Tree rules in Laval: permits, protected trees and fees
What the Ville de Laval, Quebec, says about felling a tree on a private lot: the authorisation certificate, the size it applies to, the accepted reasons, the CA$84 inspection fee, the replacement rule, the banned pruning practices and the rules for trees in the public right of way.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes three Ville de Laval web pages and the city's 2026 felling application forms as read on October 9, 2026. The city publishes them in French; this page gives them in English in our own words, and the French terms are the city's. Amounts are Canadian dollars. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in Canadian cities.
The authorisation certificate
The felling page says a certificate of authorisation ("certificat d'autorisation") is mandatory before cutting down a tree on a property, even when the request follows a recommendation from Hydro-Quebec. It says the requirement covers broadleaf trees with a trunk of at least 3 cm in diameter and conifers at least 150 cm tall, wherever the tree stands on the lot. The forms give the measuring point for a replacement broadleaf trunk as 1.30 m above the ground.
The page lists five accepted reasons for felling: the tree is dead, the tree is in irreversible decline, the tree must come down to limit the spread of a disease or an invasive alien insect, the tree is dangerous to people and property because of major structural weaknesses that make any corrective tree work impossible, and the tree must come down to build or lay out a work that matches a planning authorisation, such as a renovation or a wider driveway entrance. The application form adds a warning that ordinary inconveniences are not valid reasons. It names falling twigs, leaves, flowers or fruit, surface roots, insects or animals, shade on the lawn, bad smells and sap, honeydew or pollen.
Fee and replacement
| Item | What the city says |
|---|---|
| Inspection fee | CA$84 per tree, charged to check that the felling conditions are met. The form calls it non-refundable and asks for a cheque to the Ville de Laval |
| Ash tree | A certificate is needed, but the request is free because of the emerald ash borer |
| Replacement | The felled tree is replaced before the date written on the certificate, and the new tree must stay healthy |
| Replacement size on the form | Broadleaf trunk of at least 3 cm at 1.30 m, or a conifer at least 150 cm tall, from the city's accepted species list, with mature dimensions equal to or above the felled tree |
The felling page lists the application steps as preparing the request, paying the fee, sending it and a visit from a technician. It asks the owner to sign, says a tree standing partly on a neighbour's lot needs the neighbour's name, contact details and written consent, and says the tree must not stand in the city's right of way. When the work relates to a planning permit, the form calls for proof that the work will go ahead with a date, and a copy of the permit. It names the Division Foresterie et horticulture as the office that receives the form by mail and gives 311 as the phone line.
A second form covers felling in the shore strip ("rive"). It shows a 15 m shore band measured from the high water line and lists one extra accepted reason: a wooded shore where the tree stands in a corridor needed for access to the river, at most 5 m wide.
Pruning and wood disposal
The private trees page says no certificate is needed to prune trees that the owner has planted on the owner's own lot. It then lists practices it calls forbidden, because they could shorten the tree's life: removing more than 50 percent of the living crown, tearing out or cutting more than 40 percent of the anchoring roots, covering the roots with fill 20 cm deep or more, cutting more or less continuous wounds through the bark, cambium or wood on more than 50 percent of the trunk's circumference, and using products harmful to the tree.
The same page says small branches under 1.2 m long and 4 cm across go in the brown bin, and that a company hired to prune is responsible for collecting the branches. It says the city collects ash wood free, whether or not the tree has the emerald ash borer. It reports a canopy index of 22.3 percent for 2023, about 5,510 hectares of 24,711.
Trees in the public right of way
The right of way page says the city maintains trees in the right of way of a public road under the regulation in force, and that pruning is part of a cycle programme, with urgent requests handled case by case. It lists planting bans: inside the right of way and within 2 m of a public road, and within 2 m of a fire hydrant, an outside shut-off valve, a manhole, a municipal sewer catch basin, a street light or a sign. It says the city may enter properties to inspect landscaping, may require removal of shrubs and may order corrective work for safety or compliance reasons. Fines are CA$200 to CA$1,000 for a person and CA$400 to CA$2,000 for a corporation.
Sources
- Ville de Laval, Abattage d'arbres sur un terrain, read October 9, 2026
- Ville de Laval, Arbres sur une propriete privee, read October 9, 2026
- Ville de Laval, Arbres en emprise, read October 9, 2026
- Ville de Laval, standard felling application form 2026, read October 9, 2026
- Ville de Laval, shore felling application form 2026, read October 9, 2026