Tree rules in Hamilton: permits, protected trees and fees

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes three City of Hamilton by-laws and two City web pages as read on October 9, 2026: By-law No. 15-125 (trees on or affecting public property), By-law No. 14-212 (woodlands on private property within the urban boundary), the November 2023 office consolidation of By-law No. 07-170 (licensing of various businesses), the Tree Ownership and Responsibilities page and the Doing Work Near a Tree page. Amounts are written as the by-laws write them, in Canadian dollars. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in Canadian cities.

Who owns the tree

By-law 15-125 defines a public tree as one with 50 per cent or more of its trunk diameter, measured at ground level, on public property, and a private tree as one with more than 50 per cent on private property. The City's ownership page says the location of the tree decides ownership, not who planted it, and that a tree planted by someone on City property is a gift to the City. For a tree between a property and City land, the page points to the City's tree inventory and to a Forestry Investigator. For a tree between neighbours, it points to the property survey. It adds that disputes between neighbours over maintenance of a private tree are a civil matter in which the City does not get involved.

Public trees: By-law 15-125

Section 3 says no person shall injure or destroy a public tree, or permit it. The list of what may count as injury includes pruning or altering a public tree, doing any work within the drip line or tree protection zone, fastening an object to it, altering soil levels within the drip line, excavating a ditch, tunnel or trench within the drip line, and climbing a public tree. Section 3(3) says work on, in or around a public tree, including removing any part, is allowed only with a permit from the Director, done to the permit's conditions and to all applicable by-laws and policies. Section 4 says no person shall plant a tree on public property. Section 6 says the owner of a private tree must ensure it does not obstruct a highway or endanger public property or the people using it.

The doing-work page says a public tree permit is needed for work that may affect a City tree, including digging near or within the dripline, pruning, storing equipment or materials there, or changing ground level. It says a permit for something else, such as a driveway, does not allow removal or damage of a public tree. It adds that the City measures a tree's dollar value to set compensation if a City tree is removed even with a permit, and that one tree can be worth more than CA$10,000. The page links the City's design and preservation manual, construction specifications and details, and tree protection zone sign for projects near public trees.

Private trees and woodlands

The ownership page says the former City of Hamilton has no by-law that governs ordinary privately owned trees, while privately owned trees in Ancaster, Dundas and Stoney Creek, and woodlots, are covered by by-laws that may need a permit. The business licensing by-law names those older by-laws: Dundas Tree Protection By-law No. 4513-99, Stoney Creek Tree By-law No. 4401-96, Ancaster Tree Protection By-law No. 2000-118 and the former Regional Woodland Conservation By-law No. R00-054.

By-law 14-212 applies to trees in a woodland of 0.2 hectares or more inside the urban boundary. It defines a woodland by density: at least 1,000 trees of any size per hectare, or 750 trees over 5 centimetres diameter at breast height, or 500 over 12 centimetres, or 250 over 20 centimetres. Fruit and nut orchards, nurseries, actively managed Christmas tree plantations, narrow linear strips along a laneway or field boundary, and plantations kept only for complete removal at rotation are excluded. Section 5 lists work that needs no permit, including a hazard to a person, building or structure, public safety, pruning in accordance with good arboricultural practice to maintain the tree's health, trees within 3 metres of an occupied building and work under an approved tree protection plan or a building permit.

Topic in By-law 14-212	What it says
Grounds for a permit	Section 10: trees damaged to the point that their health is likely to deteriorate further, trees cut to stop disease or insects spreading, trees marked under a Forest Management Prescription, or work needed to protect public health or safety
Must refuse	Section 11: where a Sensitive Natural Area would not be adequately protected, or stream or wetland functions would be negatively affected
May refuse	Section 12: healthy trees, rare or threatened species, reducing basal area below 20 square metres per hectare on trees over 10 centimetres, or dropping below the minimum number of trees that makes a woodland
Conditions	Section 13: replacement planting, security deposited with the City, timing and manner of cutting, and limits on damage to remaining stems

The licence for tree cutting services

Schedule 14 of By-law 07-170 defines a tree cutting service as a person in the business of assessing the health and structural integrity of trees, removing trees, pruning tree branches or roots, removing stumps or transplanting trees, including climbing aloft and using rigging equipment for any of those. It says no person shall carry on that business without a licence. The City's ownership page says a company hired to prune, remove or investigate a private tree must hold a valid Tree Cutting Service Licence and points to a list of licensed contractors on Open Hamilton.

The schedule's operating conditions include commercial general liability insurance with a limit of at least CA$2,000,000 per claim or occurrence that covers the tradespersons and labourers employed or retained, and a signed written contract naming the parties, the address, the work, the price and the estimated completion date. They bar equipment that is likely to disturb neighbours between 7:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., require debris tracked onto the right of way to be removed each working day, and require damaged sod, ground cover, pavement or City property to be replaced within 48 hours of finishing. The schedule also requires a service to comply with the applicable tree by-laws and to ensure that a permit has been obtained where a by-law requires one before any tree is injured or destroyed.

Fines

Who is convicted	Highest fine on a first conviction, whichever is greater	Highest fine on a later conviction, whichever is greater
Person (By-laws 15-125, 14-212 and Schedule 14)	CA$10,000 or CA$1,000 per tree	CA$25,000 or CA$2,500 per tree
Corporation	CA$50,000 or CA$5,000 per tree	CA$100,000 or CA$10,000 per tree

Each by-law also allows a special fine, which may exceed CA$100,000, to remove an economic advantage gained from the offence. By-law 15-125 lets the City do ordered work at the offender's cost and add it to the tax roll with interest of 15 per cent. The City's forestry line given on its pages is 905-546-2489.