tree was cut down before I bought the property? Under the new diameter-based contravention system, replacement obligations for unauthorized removal can be significant and can attach to the property. If a trunk is gone, a 40 cm stump at 0.3 m above ground is enough to show the tree was protected. Get it checked before you close on a purchase or start development.
Does any of this change how I remove a normal, smaller tree? For most private trees under 30 cm, no. The 30 cm baseline is unchanged. These amendments mostly affect large trees, ravine work, condition-planted trees, and unauthorized removals.
Why we wrote this
We're Tree Doctors: ISA and ASCA certified arborists working across Toronto and the GTA, WSIB covered, with $5 million in liability insurance and over 280 Google reviews. Bylaw changes like these are exactly where an honest arborist earns their keep: we assess and document the tree, tell you plainly whether your project triggers a permit, prepare the arborist report and application, and handle the work safely once it's approved. Final decisions always rest with the City of Toronto; our job is to give you a straight read on where you stand and an application that holds up.
Not sure how the September 1 changes affect your tree or your project? Don't book work, or close on a property, until you know. Get a permit assessment from a certified arborist .
