Tree rules in London, Ontario: 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 London pages as read on October 9, 2026: privately owned trees, tree maintenance and trimming, and the consolidated Tree Protection By-law, which the City marks last modified December 22, 2021 and describes as an electronic copy for information only. The wider list of cities is on the guide to tree permits in Canadian cities. London, Ontario is a different city from London, England.

Which private trees are covered

Section 3.1 of the by-law applies to private property in two ways: to trees with a trunk diameter of 50 centimetres or greater, measured 1.4 metres above natural ground level, inside the Urban Growth Boundary, and to trees of any size inside a Tree Protection Area. The City page calls a privately owned tree of 50 centimetres or more inside the boundary but outside a Tree Protection Area a Distinctive Tree. It uses the same word for a Dead Distinctive Tree, one in advanced and irreversible decline only from natural causes. The page says the Private Tree Permit Application covers both. Tree Protection Areas are the mapped areas in Schedule B of the by-law, and for a permit there the page says a report from an arborist or a Registered Professional Forester is required, depending on the size of the treed area and the work.

Exemptions

Section 5.1 lists what the by-law does not apply to. It includes activities by a municipality or local board, activities under a Crown Forest Sustainability Act licence, cadastral surveyors making a survey, injury or destruction imposed as a condition of a site plan, subdivision, consent or development permit approval after December 31, 2002, work by an electricity transmitter or distributor on its systems and land under a pit or quarry licence. The by-law defines injure broadly: it includes carving, drilling, injection, improper pruning that fails Good Arboricultural Practices, removal of bark, deliberate introduction of decay fungi, soil compaction, root excavation, burying and poisoning, and it includes roots within the Critical Root Zone.

Replacement trees

Schedule A of the by-law sets the number of replacement trees by the diameter of the tree destroyed, and a note says it does not apply to a Dead Distinctive Tree permit.

Diameter of tree destroyed	Replacement trees
50 cm	1
51 to 60 cm	2
61 to 70 cm	3
71 to 80 cm	4
81 to 90 cm	5
91 to 100 cm	6
101 to 110 cm	7
111 to 120 cm	8
121 to 130 cm	9
131 to 140 cm	10
141 cm and over	11

The by-law defines the arborist report that supports an application: it identifies the location, species, size and condition of the trees, gives the arborist's opinion on why a tree should be injured or destroyed, and works out the replacement count from Schedule A. An Arborist is an arborist qualified by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, an ISA Certified Arborist, a consulting arborist registered with the American Society of Consulting Arborists or a Registered Professional Forester.

Penalties and appeals

Section 14.3 sets a fine on conviction of at least CA$500 and at most CA$100,000. Contravening an order to discontinue activity or a work order is a continuing offence, with CA$500 to CA$10,000 for each day and no CA$100,000 cap on the total. Section 14.5 adds a special fine of up to CA$200,000 to remove an economic advantage from the offence. Under section 8.6 a written refusal or revocation says the applicant may have a hearing before the Hearings Officer by delivering a notice of appeal to the City Clerk within 30 days, with the appeal fee from the Fees and Charges By-law. With no appeal in time, the City Engineer's decision is final.

City trees

The maintenance page says the City maintains all trees on City property, boulevards, parks and woodlands, and that residents are not permitted to work on them because of the risk of injury and of damaging utilities. Trimming is requested online or by calling 519-661-5783.